This archival dataset supports a study on the impact of colonial Indian railroads on human capital. The analysis uses district-level data and identification strategies to measure effects on literacy, including male and English literacy, and links outcomes to schooling types and economic mechanisms.
Use Cases
- Analyze the relationship between railroad presence and district-level literacy rates.
- Investigate the differential effects on male literacy versus English literacy.
- Study the mediating role of non-agricultural income and urbanization on literacy outcomes.
- Examine the link between railroad development and secondary or elite primary schooling.
Strengths
- Data is derived from a published academic study on a major historical public investment.
- Analysis employs two different identification strategies for causal inference.
- The study investigates specific mechanisms like schooling types and economic factors.
Limitations
- The dataset's structure, including row count, column names, and file formats, is unknown.
- Data is archival and focused on a historical colonial period, limiting contemporary applicability.
- Potential geographic bias as the study is confined to colonial India.
Provenance
- Source
- ICPSR Harvested Dataverse
- Collection Method
- District-level data compiled for academic research on colonial Indian railroads.
- Time Range
- Colonial period of India.
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Colonial India, district-level.