Agricultural policy and long-run development: evidence from Mussolini's Battle for Grain

Carillo, Mario Francesco (2018): Agricultural policy and long-run development: evidence from Mussolini's Battle for Grain.

Abstract

This paper explores the effect of agricultural policies on industrialization and economic development over the long-run. I analyze the differential effect of the \textit{Battle for Grain}, implemented by the Italian Fascist regime to achieve self-sufficiency in wheat production, on the development path across areas of Italy. Employing time variation, along with cross-sectional variation in the suitability of land for the implementation of the advanced wheat production technologies, I find that the policy had unintended positive effects on industrialization and economic prosperity which persisted until the contemporary period. Furthermore, I find that the positive effect of the \textit{Battle for Grain} on human capital accumulation was instrumental in this process, suggesting that the complementarity between human capital and agricultural technology may be a critical mechanism through which agricultural productivity may enhance the development of non-agricultural sectors.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Agricultural Policy; Agricultural Productivity; Industrialization; Human Capital; Long-run Dve
• Subjects: F - International Economics > F1 - Trade > F13 - Trade Policy ; International Trade Organizations; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Demand and Supply of Labor > J24 - Human Capital ; Skills ; Occupational Choice ; Labor Productivity; N - Economic History > N5 - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment, and Extractive Industries > N54 - Europe: 1913-; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O13 - Agriculture ; Natural Resources ; Energy ; Environment ; Other Primary Products; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O14 - Industrialization ; Manufacturing and Service Industries ; Choice of Technology; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O2 - Development Planning and Policy > O25 - Industrial Policy; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Innovation ; Research and Development ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights > O33 - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences ; Diffusion Processes; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Biofuels ; Agricultural Extension Services; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q17 - Agriculture in International Trade; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy

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