The Making of France
Abstract
This paper studies nation-building in a fragmented society. We document the political economy of mass education, the adoption of a common language, and the construction of a national identity in France. Using a regression discontinuity design, we show that state-sponsored education led to linguistic homogenization. To understand why nation-building was successful, we study heterogeneity and find that knowledge elites and the demand for education were instrumental.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Historical Economic and Social Studies
European Political History Analysis
Culture
Economy
and Development Studies
Publication details
- Journal / source
- HAL
- Publication date
- 11 February 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Preprint