Earthquakes, Religion, and Transition to Self-Government in Italian Cities
| Autor: | Marianna Belloc, Francesco Drago, Roberto Galbiati |
|---|---|
| Přispěvatelé: | Università degli Studi di Roma 'La Sapienza' = Sapienza University [Rome], Università degli studi di Napoli Federico II, Département d'économie (Sciences Po) (ECON), Sciences Po (Sciences Po)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) |
| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
religious preferences
Economics and Econometrics Economic growth JEL: D - Microeconomics/D.D7 - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making/D.D7.D72 - Political Processes: Rent-Seeking Lobbying Elections Legislatures and Voting Behavior jel:Z12 institutional change Population Autocracy JEL: D - Microeconomics/D.D0 - General/D.D0.D02 - Institutions: Design Formation Operations and Impact JEL: Z - Other Special Topics/Z.Z1 - Cultural Economics • Economic Sociology • Economic Anthropology/Z.Z1.Z12 - Religion jel:D02 Social order Politics JEL: D - Microeconomics/D.D7 - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making/D.D7.D74 - Conflict • Conflict Resolution • Alliances • Revolutions 0502 economics and business 050602 political science & public administration Economics Earthquakes JEL: P - Economic Systems/P.P1 - Capitalist Systems/P.P1.P16 - Political Economy 050207 economics education Outrage education.field_of_study Government [SHS.SOCIO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Sociology 050208 finance Self-Government Interpretation (philosophy) jel:D74 05 social sciences jel:D72 [SHS.ECO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Economics and Finance Italian cities natural disasters 0506 political science Religion Shock (economics) Political economy jel:P16 |
| Zdroj: | The, 131(4), 1875-1926 (2016-07) Quarterly Journal of Economics Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press (OUP), 2016, 131 (4), pp.1875-1926. ⟨10.1093/qje/qjw020⟩ |
| ISSN: | 1556-5068 0033-5533 1531-4650 |
| DOI: | 10.2139/ssrn.2692532 |
| Popis: | This article presents a unique historical experiment to explore the dynamics of institutional change in the Middle Ages. We have assembled a novel data set, where information on political institutions for northern central Italian cities between 1000 and 1300 is matched with detailed information on the earthquakes that occurred in the area and period of interest. Exploiting the panel structure of the data, we document that the occurrence of an earthquake retarded institutional transition from autocratic regimes to self-government (the commune) in cities where the political and the religious leaders were the same person (episcopal see cities), but not in cities where political and religious powers were distinct (non–episcopal see cities). Such differential effect holds for destructive seismic episodes and for events that were felt by the population but did not cause any material damage to persons or objects. Ancillary results show that seismic events provoked a positive and statistically significant differential effect on the construction and further ornamentation of religious buildings between episcopal and non–episcopal see cities. Our findings are consistent with the idea that earthquakes, interpreted in the Middle Ages as manifestation of the will and outrage of God, represented a shock to people’s religious beliefs and, as a consequence, enhanced the ability of political-religious leaders to restore social order after a crisis relative to the emerging communal institutions. This interpretation is supported by historical evidence. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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