Data and Code for: The Dynamic Consequences of State-Building: Evidence from the French Revolution

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Cédric Chambru, ENS Lyon; Emeric Henry, Sciences Po; Benjamin Marx, Boston University

Version: View help for Version V1

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
code			07/22/2024 06:09:PM
data			02/20/2024 04:10:PM
output			02/20/2024 04:10:PM
README.pdf	application/pdf	524.8 KB	07/24/2024 09:27:AM

Project Citation:

Chambru, Cédric, Henry, Emeric, and Marx, Benjamin. Data and Code for: The Dynamic Consequences of State-Building: Evidence from the French Revolution. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2024. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2024-09-19. https://doi.org/10.3886/E198461V1

Project Description

Summary: How do radical reforms of the state shape economic development over time? In 1790, France's first Constituent Assembly overhauled the kingdom's organization to set up new administrative entities and local capitals. In a subset of new artificial departments, the choice of local capitals at the expense of rival candidate cities was plausibly exogenous. Comparing capitals with other candidate cities that were not ultimately chosen, we study how changes in local administrative presence affect economic development in the ensuing decades. In the short run, administrative proximity increases taxation and investments in law enforcement. This gradually translates into higher levels of public goods provision, while economic benefits only materialize in the longer run. One hundred years after the reform, capitals are 40% more populated than other candidate cities. Our results shed new light on the dynamic and redistributive impacts of state-building in the context of one of the most ambitious administrative reforms ever implemented.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms: Administrative Reform; Economic Development; State Capacity; State-Building

JEL Classification:
      D70 Analysis of Collective Decision-Making: General
      H41 Public Goods
      H71 State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
      O43 Institutions and Growth

Geographic Coverage: France

Time Period(s): 1789 – 2015

Methodology

Collection Mode(s): other; web scraping

Unit(s) of Observation: Municipality

Geographic Unit: Municipality

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Published Versions

V1 [2024-09-19]

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