@techreport{eprints2728,
          author = {Traviss Cassidy and Mark Dincecco and Massimiliano Gaetano Onorato},
            note = {Updated on March 2016},
       publisher = {IMT Institute for Advanced Studies Lucca},
            type = {EIC working paper series},
     institution = {IMT Institute for Advanced Studies Lucca},
           month = {July},
            year = {2015},
           title = {The Economic Legacy of Warfare: Evidence from European Regions},
        keywords = {Keywords: warfare, cities, political and economic development, Europe - JEL codes: C20, O10, N40, N90, P48, R11},
        abstract = {Historical warfare in Europe inflicted numerous costs on rural populations. To reduce
such costs, rural populations relocated behind the relative safety of urban fortifications.
We argue that war-related urbanization had positive consequences for long-run regional
economic development. We geocode the locations of more than 600 conflicts in early
modern Europe. We find a positive and significant relationship between historical conflict
exposure and regional economic development today. Our results are robust to a wide
range of econometric techniques, alternative samples, and economic outcomes. Human
capital accumulation stands out as one channel through which war-related urbanization
translated into regional economic development. Our results highlight the military origins
of Europe?s wealthy urban belt},
             url = {http://eprints.imtlucca.it/2728/}
}