Global “Cultural Spheres” and the Introduction of Compulsory Schooling Around the World

Abstract

AbstractThis study investigates the diffusion of compulsory education in a global perspective. Compulsory education closely relates to the reproduction and change of culture and moderates the process of modernisation. We analyse the diffusion of compulsory education by focusing on the effect of a country’s membership in different "cultural spheres". Global cultural clusters of countries do not have rigid, clear-cut "fault lines". We capture the fuzzy-set nature of "cultural spheres" by using a relational approach. In the resulting network countries increasingly connect with a higher amount of cultural characteristics they share. We test the impact of cultural spheres on diffusion controlling for indicators of economic development. Exposure in terms of close cultural ties to other countries with compulsory education, significantly and substantially increases the rate of adoption.