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A Historical Reconstruction of Capital and Labour in Italy, 1861-2013

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  • Claire Giordano
  • Francesco Zollino

Abstract

In this paper we spell out in detail the methodology underlying the construction of a new labour and capital stock dataset for Italy from 1861 through 2013. The existing seminal paper (Rossi, Sorgato and Toniolo 1993), much referred to in the literature, only covered the period 1911- 1990 for the former and 1890-1990 for the latter; moreover, it displayed little sectoral disaggregation. The labour dataset here presented includes both headcount (HC) and full-time equivalent (FTE) annual estimates of labour and is presented at a ten-sector level of disaggregation. Net capital stock annual estimates are instead broken down by asset type (means of transport; machinery and equipment; construction, in turn divided into residential and non-residential). Elaborations are conducted on the labour and capital series in order to gauge key features of the development and structural change of Italy's economy over more than 150 years of its unified history. The transparency and detail with which we here describe our methods and assumptions in our historical reconstruction open up the possibility of improvements and updates also by other scholars willing to take up the task. Meanwhile this dataset, combined with the new historical national accounts framework set up by a project coordinated by the Bank of Italy, finally makes a sectoral analysis of Italy's long-run development possible.

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  • Claire Giordano & Francesco Zollino, 2015. "A Historical Reconstruction of Capital and Labour in Italy, 1861-2013," Rivista di storia economica, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 2, pages 155-224.
    • Handle: RePEc:mul:jrkmxm:doi:10.1410/80598:y:2015:i:2:p:155-224
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    3. Broadberry, Stephen & Giordano, Claire & Zollino, Francesco, 2011. "A Sectoral Analysis of Italy's Development: 1861 -2010," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 62, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    4. Claire Giordano & Francesco Zollino, 2017. "Macroeconomic estimates of Italy�s mark-ups in the long-run, 1861-2012," Quaderni di storia economica (Economic History Working Papers) 39, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    5. Alberto Baffigi, 2011. "Italian National Accounts, 1861-2011," Quaderni di storia economica (Economic History Working Papers) 18, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
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    8. Roberto Torrini, 2005. "Profit Share and Returns on Capital Stock in Italy: the Role of Privatisations behind the Rise of the 1990s," CEP Discussion Papers dp0671, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
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    10. Ghazala Azmat & Alan Manning & John Van Reenen, 2012. "Privatization and the Decline of Labour's Share: International Evidence from Network Industries," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 79(315), pages 470-492, July.
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    12. Giulio Cainelli & Marco Stampini, 2002. "I censimenti industriali in Italia (1911-1991). Problemi di raccordo ed alcune evidenze empiriche a livello territoriale," Rivista di storia economica, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 2, pages 217-238.
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    1. Claire Giordano & Francesco Zollino, 2017. "Macroeconomic estimates of Italy�s mark-ups in the long-run, 1861-2012," Quaderni di storia economica (Economic History Working Papers) 39, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    2. Stefano Fenoaltea, 2020. "The fruits of disaggregation: The engineering industry, tariff protection, and the industrial investment cycle in Italy, 1861-1913," PSL Quarterly Review, Economia civile, vol. 73(292), pages 77-110.
    3. Marianna Riggi & Sergio Santoro, 2015. "On the Slope and the Persistence of the Italian Phillips Curve," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 11(2), pages 157-197, March.
    4. Giordano, Claire & Giugliano, Ferdinando, 2015. "A tale of two Fascisms: Labour productivity growth and competition policy in Italy, 1911–1951," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 25-38.
    5. Fenoaltea, Stefano, 2017. "The Growth of the Italian Economy, 1861-1913: Revised Second-Generation Production-Side Estimates," MPRA Paper 83508, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Giulia Mancini, 2018. "Women's Labor Force Participation in Italy, 1861-2011," Rivista di storia economica, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 1, pages 3-68.
    7. Giacomo Gabbuti, 2018. "Labour Shares and Income Inequality: Insights from Italian Economic History, 1895-2015," HHB Working Papers Series 13, The Historical Household Budgets Project.
    8. Fabio Clementi & Marco Gallegati & Mauro Gallegati, 2015. "Growth and Cycles of the Italian Economy Since 1861: The New Evidence," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 1(1), pages 25-59, March.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N00 - Economic History - - General - - - General
    • N01 - Economic History - - General - - - Development of the Discipline: Historiographical; Sources and Methods
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General

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