Spatial Heterogeneity and Economic Development in Italy: A Historical Perspective (1871-1991)

This work examines regional and provincial economic disparities in Italy over more than a century. The thesis has two main objectives. First, it reconstructs and refines large sets of historical data at a subnational level, filling crucial gaps in official statistics. Second, it applies these newly gathered datasets to investigate key research questions about the drivers of regional development, the role of early childcare in shaping female labor participation, and the significance of the informal economy for postwar Italian growth. After an introductory overview, the core chapters offer detailed methodologies for estimating provincial value-added figures during two critical periods of Italian history: the Liberal Age (1871–1911) and the Republican Age (1951–1991). By combining census data, archival records, and secondary sources, the thesis demonstrates how local features—such as industry specialization, migration dynamics, and agricultural patterns—evolved differently across provinces, thus contributing to Italy’s persistent North–South divide. Building on these new datasets, one chapter analyzes how access to nursery schools and childcare influenced female labor market participation. This research highlights the interplay between social policy and long-term economic development, revealing that historical investments in childcare could foster greater gender equality. Another chapter explores the challenges of measuring the informal (or “shadow”) economy and introduces an energy-based methodology to approximate its extent across Italian regions from the early postwar years to 2000. In synthesizing these findings, the dissertation underscores that both geography and historical path dependencies shaped Italy’s uneven development. By meticulously gathering provincial data and testing them in diverse empirical contexts, this thesis provides a fresh perspective on how local conditions, public policies, and cultural factors jointly influenced Italy’s economic trajectories.