Banca d'Italia publishes today 'Napoleonic Administrative Reforms and Development in the Italian Mezzogiorno', the new issue of the series 'Economic History Working Papers'.
The paper studies how changes in the administrative hierarchy of a country affect development at the city level. The authors use the 1806 Napoleonic administrative reform implemented in the Kingdom of Naples as a historical experiment to assess whether district capitals with supra-municipal administrative functions enjoyed an urban development premium compared with non-capital cities.
The analysis finds that district capitals recorded a population growth premium throughout the 19th century (1828-1911) and experienced higher industrialization than non-capital cities, both before and after the Italian unification. The findings are explained through mechanisms relating to public goods provision and transport network accessibility.
