%N 6
%L eprints2728
%D 2015
%X 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
%A Traviss Cassidy
%A Mark Dincecco
%A Massimiliano Gaetano Onorato
%K Keywords: warfare, cities, political and economic development, Europe - JEL codes: C20, O10, N40, N90, P48, R11
%I IMT Institute for Advanced Studies Lucca
%O Updated on March 2016
%T The Economic Legacy of Warfare: Evidence from European Regions