Publié le 14 février 2025 – Mis à jour le 19 février 2025
Lieu(x)
Pôle Tertiaire - Site La Rotonde - 26 avenue Léon Blum - 63000 Clermont-Ferrand

Séminaire recherche. School Clustering and Religious Competition: Persistence of Educational Inequality in Colonial and Post-Colonial D.R. Congo

Catherine Guirkinger 
University de Namur

Résumé

A large literature shows that investments in human capital during the 19th and early 20th centuries in former colonial empires have persistent effects on educational attainment today, shaping educational inequalities. However, the underlying mechanisms driving these persistent effects remain poorly understood. This paper addresses this gap by examining the case of colonial Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Using detailed contemporary and historical microdata, we analyze both demand-side and supply-side mechanisms. On the supply side, our results show a striking concentration of contemporary schools around historical missions. Importantly, this agglomeration effect appears to be driven by competition among religious schools of different denominations. Given that distance to school has a greater impact on enrollment for girls than for boys, this concentration of schools around historical missions tends to exacerbate gender inequalities, especially for children living farther away. This helps to explain the stronger long-term impact of colonial schools on women than on men. Regarding demand-side mechanisms, we find that Catholic and Protestant missionary education led to different levels of intergenerational transmission and educational mobility. However, the quantitative importance of these channels is limited in this context.