Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP17089
Authors: Giampaolo Lecce; Laura Ogliari; Tommaso Orlando
Abstract: What determines violent reaction during state formation processes? To address this question, we exploit the uprisings that occurred when southern Italy was annexed to Piedmont during Italian unification in the 1860s. We assemble a novel dataset on episodes of brigandage, a form of violent rebellion against the unitary government, and on pre-unification social and economic characteristics of southern Italian municipalities. We find that the intensity of brigandage is ceteris paribus lower in and close to settlements of Piedmontese origin. We argue that geographical distance from these communities is a proxy for cultural distance from the Piedmontese rulers. Thus, our results suggest that, in the context of state formation, cultural proximity to the new ruler reduces social unrest by local communities. After ruling out alternative mechanisms consistent with the economic literature, we provide suggestive evidence of cultural persistence and diffusion in our context, and discuss two possible culture-based drivers of our results: social identification with the Piedmontese rulers, and a clash between local values andsome specific content of the new institutions.
Keywords: cultural diffusion; culture; institutions; social unrest; state formation
JEL Codes: N43; D74; P16; Z10
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Geographical distance from Piedmontese communities (N93) | Intensity of brigandage (D74) |
| Cultural proximity to Piedmontese rulers (N93) | Intensity of brigandage (D74) |
| Proximity to Piedmontese communities (N93) | Social identification with Piedmontese rulers (N93) |
| Proximity to Piedmontese communities (N93) | Alignment of local social norms with new institutions (F55) |