The Effect of Normal Education on Economic Development: Evidence from Modern China

Based on the historical situation of the development of normal education in China in the late Qing Dynasty, this paper empirically analyzes the impact of normal education on economic development. Using the dual differences of teacher education in time and region to construct an identification strategy, this study found that compared with before the birth of normal education, areas with more rapid development of normal education experienced faster population growth than areas with slower development of normal education, indicating that normal education in the late Qing Dynasty promoted the economic development of modern China; moreover, the positive role of normal education was more prominent in areas with poor initial economic conditions, which meant that normal education had the potential to promote regional economic convergence; in addition, the main path for normal education to promote economic development is to provide teachers for modern elementary schools. This study is the first to analyze the relationship between normal education and economic development, which reflects the recent economic research’s attention to the difference in the economic contribution of different education. The conclusion also has certain policy reference value for education and economic development in countries with weak educational foundations.