Discussion paper

DP14604 Internal Borders and Population Geography in the Unification of Italy

We examine the economic impact of Italian unification from a micro-geographical perspective, asking whether the abolition of internal borders caused a redistribution of economic activity towards the former border zones, which now enjoyed improved market access. We construct a new geocoded dataset of municipal (comune) populations from the pre-unification period through to 1871. Using a difference-in-differences approach and controlling for a variety of geographic correlates including elevation and distances to ports, railway lines, and large cities, we find robust evidence of a relative acceleration in population growth - our proxy for economic activity - in comuni near the former internal borders, consistent with our market access hypothesis.

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Citation

Rueda, V and B A'Hearn (2020), ‘DP14604 Internal Borders and Population Geography in the Unification of Italy‘, CEPR Discussion Paper No. 14604. CEPR Press, Paris & London. https://cepr.org/publications/dp14604