Research

"Spread the Word: Mass Media, Language and Propaganda in Fascist Italy"

This paper provides microeconomic evidence on the effect of radio exposure on language convergence and cultural homogenization. Building on archival data on radio station transmitters, I focus on the expansion of a politically-controlled radio network in fascist Italy. I combine predicted measures of radio signal strength with metrics of linguistic convergence computed using a unique collection of nearly 500,000 linguistic entries. Exploiting quasi-random variation in radio exposure due to spatial differences in ground conductivity, I provide causal evidence on both signal strength and duration of coverage positively shaping the process of linguistic homogenization. Regarding possible mechanisms, I find that regions distant from the political capital, literacy rate and business-related occupations were key drivers of language convergence. Additionally, I explore the mass persuasion effects of propaganda in molding cultural values, by documenting positive effects of fascist radio coverage on fertility rates. Heterogeneous results suggest that linguistic proximity to the broadcasting language plays a significant role in determining the effectiveness of propaganda absorption.

"Railroads, Local Shocks and Individual Opportunities: Evidence from Nineteenth Century America", with Clément Bosquet

Draft and slides available upon request

We provide microeconomic evidence on the effect of railroad infrastructure driving local economic shocks and shaping individuals’ opportunities. Building on historical transportation maps and individual-level longitudinal data, we focus on the expansion of the railway network in the nineteenth century United-States. Exploiting time-variation in railroad-induced market access in a DiD fashion, we document substantial shifts in the local economic structure at the county-level. We address endogeneous placement of the network using a version of market access purged of the effects of population changes and of nearby counties. We then look at individuals’ trajectories and examine the relative contributions of the occupations transitioning, labor market entrance and geographic mobility channels. Our results suggest that if railroad poorly affects individuals transitioning on average, market access plays a key role in the inter-generational farm succession process. Additionally, we show that changes in market access persistently shape career paths of young workers. Lastly, we show that railroads act as a driving force in the inter-county population flows. This railroad attractiveness is paired with substantial effects on occupational shifts for movers, underscoring railroad-induced geographic mobility as a prime factor of intra-generational social mobility.

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