An Expanding Monetary Economy

Abstract

During the second half of the nineteenth century, available estimates indicate that school spending increased in country after country. In Russia, the outlays on education of the zemstvos (a local government body) increased from 1.6 million rubles in 1871 to 25.3 million rubles in 1906; in The Netherlands, the government’s expenditure on primary education increased from 2.3 million guilders in 1860 to 17.6 million guilders in 1900; in France, the public spending (all levels of government) on primary education increased from 280,000 francs in 1850 to 2 million francs in 1900; in Prussia, the public expenditure on primary schools increased from 33 million marks in 1864 to 227.6 million marks in 1901.¹