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Civic Capital and Development: Italy, 1951-2001

Author

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  • Giuseppe Albanese

    (Bank of Italy)

  • Guido de Blasio

    (Bank of Italy)

Abstract

We empirically investigate the role of civic capital (proxied by voter turnout) in Italy's economic development in the second half of the Twentieth century. Using a unique dataset at the city level, we show that over a fifty-year span voter turnout was steadily correlated with economic development and that this reflected some causality running from the former to the latter. We also find that the impact of civic capital was greater in the period immediately after the Second World War and gradually waned in the following decades.

Suggested Citation

  • Giuseppe Albanese & Guido de Blasio, 2014. "Civic Capital and Development: Italy, 1951-2001," Quaderni di storia economica (Economic History Working Papers) 32, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    • Handle: RePEc:bdi:workqs:qse_32
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    Cited by:

    1. Guido Blasio & Samuele Poy, 2017. "THE IMPACT OF LOCAL WAGE REGULATION ON EMPLOYMENT: A BORDER ANALYSIS FROM ITALY IN THE 1950s," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(1), pages 48-74, January.
    2. Giuseppe Terzo, 2022. "Investigating the link between social cooperation sector and economic well‐being of Italian provinces through the lens of social capital," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(4), pages 1041-1062, December.
    3. Francesco Giffoni & Matteo Gomellini & Dario Pellegrino, 2019. "Human Capital And Urban Growth In Italy, 1981–2001," Review of Urban & Regional Development Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1-2), pages 77-101, March.
    4. Guido de Blasio & Samuele Poy, 2014. "The impact of local minimum wages on employment: evidence from Italy in the 1950s," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 953, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    5. Nadia Fiorino & Emma Galli & Nicola Pontarollo, 2021. "Does Social Capital Affect Voter Turnout? Evidence from Italy," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 156(1), pages 289-309, July.
    6. Giuseppe Albanese & Emma Galli & Ilde Rizzo & Carla Scaglioni, 2019. "Building the Glass House: Transparency and Civic Capital across Italian municipalities," Working papers 84, Società Italiana di Economia Pubblica.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    civic capital; development; Italy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General
    • O43 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Institutions and Growth

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