Military conflict and the rise of urban Europe

We present new evidence about the relationship between military conflict and city population growth in Europe from the fall of Charlemagne’s empire to the start of the Industrial Revolution. Military conflict was a main feature of European history. We argue that cities were safe harbors from conflic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of economic growth (Boston, Mass.) Mass.), 2016-09, Vol.21 (3), p.259-282
Main Authors: Dincecco, Mark, Onorato, Massimiliano Gaetano
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Causality
Cities
Econometrics
Economic development
Economic Growth
Economic models
Economic statistics
Economic theory
Economics
Economics and Finance
European history
Industrial Revolution
International Economics
Macroeconomics/Monetary Economics//Financial Economics
Nation states
Political economy
Political power
Population growth
Roman civilization
Rural areas
Studies
Trends
Urban areas
Urbanization
War
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Summary:We present new evidence about the relationship between military conflict and city population growth in Europe from the fall of Charlemagne’s empire to the start of the Industrial Revolution. Military conflict was a main feature of European history. We argue that cities were safe harbors from conflict threats. To test this argument, we construct a novel database that geocodes the locations of more than 800 conflicts between 800 and 1799. We find a significant, positive, and robust relationship that runs from conflict exposure to city population growth. Our analysis suggests that military conflict played a key role in the rise of urban Europe.
ISSN:1381-4338
1573-7020
DOI:10.1007/s10887-016-9129-4