Internal Borders and Population Geography in the Unification of Italy

Abstract

We offer new evidence on the spatial economic impact of Italian unification. Adopting municipal population as a proxy for local economic activity, we construct a new geocoded dataset spanning the pre- and post-unification periods and discover robust evidence of an acceleration in growth near the former borders. A disproportionate improvement in market access boosted growth in these locations when barriers to trade were dismantled. Indirectly, unification's decisive contribution to intraregional market integration, local specialization and exchange, and economic development is revealed.