This thesis studies the long-run impact of China’s “Anti-Rightist Campaign” in 1957. The campaign was a severe political purge of educated people or intellectuals that resulted in the demotion, dismissal, and even ouster of more than a million Rightists. By exploring a unique dataset on county Rightists during this campaign, I document a significantly negative correlation between the severity of the purge of Rightists and the long-run consequences of county economic development. I further identify the channels by which the effects of the political repression may persist, and find that the effects can be attributed to the campaign’s severe impact on county human capital. I provide evidence that the oppression of schoolteachers during the campaign has resulted in negative effects...[ Read more ]

This thesis studies the long-run impact of China’s “Anti-Rightist Campaign” in 1957. The campaign was a severe political purge of educated people or intellectuals that resulted in the demotion, dismissal, and even ouster of more than a million Rightists. By exploring a unique dataset on county Rightists during this campaign, I document a significantly negative correlation between the severity of the purge of Rightists and the long-run consequences of county economic development. I further identify the channels by which the effects of the political repression may persist, and find that the effects can be attributed to the campaign’s severe impact on county human capital. I provide evidence that the oppression of schoolteachers during the campaign has resulted in negative effects on the educational attainment of the county population and poor human capital in terms of other aspects. Estimation results remain unchanged with additional controls and in instrumental approach. Thus, by necessarily connecting Mao's revolutionary history with contemporary China, this research suggests that the legacy of Mao's revolution, including the purge of educated people half a century ago, remains evident in contemporary Chinese society.

Key Words: political repression, Rightist, human capital