Tuğba Bozçağa

In this paper, we examine the distributional consequences of transitioning to state-controlled mass primary schooling. To derive our inferences, we will leverage a 19th-century administrative reform from the Ottoman Empire and geocoded data on philanthropic and public primary schools from the same period. The project's primary hypothesis is that the provision of education services by non-state actors reflects society’s ethnic and class divisions, while governmental provision achieves a more equitable distribution of public services.