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Institutions and literacy rates: the legacy of Napoleonic reforms in Italy
[The consequences of radical reform: the French Revolution]

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  • M POSTIGLIOLA
  • M ROTA

Abstract

The provincial gap in human capital at the time of Italy’s unification is a plausible explanation for the North–South divide of the following decades. We show that the roots of the literacy gap that existed in 1861 can be traced back to Napoleonic educational reforms enacted between 1801 and 1814. We use exogenous variation in provincial distance to Paris to quantify effects, linking the duration of Napoleonic control to human capital. If the south had experienced the same Napoleonic impact as the north, southern literacy rates would have been up to 70 percent higher than they were in 1861.

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  • M Postigliola & M Rota, 2021. "Institutions and literacy rates: the legacy of Napoleonic reforms in Italy [The consequences of radical reform: the French Revolution]," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 25(4), pages 757-779.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:ereveh:v:25:y:2021:i:4:p:757-779.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/ereh/heaa021
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    Cited by:

    1. Marx, Benjamin & Chambru, Cédric & Henry, Emeric, 2021. "The Dynamic Consequences of State-Building: Evidence from the French Revolution," CEPR Discussion Papers 16815, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

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