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The demand for tobacco in post-unification Italy

Author

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  • Carlo Ciccarelli

    (Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza, Università di Roma “Tor Vergata”, Via Columbia 2, 00133, Rome, Italy)

  • Gianni De Fraja

    (Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza, Università di Roma “Tor Vergata”, Via Columbia 2, 00133, Rome, Italy ; Nottingham School of Economics, Sir Clive Granger Building, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK & C.E.P.R, 90-98 Goswell Street, London, EC1V 7DB, UK.)

Abstract

This paper studies the demand for tobacco products in post-unification Italy. We construct a very detailed panel data set of yearly consumption in the 69 Italian provinces from 1871 to 1913 and use it to estimate the demand for tobacco products. We find support for the Becker and Murphy (J Polit Econ 96:675–700, 1988) rational addiction model. We also find that, in the period considered, tobacco was a normal good in Italy: aggregate tobacco consumption increased with income. Subsequently, we consider separately the four types of products which aggregate tobacco comprises (fine-cut tobacco, snuff, cigars, and cigarettes), and tentatively suggest that habit formation was a stronger factor on the persistence of consumption than physical addiction. The paper ends by showing that the introduction of the Bonsack machine in the early 1890s did not coincide with changes in the structure of the demand for tobacco, suggesting cost-driven technological change.

Suggested Citation

  • Carlo Ciccarelli & Gianni De Fraja, 2014. "The demand for tobacco in post-unification Italy," Cliometrica, Journal of Historical Economics and Econometric History, Association Française de Cliométrie (AFC), vol. 8(2), pages 145-171, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:afc:cliome:v:8:y:2014:i:2:p:145-171
    DOI: 10.1007/s11698-013-0097-z
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    Cited by:

    1. Ciccarelli, Carlo & Elhorst, J.Paul, 2018. "A dynamic spatial econometric diffusion model with common factors: The rise and spread of cigarette consumption in Italy," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 131-142.
    2. Ciccarelli, Carlo & De Fraja, Gianni & Vuri, Daniela, 2021. "Effects of passive smoking on prenatal and infant development: Lessons from the past," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).
    3. Matteo Gomellini & Cormac Ó Gráda, 2019. "Brain Drain and Brain Gain in Italy and Ireland in the Age of Mass Migration," Palgrave Studies in Economic History, in: David Mitch & Gabriele Cappelli (ed.), Globalization and the Rise of Mass Education, chapter 0, pages 163-191, Palgrave Macmillan.
    4. Ciccarelli, Carlo & Missiaia, Anna, 2014. "Business fluctuations in Imperial Austria's regions, 1867-1913: new evidence," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 55963, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Carlo Ciccarelli & Pierpaolo Pierani & Silvia Tiezzi, 2014. "Secular trends in tobacco consumption: the case of Italy, 1871-2010," Department of Economics University of Siena 700, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    6. Carlo Ciccarelli & Jean Paul Elhorst, 2016. "A Spatial Diffusion Model with Common Factors and an Application to Cigarette Consumption," CEIS Research Paper 381, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 31 May 2016.
    7. Francesco Giffoni & Matteo Gomellini, 2015. "Brain Gain in the Age of Mass Migration," Quaderni di storia economica (Economic History Working Papers) 34, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    8. Carlo Ciccarelli & Pierpaolo Pierani & Silvia Tiezzi, 2018. "What Can We Learn about Smoking from 150 Years of Italian Data?," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 40(4), pages 695-717, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Smoking; Italian Kingdom; Rational addiction; Panel data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D11 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Theory
    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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