We study the effect of railroads, the single largest public investment in colonial India, on human capital. Using district-level data on literacy and two different identification strategies, we find railroads had positive effects on literacy, in particular on male and English literacy. We show that railroads increased literacy by raising secondary and elite primary schooling, rather than vernacular primary schooling. Our mediation analysis suggests that non-agricultural income, urbanization, and opportunities for skilled employment are important mechanisms, while agricultural income is not.

中文翻译：

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印度的铁路、发展和扫盲

我们研究铁路（殖民地印度最大的单一公共投资）对人力资本的影响。使用地区级识字率数据和两种不同的识别策略，我们发现铁路对识字率有积极影响，特别是对男性和英语识字率。我们表明，铁路通过提高中学和精英小学教育而不是白话小学教育来提高识字率。我们的中介分析表明，非农收入、城市化和技术就业机会是重要机制，而农业收入则不是。