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Pork, Infrastructure and Growth: Evidence from the Italian Railway Expansion

Author

Listed:
  • Facchini, Giovanni
  • Bonfatti, Roberto
  • Tarasov, Alexander
  • Tedeschi, Gian Luca
  • Testa, Cecilia

Abstract

This paper studies the role played by politics in shaping the Italian railway network, and its impact on long-run growth patterns. Examining a large state-planned railway expansion that took place during the second half of the 19th century in a recently unified country, we first study how both national and local political processes shaped the planned railway construction. Exploiting close elections, we show that a state-funded railway line is more likely to be planned for construction where the local representative is aligned with the government. Furthermore, the actual path followed by the railways was shaped by local pork-barreling, with towns supporting winning candidates more likely to see a railway crossing their territory. Finally, we explore the long-run effects of the network expansion on economic development. Employing population and economic censuses for the entire 20th century, we show that politics at a critical juncture played a key role in explaining the long-run evolution of local economies.

Suggested Citation

  • Facchini, Giovanni & Bonfatti, Roberto & Tarasov, Alexander & Tedeschi, Gian Luca & Testa, Cecilia, 2021. "Pork, Infrastructure and Growth: Evidence from the Italian Railway Expansion," CEPR Discussion Papers 16462, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:16462
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    Cited by:

    1. is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Mehic, Adrian, 2024. "Infrastructure Expansion, Tourism, and Electoral Outcomes," Working Paper Series 1490, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    3. Alban de Gmeline, 2025. "The impact of rail development on press diffusion and vote in France during the Third Republic (1870-1940)," Working Papers 41, Department of Economic and Social History at the University of Cambridge, revised 09 Mar 2025.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • N01 - Economic History - - General - - - Development of the Discipline: Historiographical; Sources and Methods
    • N73 - Economic History - - Economic History: Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, and Other Services - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior

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