The Dynamic Consequences of State Building: Evidence from the French Revolution

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Chambru, Cedric; Henry, Emeric; Marx, Benjamin
• 署名单位: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon (ENS de LYON); Institut d'Etudes Politiques Paris (Sciences Po); Boston University; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0002-8282
• DOI: 10.1257/aer.20220110
• 发表日期: 2024
• 页码: 3578-3622
• 关键词: economic-development; capacity; inference

摘要

How do radical reforms shape economic development over time? In 1790, the French Constituent Assembly overhauled the kingdom's organization to establish new local capitals. In some departments, the choice of local capitals over rival candidate cities was plausibly exogenous. We study how changes in administrative presence affect state capacity and development in the ensuing decades. In the short run, administrative proximity increases taxation and investments in law enforcement. In the long run, capitals obtain more public goods and grow faster. Our results shed light on the dynamic impacts of state building following one of history's most ambitious administrative reforms. ( JEL D70, H41, H71, O18, O43)