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Population Dynamics, Malthusian Crises and Boserupian Innovation in Pre-Industrial Societies: The Case Study of Northern Italy (ca. 1450-1800) in the Light of Lee’s "Dynamic Synthesis"

Author

Listed:
  • Guido Alfani

    (Bocconi University, Milan
    Dondena Centre for Research on Social Dynamics and IGIER)

Abstract

This article makes use of Lee’s ‘dynamic synthesis’, which aims to combine the views of Malthus and Boserup, to provide a new interpretation of population dynamics in Northern Italy from about 1450 to 1800. The article analyzes Lee’s theory and suggests that, even if it is difficult to test, it is useful both from the point of view of population theory and from that of interpretation of historical cases. Applying it to the Italian case, the article provides a new interpretation of the path that finally led the Italian population to escape long-term limits to demographic growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Guido Alfani, 2011. "Population Dynamics, Malthusian Crises and Boserupian Innovation in Pre-Industrial Societies: The Case Study of Northern Italy (ca. 1450-1800) in the Light of Lee’s "Dynamic Synthesis"," Rivista di Politica Economica, SIPI Spa, issue 2, pages 23-56, April-Jun.
    • Handle: RePEc:rpo:ripoec:y:2011:i:2:p:23-56
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Bruno Chiarini & Elisabetta Marzano, 2014. "Urbanization and Growth: Why Did the Splendor of the Italian Cities in the Sixteenth Century not Lead to Transition?," CESifo Working Paper Series 5038, CESifo.
    2. Alfani, Guido, 2015. "Economic Inequality in Northwestern Italy: A Long-Term View (Fourteenth to Eighteenth Centuries)," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 75(4), pages 1058-1096, December.
    3. Guido Alfani, 2015. "Famines in late Medieval and Early Modern Italy: A test for an advanced economy," Working Papers 082, "Carlo F. Dondena" Centre for Research on Social Dynamics (DONDENA), Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi.
    4. Alessandra Minello & Gianpiero Dalla Zuanna & Guido Alfani, 2017. "First signs of transition: The parallel decline of early baptism and early mortality in the province of Padua (northeast Italy), 1816‒1870," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 36(27), pages 759-802.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Malthus; Boserup; middle ages; early modern period; malthusian crises; plague; famine; agrarian innovation; demographic crises; population theory;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N53 - Economic History - - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Extractive Industries - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N93 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts

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