Occupational Structure, Dissent and Educational Commitment, Lancashire, 1841

Research in Economic History, Vol. 4, pp. 235-287, 1979

53 Pages Posted: 1 May 2008

See all articles by Alexander J. Field

Alexander J. Field

Santa Clara University - Leavey School of Business - Economics Department

Abstract

This paper examines the relationships between occupational structure, dissent, and educational commitment in a sample of seventeen commercial and manufacturing localities in Lancashire in 1841. In this sample the structure of educational systems as measured by the mix of Sunday and day schooling varies systematically with differences in occupational structure, independently of differences in rates of population increase (which do not have a statistically significant effect on such structures) and measures of religious dissent (which do). This statistical evidence in conjunction with documentary evidence (also discussed) leads to the rejection of a class of hypotheses based on the proposition that Sunday schools were primarily an imperfect substitute for day schools, relied on in certain areas because of (1) high foregone earnings associated with day schooling, or (2) inelastic supply curves for day schools in the face of rapidly growing populations, or (3) relatively low income levels. Rather, it is argued that Sunday schools specialized in religious instruction and moral regeneration, day schools in writing and arithmetic as well as reading, and that different occupational clusters had different relative demands for these two types of outputs. The paper includes a discussion of how these results modify the conclusions of previous research in this area, as well as a brief comparative discussion of educational development in Lancashire and Massachusetts, in the light of a comparison of the occupational structure of the two regions.

Keywords: Education, Human Capital, Industrialization

JEL Classification: I21, J24, N33

Suggested Citation

Field, Alexander J., Occupational Structure, Dissent and Educational Commitment, Lancashire, 1841. Research in Economic History, Vol. 4, pp. 235-287, 1979 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1127484

Alexander J. Field (Contact Author)

Santa Clara University - Leavey School of Business - Economics Department ( email )

500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA California 95053
United States
408 554 4348 (Phone)
408 554 2331 (Fax)

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