Sascha O. Becker|Ludger Woessmann
Was Weber Wrong? A Human Capital Theory of Protestant Economic History<sup>*</sup>
Ifo Institute for Economic Research|University of Stirling|Ifo Institute for Economic Research
max weber attributed higher economic prosperity protestant regions protestant work ethic provide alternative theory protestant economies prospered instruction reading bible generated human capital crucial economic prosperity test theory using countylevel data latenineteenthcentury prussia exploiting initial concentric dispersion reformation use distance wittenberg instrument protestantism find protestantism indeed led higher economic prosperity also better education results consistent protestants higher literacy accounting gap economic prosperity