Escaping from a human capital trap? Italy's regions and the move to centralized primary schooling, 1861–1936

The role played by public policy in the development of Italy's human capital in the late nineteenth century and the Interwar period has long remained unexplored by quantitative economic history. This article explores whether a system of decentralized primary education slowed down regional convergence in schooling, since poor and backward areas could not afford to invest a suitable amount of resources in education. It also investigates whether a more centralized system introduced in 1911 fostered the development of basic education and reduced the country's regional disparities. The analysis confirms the existence of such a human capital trap and shows that centralized primary education fostered the development of Italy's schooling in the Interwar period.