Construction in Italy's regions, 1861-1913

Ciccarelli, Carlo and Fenoaltea, Stefano (2008): Construction in Italy's regions, 1861-1913.

Abstract

This paper presents time-series estimates of construction activity in the regions of post-Unification Italy. Total construction followed very different time paths, reflecting the sharply local cycles in railway construction. Other public works were less idiosyncratic; the boom of the Giolitti years was widely diffused, but that of the 1880s was much more concentrated in Latium and Liguria. In the construction of buildings, the Giolittian boom was marked in the North and Center, but spotty in the South and major islands; earlier swings were comparatively minor, save of course for the 1880s bubble in Latium. Over the long term, railway construction was, per-capita, relatively evenly spread. Other social-overhead construction displays a similar pattern, but with exceptionally high levels in Latium and Liguria. Building construction seems instead to have declined somewhat from North to South; Liguria was again the overall leader, with Latium second.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Subjects: N - Economic History > N6 - Manufacturing and Construction > N63 - Europe: Pre-1913; N - Economic History > N9 - Regional and Urban History > N93 - Europe: Pre-1913; L - Industrial Organization > L7 - Industry Studies: Primary Products and Construction > L74 - Construction

References

C. Ciccarelli and S. Fenoaltea, "The Growth of the Utilities Industries in Italy's Regions, 1861-1913," Rivista di storia economica, in press.

C. Ciccarelli and S. Fenoaltea, "Social-Overhead Construction in Italy's Regions, 1861-1913," Research in Economic History, forthcoming.

S. Fenoaltea, "Railway Construction in Italy, 1861-1913," Rivista di storia economica I, International issue (1984), pp. 27-58.

Id., "Public Works Construction in Italy, 1861-1913," Rivista di storia economica III, International issue (1986), pp. 1-33.

Id., "Construction in Italy, 1861-1913," Rivista di storia economica IV, International issue (1987), pp. 21-53.