The Bank of Italy published Quaderni di Storia Economica No. 54, “Napoleonic Administrative Reforms and Development in the Italian Mezzogiorno”, examining how changes in a country’s administrative hierarchy can affect urban development. The study uses the 1806 Napoleonic administrative reform in the Kingdom of Naples as a historical experiment to test whether cities designated as district capitals, and given supra-municipal administrative functions, developed differently from non-capital cities. The results indicate that district capitals recorded higher population growth across the nineteenth century (1828–1911) and experienced greater industrialisation than non-capital cities, both before and after Italian unification. The findings are linked to mechanisms associated with public goods provision and improved accessibility to the transport network.
Bank of Italy 2025-04-16
Bank of Italy publishes research finding Napoleonic district-capital status boosted urban growth in southern Italy
The Bank of Italy released Quaderni di Storia Economica No. 54, analyzing the impact of Napoleonic administrative reforms on urban development in the Italian Mezzogiorno. The study found that cities designated as district capitals experienced higher population growth and industrialization compared to non-capital cities, attributed to enhanced public goods provision and transport network accessibility.