Graziella BERTOCCHI - personale UniMoRe

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Graziella BERTOCCHI

Professore Ordinario
Dipartimento di Economia "Marco Biagi"

Pubblicazioni

2024 - Il Nobel a Claudia Goldin: le determinanti delle differenze di genere nel mercato del lavoro. [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

Claudia Goldin has received the Nobel Prize for her analysis of gender differences in the labor market. Adopting a historical perspective, she has shown how the evolution of the employment status of women during the past two centuries has been influenced not only by structural transformation but also by social norms, family structure, and education expansion.

2023 - Adams and Eves: High school math and the gender gap in Economics majors [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Bonacini, Luca; Murat, Marina
abstract

Why so few women graduate in Economics? We investigate the gender gap among Italian university graduates in Economics between 2010 and 2019. With women's probability of graduating in Economics being 27% lower than men's, the gap is larger than in Business and even STEM. The association between the gender gap and the mathematical content of high school curricula is especially strong in Economics. A triple difference analysis shows that a reform raising the mathematical content of traditionally low math curricula caused an increase in the gender gap, with women's probability of graduating in Economics decreasing by 12 percentage points.

2023 - The Financial Decisions of Immigrant and Native Households: Evidence from Italy [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Brunetti, Marianna; ZAICEVA - RAZZOLINI, Anzelika
abstract

Using rich Italian data for the period 2006–2014, we analyze differences in financial behavior between natives and immigrants in a unified setting covering a wide set of outcomes and including a large set of covariates. We document sizeable gaps between native and immigrant households with respect to wealth holdings and financial decisions. Immigrant household heads hold less net wealth than native along the entire wealth distribution. Immigrant status reduces the likelihood of holding risky assets, housing, mortgages, businesses, and valuables, and it increases the likelihood of financial fragility. Standard regression results are corroborated by a propensity score matching strategy. Years since migration, country of origin, and the pattern of intermarriage also matter. The Great Recession has worsened the condition of immigrants in terms of wealth holdings, home ownership, and financial fragility.

2022 - JUE Insight: COVID-19, Race, and Gender [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Dimico, Arcangelo
abstract

The evidence on the demographics of COVID-19 fatalities points to an overrepresentation of minorities and an underrepresentation of women. We investigate the joint impact of race and gender using individual-level georeferenced death data collected by the Cook County Medical Examiner, which we structure as a cell-level panel at a race, block group, week, and year level. Through an event study approach, we establish that Black individuals are affected more harshly than White and that the effect is driven by Black women. The Black female bias is associated with occupational segregation in the health care and transportation sectors and by commuting on public transport.

2022 - Racial Inequalities and the COVID-19 Pandemic [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Dimico, Arcangelo
abstract

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, evidence has been accumulating about its disproportionate impact on racial and ethnic minorities, for a variety of health outcomes including infection, hospitalization, death, and vaccination rates. To address and quantify the extent to which minorities are disproportionally affected by COVID-19 is essential to understanding how to implement appropriate prioritization strategies for future vaccination campaigns.

2022 - Strangers and Foreigners: Trust and Attitudes toward Citizenship [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Dimico, A.; Tedeschi, G. L.
abstract

We analyze the relationship between natives’ attitudes towards citizenship acquisition for foreigners and trust. Our hypothesis is that, in sub-Saharan Africa, the slave trade represents the deep factor behind contemporary attitudes toward citizenship, with more intense exposure to historical slave exports for an individual’s ethnic group being associated with contemporary distrust for strangers, and in turn opposition to citizenship laws that favor the inclusion of foreigners. We find that individuals who are more trusting do show more positive attitudes towards the acquisition of citizenship at birth for children of foreigners, that these attitudes are also negatively related to the intensity of the slave trade, and that the underlying link between trust and the slave trade is confirmed. Alternative factors—conflict, kinship, and witchcraft beliefs—that, through trust, may affect attitudes toward citizenship, are not generating the same distinctive pattern of linkages emerging from the slave trade.

2022 - Strangers and Foreigners: Trust and Attitudes toward Citizenship [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Dimico, A.; Tedeschi, G. L.
abstract

We analyze the relationship between natives' attitudes towards citizenship acquisition for foreigners and trust. Our hypothesis is that, in sub-Saharan Africa, the slave trade represents the deep factor behind contemporary attitudes toward citi zenship, with more intense exposure to historical slave exports for an individual's ethnic group being associated with contemporary distrust for strangers, and in turn opposition to citizenship laws that favor the inclusion of foreigners. We nd that individuals who are more trusting do show more positive attitudes towards the acquisition of citizenship at birth for children of foreigners, that these attitudes are also negatively related to the intensity of the slave trade, and that the underlying link between trust and the slave trade is confirmed. Alternative factors - conflict,, kinship, and witchcraft beliefs- that, through trust, may affect attitudes toward citizenship, are not generating the same distinctive pattern of linkages emerging from the slave trade.

2021 - Adams and Eves: The Gender Gap in Economics Majors [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Bonacini L, .; Murat, M.
abstract

We investigate the gender gap in Economics among bachelor’s and master’s graduates in Italy between 2010 and 2019. First we establish that being female exerts a negative impact on the choice to major in Economics: at the bachelor level, only 73 women graduate in Economics for every 100 men, with the mathematical content of high school curricula as the key driver of the effect and a persistence of the gap at the master level. Second, within a full menu of major choices, Economics displays the largest gap, followed by STEM and then Business Economics. Third, decomposition analyses expose a unique role for the math background in driving the Economics gender gap relative to other fields. Fourth, a triple difference analysis of a high school reform shows that an increase in the math content of traditionally low math curricula caused an increase in the Economics gender gap among treated students.

2021 - Adams and Eves: The Gender Gap in Economics Majors [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Bonacini, L.; Murat, M.
abstract

We investigate the gender gap in Economics among bachelor's and master's graduates in Italy between 2010 and 2019. First we establish that being female exerts a negative impact on the choice to major in Economics: at the bachelor level, only 73 women graduate in Economics for every 100 men, with the mathematical content of high school curricula as the key driver of the eect and a persistence of the gap at the master level. Second, within a full menu of major choices, Economics displays the largest gap, followed by STEM and then Business Economics. Third, decomposition analyses expose a unique role for the math background in driving the Economics gender gap relative to other elds. Fourth, a triple difference analysis of a high school reform shows that an increase in the math content of traditionally low math curricula caused an increase in the Economics gender gap among treated students.

2021 - Adams and Eves: The Gender Gap in Economics Majors [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Bonacini, L.; Murat, M.
abstract

We investigate the gender gap in Economics among bachelor's and master's grad- uates in Italy between 2010 and 2019. First we establish that being female exerts a negative impact on the choice to major in Economics: at the bachelor level, only 73 women graduate in Economics for every 100 men, with the mathematical con- tent of high school curricula as the key driver of the effect and a persistence of the gap at the master level. Second, within a full menu of major choices, Economics displays the largest gap, followed by STEM and then Business Economics. Third, decomposition analyses expose a unique role for the math background in driving the Economics gender gap relative to other fields. Fourth, a triple difference analysis of a high school reform shows that an increase in the math content of traditionally low math curricula caused an increase in the Economics gender gap among treated students.

2021 - COVID-19, Race, and Gender [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Dimico, A.
abstract

The mounting evidence on the demographics of COVID-19 fatalities points to an overrepresentation of minorities and an underrepresentation of women. Using individual-level, race-disaggregated, and georeferenced death data collected by the Cook County Medical Examiner, we jointly investigate the racial and gendered impact of COVID-19, its timing, and its determinants. Through an event study approach we establish that Blacks individuals are affected earlier and more harshly and that the effect is driven by Black women. Rather than comorbidity or aging, the Black female bias is associated with poverty and channeled by occupational seg- regation in the health care and transportation sectors and by commuting on public transport. Living arrangements and lack of health insurance are instead found uninfuential. The Black female bias is spatially concentrated in neighborhoods that were subject to historical redlining.

2020 - Bitter Sugar: Slavery and the Black Family [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Dimico, A.
abstract

We empirically assess the effect of historical slavery on the African American family structure. Our hypothesis is that female single headship among blacks is more likely to emerge in association not with slavery per se, but with slavery in sugar plantations, since the extreme demographic and social conditions prevailing in the latter have persistently affected family formation patterns. By exploiting the exogenous variation in sugar suitability, we establish the following. In 1850, sugar suitability is indeed associated with extreme demographic outcomes within the slave population. Over the period 1880-1940, higher sugar suitability determines a higher likelihood of single female headship. The effect is driven by blacks and starts fading in 1920 in connection with the Great Migration. OLS estimates are complemented with a matching estimator and a fuzzy RDD. Over a linked sample between 1880 and 1930, we identify an even stronger intergenerational legacy of sugar planting for migrants. By 1990, the effect of sugar is replaced by that of slavery and the black share, consistent with the spread of its influence through migration and intermarriage, and black incarceration emerges as a powerful mediator. By matching slaves’ ethnic origins with ethnographic data we rule out any influence of African cultural traditions.

2020 - COVID-19, Race, and Redlining [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Dimico, A.
abstract

Discussion on the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on African Americans has been at center stage since the outbreak of the epidemic in the United States. To present day, however, lack of race-disaggregated individual data has prevented a rigorous assessment of the extent of this phenomenon and the reasons why blacks may be particularly vulnerable to the disease. Using individual and georeferenced death data collected daily by the Cook County Medical Examiner, we provide first evidence that race does affect COVID-19 outcomes. The data confirm that in Cook County blacks are overrepresented in terms of COVID-19 related deaths since—as of June 16, 2020—they constitute 35 percent of the dead, so that they are dying at a rate 1.3 times higher than their population share. Furthermore, by combining the spatial distribution of mortality with the 1930s redlining maps for the Chicago area, we obtain a block group level panel dataset of weekly deaths over the period January 1, 2020-June 16, 2020, over which we establish that, after the outbreak of the epidemic, historically lower-graded neighborhoods display a sharper increase in mortality, driven by blacks, while no pretreatment differences are detected. Thus, we uncover a persistence influence of the racial segregation induced by the discriminatory lending practices of the 1930s, by way of a diminished resilience of the black population to the shock represented by the COVID-19 outbreak.

2020 - Citizenship at Birth in the World [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Strozzi, Chiara
abstract

Increasing immigration numbers in many parts of the world make it crucial for policy makers to think about effective integration policies. In this volume of the CESifo Forum we shed light on important mechanisms of immigrant integration: Access to citizenship and legal status in the destination country. Today’s citizenship laws are historically shaped by the legal traditions of each country. Birthright citizenship, as one of those traditions, early access to citizenship and legal status in a country play a major role in the context of successful integration strategies. Our contributors show that liberalizing citizenship laws and easing legalization foster the educational, economic and social integration of immigrants. Gender-specific effects can be observed and should be considered in policy measures.

2020 - Gender Gaps in Education [Capitolo/Saggio]
Bertocchi, G.; Bozzano, M.
abstract

This chapter reviews the growing body of research in economics which concentrates on the education gender gap and its evolution, over time and across countries. The survey first focuses on gender differentials in the historical period that roughly goes from 1850 to the 1940s and documents the deep determinants of the early phase of female education expansion, including preindustrial conditions, religion, and family and kinship patterns. Next, the survey describes the stylized facts of contemporaneous gender gaps in education, from the 1950s to the present day, accounting for several alternative measures of attainment and achievement and for geographic and temporal differentiations. The determinants of the gaps are then summarized, while keeping a strong emphasis on an historical perspective and disentangling factors related to the labor market, family formation, psychological elements, and societal cultural norms. A discussion follows of the implications of the education gender gap for multiple realms, from economic growth to family life, taking into account the potential for reverse causation. Special attention is devoted to the persistency of gender gaps in the STEM and economics fields.

2020 - Research on Women in Economics: The WinE Bibliography [Working paper]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

edited bibliography

2020 - Youth Enfranchisement, Political Responsiveness, and Education Expenditure: Evidence from the US [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, G.; Dimico, A.; Lancia, F.; Russo, A.
abstract

We examine the link between the political participation of the young and fiscal policies in the U.S. We generate exogenous variation in participation using the passage of preregistration laws, which allow the young to register before being eligible to vote. After documenting that preregistration promotes youth enfranchisement, we show that preregistration shifts state government spending toward higher education, the type of spending for which the young have the strongest preference. A 1% increase in youth voter turnout generates a 0.77 percent increase in higher education spending. The results collectively suggest political responsiveness to the needs of the newly enfranchised constituency

2019 - Cittadinanza [Voce in Dizionario o Enciclopedia]
Bertocchi, G.
abstract

2019 - Eredità [Voce in Dizionario o Enciclopedia]
Bertocchi, G.
abstract

2019 - Gender gaps in education [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Bozzano, M.
abstract

2019 - Gli effetti economici di lungo periodo della schiavitù [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

Il lavoro contiene una rassegna della letteratura sugli effetti economici di lungo periodo della schiavitù.

2019 - Origins and Implications of Family Structure across Italian Provinces in Historical Perspective [Capitolo/Saggio]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Bozzano, Monica
abstract

In this chapter we review the literature on the origins and implications of family structure in historical perspective with a focus on Italian provinces. Furthermore, we present newlycollected data on three of the main features of family structure: female mean age at marriage, the female celibacy rate, and the fraction of illegitimate births. Data are collected at the provincial level for 1871. The analysis of the data allows us to confirm and quantify the geographic differentiation in family patterns across the country. We also illustrate the links between family structure and a set of socio-economic outcomes, in the short, medium, and long run.

2019 - The long-term determinants of female HIV infection in Africa: The slave trade, polygyny, and sexual behavior [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Dimico, Arcangelo
abstract

We study the long-term determinants of the high rates of female HIV prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on the transatlantic slave trade. Our hypothesis is that the latter contributed to the contemporaneous diffusion of polygyny and associated forms of social and sexual behavior that are conducive to HIV infection. We uncover that an increase in the rate of historical slave density causes a sizeable and robust increase in the rate of HIV prevalence, with a more marked effect among married women, and particularly those that do not live with their husbands. A higher slave density also induces more widespread female infidelity. These patterns are consistent with the hypothesis that higher-rank, non-cohabiting, younger co-wives are driven to infidelity by marital dissatisfaction. The resulting risky sexual behavior increases their likelihood to contract and transmit the virus, through the husbands, to their faithful co-wives, with a multiplicative effect among women.

2018 - Tavola rotonda su accreditamento, valutazione e multidisciplinarità / Round table on accreditation, evaluation and multidisciplinarity [Articolo su rivista]
Mara, Cerquetti; Claudio, Baccarani; Bertocchi, Graziella; Rosa Marisa Borraccini, ; Vincenzo, Capizzi; Sauro, Gelichi; Luigi Mascilli Migliorini, ; Maria Grazia Messina, ; Rossi, Massimiliano
abstract

L'articolo riporta gli interventi a una tavola rotonda.

2018 - The Financial Decisions of Immigrant and Native Households: Evidence from Italy [Working paper]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Brunetti, Marianna; ZAICEVA - RAZZOLINI, Anzelika
abstract

Using rich Italian data for the period 2006-2014, we document sizeable gaps between native and immigrant households with respect to wealth holdings and financial decisions. Immigrant household heads hold less net wealth than native, but only above the median of the wealth distribution, with housing as the main driver. Immigrant status reduces the likelihood of holding risky assets, housing, mortgages, businesses, and valuables, while it increases the likelihood of financial fragility. Years since migration, countries of origin, and the pattern of intermarriage also matter. The Great Recession has worsened the condition of immigrants in terms of wealth holdings, home ownership, and financial fragility.

2018 - The Financial Decisions of Immigrant and Native Households: Evidence from Italy [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Brunetti, M.; Zaiceva, A.
abstract

2017 - De Jure and de Facto Determinants of Power: Evidence from Mississippi [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Dimico, Arcangelo
abstract

We evaluate the empirical effectiveness of de facto versus de jure determinants of political power in the U.S. South between the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century. Using previously-unexploited raciallydisaggregated data on voter registration in Mississippi for the years 1896 and 1899, we show that the observed pattern of black political participation is driven by de facto disfranchisement as captured by the presence of a black political majority, which negatively affects black registration. The de jure provisions introduced with the 1890 state constitution and involving literacy tests and poll taxes exert a nonrobust impact. Furthermore, a difference-in-differences approach shows that the decline in aggregate turnout pre-dates the introduction of de jure restrictions and confirms a causal effect of the presence of a black political majority. De jure restrictions intensify the influence of the latter after 1890, which suggests that the main effect of the constitutional reforms may have been an institutionalization of de facto disfranchisement.

2017 - Foreign Aid and responsiveness of bilateral refugee inflows [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Dimico, A.; Lancia, F.; Russo, A.
abstract

This paper studies the effect of preregistration laws on government spending in the U.S. Preregistration allows young citizens to register before being eligible to vote and has been introduced in different states in different years. Employing a difference-in-differences regression design, we first establish that preregistration shifts state-level government spending toward expenditure on higher education. The magnitude of the increase is larger when political competition is weaker and inequality is higher. Second, we document a positive effect of preregistration on state-provided student aid and its number of recipients by comparing higher education institutions within border-county pairs. Lastly, using individual-level data on voting records, we show that preregistration promotes a de facto youth enfranchisement episode. Consistent with a political economy model of distributive politics, the results collectively suggest strong political responsiveness to the needs of the newly-enfranchised constituent group.

2017 - Primogeniture [Voce in Dizionario o Enciclopedia]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

Primogeniture is an inheritance rule which assigns the entire family estate to the first son. In Europe primogeniture emerged in the thirteenth century and kept spreading up to the eighteenth century. It was most common among the feudal nobility and whenever land represented the primary source of wealth. It predominated in England, Scandinavia, and parts of France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. Outside Europe, it was adopted in Japan and the southern American colonies, while partition prevailed in sub-Saharan Africa and Islamic regions. The French revolution abolished primogeniture and during the nineteenth century most European countries followed suit. In the present day equal partition is the norm. A prominent theory explains primogeniture with indivisibility of property caused by increasing returns to scale. The latter can emerge for political, economic, or anthropological reasons.

2017 - Youth Enfranchisement, Political Responsiveness, and Education Expenditure: Evidence from the U.S. [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Dimico, A.; Lancia, F.; Russo, A.
abstract

2016 - Comment to: Do They Agree? Bibliometric Evaluation versus Informed Peer Review in the Italian Research Assessment Exercise [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

comment

2016 - Origins and implications of family structure across Italian provinces in historical perspective [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Bozzano, M.
abstract

In this study we review the literature on the origins and implications of family structure in historical perspective with a focus on Italian provinces. Furthermore we present newlycollected data on three of the main features of family structure: female mean age at marriage, the female celibacy rate, and the fraction of illegitimate births. The data are collected at the provincial level for 1871, the year of Italy's political unification. The analysis of the data allows us to confirm and quantify the geographic differentiation in family patterns across the country. We also illustrate the links between family structure and a set of socio-economic outcomes, in the short, medium, and long run.

2016 - Origins and implications of family structure across Italian provinces in historical perspective [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Bozzano, M.
abstract

2016 - The Legacies of Slavery in and out of Africa [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.
abstract

The slave trades out of Africa represent one of the most significant forced migration experiences in history. In this paper I illustrate their long-term consequences on contemporaneous socio-economic outcomes, drawing from my own previous work on the topic and from an extensive review of the available literature. I first consider the influence of the slave trade on the “sending” countries in Africa, with attention to their economic, institutional, demographic, and social implications. Next I evaluate the consequences of the slave trade on the “receiving” countries in the Americas. Here I distinguish between the case of Latin America and that of the United States. Overall, I show that the slave trades exert a lasting impact along several contemporaneous socioeconomic dimensions and across diverse areas of the world

2016 - The Legacies of Slavery in and out of Africa [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.
abstract

2016 - The legacies of slavery in and out of Africa [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

The slave trades out of Africa represent one of the most significant forced migration experiences in history. In this paper, I illustrate their long-term consequences on contemporaneous socio-economic outcomes, drawing from my own previous work on the topic and from an extensive review of the available literature. I first consider the influence of the slave trade on the “sending” countries in Africa, with attention to their economic, institutional, demographic, and social implications. Next, I evaluate the consequences of the slave trade on the “receiving” countries in the Americas. Here, I distinguish between the case of Latin America and that of the USA. Overall, I show that the slave trades exert a lasting impact along several contemporaneous socio-economic dimensions and across diverse areas of the world.

2016 - Women, Medieval Commerce, and the Education Gender Gap [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Bozzano, Monica
abstract

We investigate the historical determinants of the education gender gap in Italy in the late nineteenth century, immediately following the country’s Unification. We use a comprehensive newly-assembled database including 69 provinces over twenty-year sub-samples covering the 1861-1901 period. We find robust evidence that in 1861, at Unification, gender equality in education is still positively associated with the medieval pattern of commerce, along the routes that connected Italian cities among themselves and with the rest of the world. The beneficial effect of medieval commerce on female education relative to male persists after we control for a broad set of confounding factors reflecting the geographic, economic, political, and cultural differentiation of medieval Italy and after we implement an instrumentation strategy. The long-term influence of medieval commerce dissipates only gradually after nationally-directed educational policies are implemented after Unification, consistent with its transmission through slow-changing cultural beliefs.

2015 - Bibliometric Evaluation vs. Informed Peer Review: Evidence from Italy [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Gambardella, Alfonso; Jappelli, Tullio; Nappi, Carmela; Peracchi, Franco
abstract

A relevant question for the organization of large-scale research assessments is whether bibliometric evaluation and informed peer review yield similar results. In this paper, we draw on the experience of the panel that evaluated It alian research in Economics, Management and Statistics during the national assessment exercise (VQR) relative to the period 2004-2010. We exploit the unique opportunity of studying a sample of 590 journal articles randomly drawn from a population of 5,681 journal articles (out of nearly 12,000 journal and non-journal publications), which the panel evaluated both by bibliometric analysis and by informed peer review. In the total sample we find fair to good agreement between informed peer review and bibliometric analysis and absence of statistic al bias between the two. We then discuss the nature, implications, and limitations of this correlation.

2015 - Family structure and the education gender gap: Evidence from Italian Provinces [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Bozzano, Monica
abstract

We investigate the determinants of the education gender gap in Italy in historical perspective with a focus on the influence of family structure. We capture the latter with two indicators: residential habits (nuclear vs. complex families) and inheritance rules (partition vs. primogeniture). After controlling for economic, institutional, religious, and cultural factors, we find that over the 1861-1901 period family structure is a driver of the education gender gap, with a higher female to male enrollment rate ratio in upper primary schools being associated with nuclear residential habits and equal partition of inheritance. We also find that only the effect of inheritance rules persists over the 1971-2001 period.

2015 - Review [Vanity Economics: An Economic Exploration of Sex, Marriage and Family by C. Simon Fan] [Recensione in Rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

Review of "Vanity Economics: An Economic Exploration of Sex, Marriage and Family" by C. Simon Fan,

2015 - Slavery, racial inequality, and education [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

Historical slavery may be a driver of human capital and its unequal racial distribution, with implications for education and income inequalities. Income inequality is a critical issue in both political and public debate. Educational attainment is a key causal factor of continuing inequality, since it influences human capital accumulation and, as a consequence, the unequal distribution of earnings. Educational inequality displays a racial dimension that is particularly persistent and difficult to eradicate through policy measures. Its roots lie in the colonial institution of slave labor, which was widespread in the US and Latin America up until the 19th century. However, the influence of slavery differs significantly across countries and between regions.

2015 - The Long-Term Determinants of Female HIV Infection in Africa: The Slave Trade, Polygyny, and Sexual Behavior [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Dimico, A.
abstract

We study the long-term determinants of the high rates of HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly among women, with a focus on family structure and sexual behavior as shaped by the demographic shock following the transatlantic slave trade. First we show that, in clusters where polygyny is more widespread, HIV infection rates are higher. By instrumenting polygyny with the demographic shock we can also establish that this link is causal. Next we turn to the channels through which polygyny is likely to affect HIV infection by focusing on sexual behavior, as captured by the intensity of sexual activity and the frequency of extramarital partnerships. We document relevant gender differences in behavior: in clusters affected by a larger demographic shock men (but not women) display a more intense sexual activity, while women (but not men) are more likely to engage in extramarital partnerships. We employ these findings to instrument sexual behavior when estimating its influence on HIV infection and we show that clusters exhibiting more frequent female extramarital partnerships are affected by significantly higher infection rates. We interpret our results as follows. The demographic shock induced by the slave trade represents a “primordial” risk factor which is still shaping contemporary family structure and sexual behavior. Polygyny is associated with unsatisfying marital relationships, particularly for women, with consequent female infidelity and an increased risk of infection, which is further multiplied for women co-habiting within polygynous households.

2015 - The Long-Term Determinants of Female HIV Infection in Africa: The Slave Trade, Polygyny, and Sexual Behavior [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Dimico, A.
abstract

2014 - Family Structure and the Education Gender Gap: Evidence from Italian Provinces [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Bozzano, M.
abstract

We investigate the determinants of the education gender gap in Italy in historical perspective with a focus on the influence of family structure. We capture the latter with two indicators: residential habits (nuclear vs. complex families) and inheritance rules (partition vs. primogeniture). After controlling for economic, institutional, religious, and cultural factors, we find that over the 1861- 1901 period family structure is a driver of the education gender gap, with a higher female to male enrollment rate ratio in upper primary schools being associated with nuclear residential habits and equal partition of inheritance. We also find that only the effect of inheritance rules persists over the 1971-2001 period.

2014 - Family Structure and the Education Gender Gap: Evidence from Italian Provinces [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Bozzano, M.
abstract

We investigate the determinants of the education gender gap in Italy in historical perspective with a focus on the influence of family structure. We capture the latter with two indicators: residential habits (nuclear vs. complex families) and inheritance rules (partition vs. primogeniture). After controlling for economic, institutional, religious, and cultural factors, we find that over the 1861- 1901 period family structure is a driver of the education gender gap, with a higher female to male enrollment rate ratio in upper primary schools being associated with nuclear residential habits and equal partition of inheritance. We also find that only the effect of inheritance rules persists over the 1971-2001 period.

2014 - L’evoluzione delle leggi sulla cittadinanza. Un quadro comparativo [Capitolo/Saggio]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Strozzi, Chiara
abstract

Il presente contributo, dopo aver ripercorso brevemente le radici storiche delle leggi di cittadinanza nel mondo e le modifiche più importanti intercorse nella legislazione a partire dal secondo dopoguerra, si sofferma su alcuni risultati emersi dall'analisi di una banca dati costruita dagli autori che classifica i paesi del mondo sulla base del tipo di legge in uso rispetto all'acquisizione della cittadinanza alla nascita. Si analizzano inoltre i tipi di legge sulla cittadinanza che attualmente caratterizzano i paesi europei, focalizzandosi in particolare sul caso dell'Italia e sulle proposte di riforma della legislazione che attualmente sono al centro del dibattito politico.

2014 - Slavery, Education, and Inequality [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; A., Dimico
abstract

We investigate the effect of slavery on the current level of income inequality across US counties. We find that a larger proportion of slaves over population in 1860 persistently increases inequality, and in particular inequality across races. We also show that a crucial channel of transmission from slavery to racial inequality is human capital accumulation, i.e., current inequality is primarily influenced by slavery through the unequal educational attainment of blacks and whites. Finally, we provide suggestive evidence that the underlying links run through the political exclusion of former slaves and the resulting negative influence on the local provision of education.

2014 - Who holds the purse strings within the household? The determinants of intra-family decision making [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; M., Brunetti; Torricelli, Costanza
abstract

We study the determinants of intra-household decision-making responsibility over eco-nomic and financial choices using a direct measure provided in the 1989–2010 Bank of Italy Survey of Household Income and Wealth. We find that the probability that the wife is responsible for decisions increases as the wife’s characteristics in terms of age, education and income become closer or even higher than those of her husband’s. Thus, consistently with a bargaining approach, decision-making responsibility is associated with marriage heterogamy, and not only along strictly economic dimensions. However, in support of an alternative household production approach, we also find that the probability that the wife is responsible is lower when she is employed, which suggests the presence of a specialization pattern assigning responsibility to the spouse with more available time. Our resultsare robust to additional controls and alternative samples.

2013 - Bibliometric Evaluation vs. Informed Peer Review: Evidence from Italy [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Gambardella, A.; Jappelli, T.; Nappi, C. A.; Peracchi, F.
abstract

A relevant question for the organization of large scale research assessments is whether bibliometric evaluation and informed peer review where reviewers know where the work was published, yield similar results. It would suggest, for instance, that less costly bibliometric evaluation might - at least partly - replace informed peer review, or that bibliometric evaluation could reliably monitor research in between assessment exercises. We draw on our experience of evaluating Italian research in Economics, Business and Statistics, where almost 12,000 publications dated 2004-2010 were assessed. A random sample from the available population of journal articles shows that informed peer review and bibliometric analysis produce similar evaluations of the same set of papers. Whether because of independent convergence in assessment, or the influence of bibliometric information on the community of reviewers, the implication for the organization of these exercises is that these two approaches are substitutes.

2013 - Bibliometric Evaluation vs. Informed Peer Review:Evidence from Italy [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Gambardella, A.; Jappelli, T.; Nappi, C. A.; Peracchi, F.
abstract

2013 - Discussion on the Political Economy of Structural Reforms [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

Discussion on labor and credit markets

2013 - Women, Medieval Commerce, and the Education Gender Gap [Working paper]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Bozzano, Monica
abstract

We investigate the historical determinants of the education gender gap in Italy in the late nineteenth century, immediately following the country’s Unification. We use a comprehensive newly-assembled database including 69 provinces over twenty-year sub-samples covering the 1861-1901 period. We find robust evidence that in 1861, at Unification, gender equality in education is still positively associated with the medieval pattern of commerce, along the routes that connected Italian cities among themselves and with the rest of the world. The beneficial effect of medieval commerce on female education relative to male persists after we control for a broad set of confounding factors reflecting the geographic, economic, political, and cultural differentiation of medieval Italy and after we implement an instrumentation strategy. The long-term influence of medieval commerce quickly dissipates after nationally-directed educational policies are implemented after Unification.

2013 - Women, Medieval Commerce, and the Education Gender Gap [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Bozzano, M.
abstract

We investigate the historical determinants of the education gender gap in Italy in the late nineteenth century, immediately following the country’s Unification. We use a comprehensive newly-assembled database including 69 provinces over twenty-year sub-samples covering the 1861- 1901 period. We find robust evidence that female primary school attainment, relative to that of males, is positively associated with the medieval pattern of commerce, along the routes that connected Italian cities among themselves and with the rest of the world. The effect of medieval commerce is particularly strong at the non-compulsory upperprimary level and persists even after controlling for alternative long-term determinants reflecting the geographic, economic, political, and cultural differentiation of medieval Italy. The long-term influence of medieval commerce quickly dissipates after national compulsory primary schooling is imposed at Unification, suggesting that the channel of transmission was the larger provision of education for girls in commercial centers.

2013 - Women, medieval commerce, and the education gender gap [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Bozzano, M.
abstract

We investigate the historical determinants of the education gender gap in Italy in the late nineteenth century, immediately following the country’s Unification. We use a comprehensive newly-assembled database including 69 provinces over twenty-year sub-samples covering the 1861- 1901 period. We find robust evidence that female primary school attainment, relative to that of males, is positively associated with the medieval pattern of commerce, along the routes that connected Italian cities among themselves and with the rest of the world. The effect of medieval commerce is particularly strong at the non-compulsory upperprimary level and persists even after controlling for alternative long-term determinants reflecting the geographic, economic, political, and cultural differentiation of medieval Italy. The long-term influence of medieval commerce quickly dissipates after national compulsory primary schooling is imposed at Unification, suggesting that the channel of transmission was the larger provision of education for girls in commercial centers.

2012 - Considerazioni finali [Ricchi per sempre? Storici dell'economia ed economisti per i 150 anni dell'Unità d'Italia] [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

These conclusions focus on the following questions: How does the Italian case fit within the broaderanalysis of economic growth? Are the implications of growth theory confirmed by the 1861-2011evolution of the Italian economy? And how can the Italian experience help evaluate growth theoryitself? We conclude that in the first century after Unification the Italian economy represents a goodexample of convergence, which can be adequately described by the neoclassical growth model.Similarly, the subsequent slow-down experienced in more recent decades can be accounted for by thenew developments of the theory of growth, which have focused on the impact of human capital andinstitutions.

2012 - De Jure and de Facto Determinants of Power: Evidence from Mississippi [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Dimico, A.
abstract

We evaluate the empirical relevance of de facto vs. de jure determinants of political power in the U.S. South between the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century. We apply a variety of estimation techniques to a previously unexploited dataset on voter registration by race covering the counties of Mississippi in 1896, shortly after the introduction of the 1890 voting restrictions encoded in the state constitution. Our results indicate that de jure voting restrictions reduce black registration but that black disfranchisement starts well before 1890 and is more intense where a black majority represents a threat to the de facto power of white elites. Moreover, the effect of race becomes stronger after 1890 suggesting that the de jure barriers may have served the purpose of institutionalizing a de facto condition of disfranchisement.

2012 - De Jure and de Facto Determinants of Power: Evidence from Mississippi [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Arcangelo, D.
abstract

2012 - Growth, History or Institutions: What Explains State Fragility in Sub-Saharan Africa? [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; A., Guerzoni
abstract

This paper explores the empirical determinants of state fragility in sub-Saharan Africa over the1992–2007 period. Our dataset includes those sub-Saharan countries for which we have informationon the distribution by quintiles of the World Bank Country Policy and Institutional Assessment(CPIA) ratings. We evaluate the potential influence on fragility of a wide range of economic,institutional, and historical variables. Among economic factors, we consider per-capita GDP, bothin levels and growth rates, investment, natural resources, and schooling. We also consider economicpolicy variables such as government expenditures, trade openness, and inflation. Demographicforces are accounted for through the fertility rate, life expectancy, and the youth bulge. Institutionalfactors are captured by measures of ethnic fractionalization, civil liberties, revolutions, andconflicts, as well as governance indicators. Moreover, we select historical variables that reflect thecolonial experience of the region, namely the national identity of the colonizers and the politicalstatus during the colonial period. Finally, we account for geographic factors such as latitude, accessto sea, and the presence of fragile neighbors. Our central findings is that institutions are the maindeterminants of fragility: even after controlling for reverse causality and omitted variable bias, theprobability for a country to be fragile increases with restrictions of civil liberties and with thenumber of revolutions. Before controlling for endogeneity, economic factors such as per-capitaGDP growth and investment show some explanatory power, but economic prosperity displays acontradictory net impact since growth reduces fragility while investment facilitates it. Moreover,instrumental variables estimates show that per-capita GDP growth is no longer a significant factor.Colonial variables display a marginal residual influence: after controlling for all other factorsformer colonies are actually associated with a lower probability of being fragile.

2012 - Is it money or Brains? The Determinants of Intra-Family Decision Power [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Brunetti, M.; Torricelli, C.
abstract

2012 - Is it money or brains? The determinants of intra-family decision power [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Brunetti, M.; Torricelli, C.
abstract

We empirically study the determinants of intra-household decision power with respect to economic and financial choices using a direct measure provided in the 1989-2010 Bank of Italy Survey of Household Income and Wealth. Focusing on a sample of couples, we evaluate the effect of each spouse's characteristics, household characteristics, and background variables. We find that the probability that the wife is in charge is affected by household characteristics such as family size and total income and wealth, but more importantly that it increases with the difference between hers and her husband's characteristics in terms of age, education, and income. The main conclusion is that decision-making power over family economics is not only determined by strictly economic differences, as suggested by previous studies, but also by differences in human capital and experience. Finally, exploiting the time dimension of our dataset, we show that this pattern is increasing over time.

2012 - Is it money or brains? the determinants of intra-family decision power [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Brunetti, M.; Torricelli, C.
abstract

We empirically study the determinants of intra-household decision power with respect to economic and financial choices using a suitable direct measure provided in the 1989-2010 Bank of Italy Survey of Household Income and Wealth. Focusing on a sample of couples, we evaluate the effect of each spouse's characteristics, household characteristics, and background variables. We find that the probability that the wife is in charge is affected by household characteristics such as family size and total income and wealth, but more importantly that it increases with the difference between hers and her husband's characteristics in terms of age, education, and income. The main conclusion is that decision-making power over family economics is not only determined by strictly economic differences, as suggested by previous studies, but also by differences in human capital and experience. Finally, exploiting the time dimension of our dataset, we show that this pattern is increasing over time.

2012 - The Racial Gap in Education and the Legacy of Slavery [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; A., Dimico
abstract

We study the evolution of racial educational inequality across US states from 1940 to 2000. Weshow that throughout this period, despite evidence of convergence, the racial gap in attainmentbetween blacks and whites has been persistently determined by the initial gap. We obtain theseresults with 2SLS estimates where slavery is used as an instrument for the initial gap. We addressthe question of the excludability of slavery by instrumenting it with the share of disembarked slavesfrom the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Using the same approach we also find that income growth isnegatively affected by the initial racial gap in education and that slavery affects growth indirectlythrough this channel.

2011 - Growth, Colonization, and Institutional Development In and Out of Africa [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.
abstract

2011 - Growth, Colonization, and Institutional Development. In and Out of Africa [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.
abstract

This essay investigates the determinants of the growth performance of Africa. I start by illustrating a broader research agenda which accounts not only for basic economic and demographic factors, but also for the role of history and institutional development. After reporting results from standard growth regressions, I analyze the role of Africa’s peculiar history, which has been marked by its colonization experience. Next I discuss the potential growth impact of state fragility, a concept which reflects multiple facets of the dysfunctions that plague the continent. The last topic I address is the influence, in and out of Africa, of the slave trades. The essay ends with critical conclusions and suggestions for further research.

2011 - Growth, Colonization, and Institutional Development:In and Out of Africa [Capitolo/Saggio]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

2011 - Marriage and other risky assets: a portfolio approach [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Brunetti, Marianna; Torricelli, Costanza
abstract

We study the joint impact of gender and marital status on financial investments by testing the hypothesis that marriage represents - in a portfolio framework - a sort of safe asset and that this attribute may change over time. We show that married individuals have a higher propensity to invest in risky assets than single ones, that this marital status gap is stronger for women and that, for women only, it evolves and declines at the end of the sample period. Next we explore a number of possible explanations of the observed gender differences by controlling for background factors that capture the evolution of family and society. We find that both the higher female marital status gap and its time variability vanish for those women who are employed. Our empirical investigation is based on a dataset drawn from the 1993-2006 Bank of Italy Survey of Household Income and Wealth.

2011 - Race v. Suffrage The Determinants of Development in Mississippi [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Dimico, A.
abstract

2011 - Race v. Suffrage. The determinants of development in Mississippi [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Dimico, A.
abstract

We investigate the long term determinants of political and economic outcomes over a new data set composed of Mississippi counties. We analyze the effect of disfranchisement on voting registration at the end of the nineteenth century (1896-9), as well as the impact of voting registration on education outcomes at different points in time, namely in 1917 and in the 1950s. Finally, we turn to the determinants of a broad array of development indicators for the year 1960 and for the 1960- 2000 period. Our main conclusion is that race, rather than political institutions and education policies, is the main force driving the above outcomes.

2011 - The Enfranchisement of Women and the Welfare State [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

We offer a rationale for the decision to extend the franchise to women within a politico-economicmodel where men are richer than women, women display a higher preference for public goods, andwomen’s disenfranchisement carries a societal cost. Men and women are matched within householdswhich are the center of the decision process. We derive the optimal tax rate under two alternativeregimes: a males-only enfranchisement regime and a universal enfranchisement regime. The latteris associated with a higher tax rate but, as industrialization raises the reward to intellectual laborrelative to physical labor, women’s relative wage increases, thus decreasing the difference betweenthe tax rates. When the cost of disenfranchisement becomes higher than the cost of the higher taxrate which applies under universal enfranchisement, the male median voter is better off extendingthe franchise to women. A consequent expansion of the size of government is only to be expectedin societies with a relatively high cost of disenfranchisement.We empirically test the implications of the model over the 1870-1930 period. We proxy thegender wage gap with the level of per capita income and the cost of disenfranchisement withthe presence of Catholicism, which is associated with a more traditional view of women’s roleand thus a lower cost. The gender gap in the preferences for public goods is proxied by theavailability of divorce, which implies marital instability and a more vulnerable economic positionfor women. Consistently with the model’s predictions, women’s suffrage is correlated positivelywith per capita income and negatively with the presence of Catholicism and the availability ofdivorce, while women’s suffrage increases the size of government only in non-Catholic countries.

2011 - The Evolution of the Racial Gap in Education and the Legacy of Slavery [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Dimico, A.
abstract

We study the evolution of racial educational inequality across US states from 1940 to 2000. We show that throughout this period, despite evidence of convergence, the racial gap in attainment between blacks and whites has been persistently determined by the initial gap. We obtain these results with 2SLS estimates where slavery is used as an instrument for the initial gap. The excludability of slavery is preliminarily established by instrumenting it with the share of disembarked slaves from the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Using the same approach we also find that income growth is negatively affected by the initial racial gap in education and that slavery affects growth indirectly through this channel.

2011 - The Fragile Definition of State Fragility [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; A., Guerzoni
abstract

We investigate the link between fragility and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa over a yearly panel covering the 1999-2004 period. Beside the conventional definition of fragility adopted by the OECD Development Assistance Committee, we introduce the more severe definition of extreme fragility. We show that only the latter exerts a significantly negative impact on economic development, once standard economic, demographic, and institutional regressors are accounted for. As a by-product of this investigation we also produce evidence on the growth performance of the area. We find a tendency to convergence and no influence of geographic and historical factors.

2011 - The Vanishing Bequest Tax: The Comparative Evolution of Bequest Taxation in Historical Perspective [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

Bequest tax revenues have been declining in OECD countries for at least seventy years. We proposean explanation which is based on a dynamic politico-economic model where the evolution of bequesttaxation is determined by wealth inequality. Since economic development induces a growing role oflabor income and thus a reduction of wealth inequality, bequest taxation is reduced over time. Themodel also embeds a process of structural reallocation from agriculture to manufacturing and aconsequent shift of the tax base from easy-to-tax land to hard-to-tax capital. This process impliesa lower tax level and slower equalization-induced tax reduction, the higher is the tax avoidancerate and the less developed is the economy. The introduction of franchise restrictions which aregradually lifted over time allows to reproduce the humped-shaped long term evolution of bequesttaxation starting from the nineteenth century for those countries that are now modern industrialdemocracies. The evolution of political institutions also helps to explain the discrepancies currentlyobserved between tax systems in developed and underdeveloped countries.

2010 - Growth, History, or Institutions? What Explains State Fragilityin Sub-Saharan Africa [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Guerzoni, D.
abstract

We explore the determinants of state fragility in sub-Saharan Africa. Controlling for a wide range of economic, demographic, geographic and istitutional regressors, we find that institutions, and in particular the civil liberties index and the number of revolutions, are the main determinants of fragility, even taking into account their potential endogeneity. Economic factors such as income growth and investment display a non robust impact after controlling for omitted variables and reverse causality. Colonial variables reflecting the history of the region display a marginal impact on fragility once institutions are accounted for.

2010 - L’evoluzione delle leggi sulla cittadinanza: una prospettiva globale [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Strozzi, C.
abstract

2010 - L’evoluzione delle leggi sulla cittadinanza: una prospettiva globale [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Strozzi, Chiara
abstract

In questo lavoro esaminiamo l’evoluzione delle leggi sulla cittadinanza nel mondo. L’analisi èbasata su una banca dati da noi compilata che documenta tale evoluzione per 162 paesi nel periodo1948-2001. Sulla base di uno studio econometrico, i nostri risultati possono essere riassunti comesegue. La tradizione giuridica originaria, ovvero l’applicazione dello jus soli piuttosto che lo jussanguinis, esercita un effetto persistente sulla legislazione corrente. La pressione dei flussi migratoritende a restringere il grado di apertura della legislazione, ovvero tende a limitare l’applicazionedello jus soli. Tra i fattori che determinano maggiore apertura troviamo invece il grado didemocrazia e la stagnazione demografica.

2010 - Slavery, Education, and Inequality [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Dimico, A.
abstract

We investigate the impact of slavery on the current performances of the US economy. Over a cross section of counties, we find that the legacy of slavery does not affect current income per capita, but does affect current income inequality. In other words, those counties that displayed a higher proportion of slaves are currently not poorer, but more unequal. Moreover, we find that the impact of slavery on current income inequality is determined by racial inequality. We test three alternative channels of transmission between slavery and inequality: a land inequality theory, a racial discrimination theory and a human capital theory. We find support for the third theory, i. e., even after controlling for potential endogeneity, current inequality is primarily influenced by slavery through the unequal educational attainment of blacks and whites. To improve our understanding of the dynamics of racial inequality along the educational dimension, we complete our investigation by analyzing a panel dataset covering the 1940-2000 period at the state level. Consistently with our previous findings, we find that the educational racial gap significantly depends on the initial gap, which was indeed larger in the former slave states.

2010 - Slavery, Education, and Inequality [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Dimico, A.
abstract

2010 - The Evolution of Citizenship: Economic and Institutional Determinants [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Strozzi, Chiara
abstract

We investigate the evolution of the legal institution of citizenship from a political economy perspective. We first present a median voter model of citizenship laws determination. Next we test the implications of the model on a new dataset on citizenship laws across countries of the world. We show that citizenship laws have responded endogenously to economic and institutional determinants. When facing increasing immigration, countries with a jus soli tradition tend to restrict their legislation, while jus sanguinis countries resist innovation. The welfare burden proves not to be an obstacle for a jus soli legislation, while demographicstagnation encourages it. A high degree of democracy promotes the adoption of jus soli elements, while the instability of state borders determined by decolonization impedes it. Religion and ethnic diversity have no residual impact.

2010 - The Fragile Definition of State Fragility [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Guerzoni, A.
abstract

2010 - The Fragile Definition of State Fragility [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Guerzoni, D.
abstract

We investigates the link between fragility and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa over a yearly panel including 28 countries for the 1999-2004 period. Beside the conventional definition of fragility adopted by the OECD Development Assistance Committee, we introduce the more severe definition of extreme fragility. We show that only the latter exerts a significantly negative impact on economic development, once standard economic, demographic, and institutional regressors are accounted for. As a by-product of this investigation we produce up-to-date evidence on the growth performance of the area. We find a tendency to convergence and no influence of geographic and historical factors.

2009 - Citizenship Laws Dataset [Banca dati]
Strozzi, Chiara; Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

The Citizenship Laws Dataset contains information on citizenship laws in 162 countries of the world with reference to the years 1948, 1975, and 2001. The available information concerns the way in which countries regulate citizenship acquisition at birth, with a distinction among jus soli (i.e., by birthplace), jus sanguinis (i.e., by descent), and mixed regimes. We also collect information about naturalization requirements. In addition, the dataset contains information for the main border changes which have affected the countries in the sample under consideration. The dataset further includes the following geo-political dummies: civil law, Latin America, Southern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, British or Portuguese colony, small country, socialist country, and oil.The dataset is described at length in the following paper:Bertocchi, G. and C. Strozzi (2010), "The Evolution of Citizenship: Economic and Institutional Determinants", Journal of Law and Economics, vol. 53, pp. 95-136.

2009 - Marriage and Other Risky Assets: A Portfolio Approach [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Brunetti, M.; Torricelli, C.
abstract

We study the joint impact of gender and marital status on financial decisions. First, we test the hypothesis that marriage represents - in a portfolio framework - a sort of safe asset, and that this effect is stronger for women. Controlling for a number of observable characteristics, we show that single women have a lower propensity to invest in risky assets than married females and males. Second, we show that the differential behavior of single women evolves over time, reflecting the increasing incidence of divorce and the expansion of female labor market participation. In particular, towards the end of our sample period, we observe a reduction in the gap between women with different family status, which can be attributed to the gradual erosion of the perception of marriage as a sort of safe asset. Our results therefore suggest that the differential behavior of single vs. married women can be explained by the evolution of gender roles in society, even after controlling for differential risk attitudes. Our empirical investigation is based on a dataset drawn from the 1989-2006 Bank of Italy Survey of Household Income and Wealth.

2008 - International Migration and the Role of Institutions [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Strozzi, Chiara
abstract

We study the determinants of international migration with special attention to the role of institutional factors other than economic and demographic fundamentals. We evaluate the impact of political institutions and of those institutions specifically targeted at attracting migrants. For a dataset on 19th century migration, we find that economic and demographic differentials play a major role, but that the quality of institutions also matter. We produceevidence that both political and migration institutions represent significant factors of attraction, even after controlling for their potential endogeneity through a set of instruments exploiting colonial history and the institutions inherited from the past.

2008 - International migration and the role of institutions [Working paper]
Bertocchi, Graziella; G. ; Strozzi;, C.
abstract

We study the determinants of international migration with special attention to the role of institutional factors other than economic and demographic fundamentals. We evaluate the impact of political institutions and of those institutions specifically targeted at attracting migrants. For a dataset on 19th century migration, we find that economic and demographic differentials play a major role, but that the quality of institutions also matter. We produce evidence that both political and migration institutions represent significant factors of attraction, even after controlling for their potential endogeneity through a set of instruments exploiting colonial history and the institutions inherited from the past.

2008 - Marriage and Other Risky Assets: A Portfolio Approach [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Brunetti, M.; Torricelli, C.
abstract

2008 - Portfolio Choices, Gender and Marital Status [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Brunetti, Marianna; Torricelli, Costanza
abstract

We study the impact of gender and marital status on financial decisions using the 1989-2006 Bank of Italy Survey of Household Income and Wealth. Controlling for several characteristics of household financial heads, we find that male and married ones are more likely to invest in risky assets than female and single ones, respectively. We also investigate the role of background socio-economic factors that capture regional differences in family structure and the organization of the labor market. Specifically, we find that higher divorce rates and female labor market participation rates are associated with a higher propensity to invest in risky assets.

2008 - The enfranchisement of women and the welfare state [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.
abstract

We offer a rationale for the decision to extend the franchise to women within a politico-economic model where men are richer than women, women display a higher preference for public goods, and women’s disenfranchisement carries a societal cost. We first derive the tax rate chosen by the male median voter when women are disenfranchised. Next we show that, as industrialization raises the reward to mental labor relative to physical labor, women’s relative wage increases. When the cost of disenfranchisement becomes higher than the cost of the higher tax rate which applies under universal enfranchisement, the male median voter is better off extending the franchise to women. A consequent expansion of the size of government is only to be expected in societies with a relatively high cost of disenfranchisement. We empirically test the implications of the model over the 1870-1930 period. We proxy the gender wage gap with the level of per capita income and the cost of disenfranchisement with the presence of Catholicism, which is associated with a more traditional view of women’s role and thus a lower cost. The gender gap in the preferences for public goods is proxied by the availability of divorce, which implies marital instability and a more vulnerable economic position for women. Consistently with the model’s predictions, women suffrage is affected positively by per capita income and negatively by the presence of Catholicism and the availability of divorce, while women suffrage increases the size of government only in non-Catholic countries.

2007 - The Age of Mass Migration [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Strozzi, C.
abstract

2007 - The Age of Mass Migration: Economic and Institutional Determinants [Working paper]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Strozzi, Chiara
abstract

We study the determinants of 19th century mass migration with special attention to the role of institutional factors beside standard economic fundamentals. We find that economic forces associated with income and demographic differentials had a major role in the determination of this historical event, but that the quality of institutions also mattered. We evaluate separately the impact of political institutions linked to democracy and suffrage and of those institutions more specifically targeted at attracting migrants, i.e.,citizenship acquisition, land distribution, and public education policies. We find that both sets of institutions contributed to this event, even after controlling for their potential endogeneity through a set of instruments exploiting colonial history and the quality of institutions inherited from the past.

2007 - The Enfranchisement of Women and the Welfare State [Working paper]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

We offer a rationale for the decision to extend the franchise to women within a politico-economic model where men are richer than women, women display a higher preference for public goods, and women’s disenfranchisement carries a societal cost. Men and women are matched within households which are the center of the decision process. We derive the optimal tax rate under two alternative regimes: a males-only enfranchisement regime and a universal enfranchisement regime. The latter is associated with a higher tax rate but, as industrialization raises the reward to intellectual labor relative to physical labor, women’s relative wage increases, thus decreasing the difference between the tax rates. When the cost of disenfranchisement becomes higher than the cost of the higher tax rate which applies under universal enfranchisement, the male median voter is better off extendingthe franchise to women. A consequent expansion of the size of government is only to be expected in societies with a relatively high cost of disenfranchisement. We empirically test the implications of the model over the 1870-1930 period. We proxy the gender wage gap with the level of per capita income and the cost of disenfranchisement with the presence of Catholicism, which is associated with a more traditional view of women’s roleand thus a lower cost. The gender gap in the preferences for public goods is proxied by the availability of divorce, which implies marital instability and a more vulnerable economic positionfor women. Consistently with the model’s predictions, women’s suffrage is correlated positively with per capita income and negatively with the presence of Catholicism and the availability ofdivorce, while women’s suffrage increases the size of government only in non-Catholic countries.

2007 - The Enfranchisement of Women and the Welfare State [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.
abstract

2007 - The Evolution of Citizenship Economic and Institutional Determinants [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Strozzi, C.
abstract

2007 - The Vanishing Bequest Tax The Comparative Evolution of Bequest Taxation in Historical Perspective [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.
abstract

2007 - The evolution of citizenship: economic and institutional determinants [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Strozzi, C.
abstract

We investigate the evolution of the legal institution of citizenship from a political economy perspective. We first present a median voter model of citizenship laws determination. Next we test the implications of the model on a new data set on citizenship laws across countries of the world. We show that they have responded endogenously to economic and institutional determinants. Migration pushes national legislation in the direction of jus sanguinis. Moreover, the impact of migration interacts with that of the legal tradition. In particular, countries with a jus soli origin tend to restrict when facing an increase in immigration, while in jus sanguinis countries migration has a negligible impact. The welfare burden proves not to be an obstacle for a jus soli legislation, while demographic stagnation encourages it. A high degree of democracy promotes the adoption of jus soli elements, while the instability of state borders determined by decolonization impedes it. Religion and ethnic diversity have no residual impact.

2006 - Growth, History and Institutions [Capitolo/Saggio]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

This contribution aims to illustrate a selection of applications of the ongoing research which has developed in recent years around the combination of three main ingredients: growth theory, the theory of institutions, and their interrelationship with history. The applications include the following topics: colonization and growth, franchise extension and the welfare state, the formation of school systems, industrialization and democratization, and the political economy of migration.

2006 - The Law of Primogeniture and the Transition from Landed Aristocracy to Industrial Democracy [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

We study the connection between inheritance systems and the historical evolution of the relationship between a society’s economic structure and its political system, with a focus onEurope from feudal times. The model predicts that, in an early agrarian phase, aristocratic political systems prevail, while democracies tend to emerge with industrialization. At the same time, as indivisible landed estates are replaced by capital as the primary source of wealth, the inheritance system evolves endogenously from primogeniture to partition. The dynamics of output, distribution, class structure and political participation are in turn reinforced by the system of intergenerational wealth transmission, with primogeniture tending to concentration and partition to equalization.

2006 - The Vanishing Bequest Tax: The Comparative Evolution of Bequest Taxation in Historical Perspective [Working paper]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

Several countries have recently abolished or significantly reduced their taxes on bequests. Bequest taxes, on the other hand, were among the first to be introduced when modern systems of taxation were developed at the end of the nineteenth century. We propose an explanation for these facts which is based on a dynamic political economy model where redistribution is determined not only by wealth inequality but also by sectoral reallocation from agriculture to manufacturing. The model shows that the dynamics of capital accumulation induce a reduction of wealth inequality, which is further accelerated by the redistributive impact of the bequest tax. Through a standard politico-economic mechanism, wealth equalization pushes toward a reduced role of the bequest tax. At the same time, however, a second mechanism is at work, with structural reallocation from agriculture to manufacturing shifting the tax base from hard-to-avoid taxes on land toward easy-to-avoid taxes on capital. Thedifferential treatment of land and capital introduces a source of asymmetry in the tax system which interferes with the determination of the dynamic political equilibrium of the model. Its effect is to compress bequest taxation but also to delay its gradual reduction due to declining wealth inequality. A number ofextensions to the basic model allow to match our theory with the long-term evolution of bequest taxation in modern democracies and with the drastic discrepancies currently observed between tax systems in developed and underdeveloped countries.

2004 - Citizenship Laws and International Migration in Historical Perspective [Working paper]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Strozzi, Chiara
abstract

We investigate the origin, evolution and impact of citizenship laws.

2004 - Citizenship Laws and International Migration in Historical Perspective [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Strozzi, C.
abstract

2004 - Growth, History and Institutions [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.
abstract

2004 - The evolution of modem educational systems - Technical vs. general education, distributional conflict, and growth [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; M., Spagat
abstract

We study the evolution of an educational system founded on a hierarchical differentiation between vocational and general education, with vocational playing an inferior role in the society. The dynamics are best summarized by the ratio of the fraction of the population in vocational to that in general education, which we interpret as a measure of the degree of stratification of the society. We show that this ratio first rises and then declines with the level of development, displaying an inverted U-shape which reflects the complex interaction between economic and political forces, including aggregate income growth, wealth inequality and political participation.

2003 - Labor market institutions, international capital mobility, and the persistence of underdevelopment [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

We show that the impact of globalization on growth and wages crucially depends on the labor market structures of the countries involved. We contrast bargaining and perfect competition. Under perfect capital markets, convergence of capital and income per capita always occurs despite different labor market structures. However, different labor market structures prevent convergence of the income shares, with unionized countries showing a lower wage rate and consequent capital inflows. Therefore unionization, not globalization, is the cause of discrepancies in the within-country income-distribution patterns. Openness is always preferable to autarky for a small developing economy, independently of its labor market structure. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.

2002 - Did colonization matter for growth? An empirical exploration into the historical causes of Africa's underdevelopment [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; F., Canova
abstract

We investigate the impact of 20th-century European colonization on growth. We find that colonial heritage, as measured by the identity of the metropolitan ruler and by the degree of economic penetration, matters for the heterogeneity of growth performances in Africa. Colonial indicators are correlated with economic and sociopolitical variables that are commonly employed to explain growth and there are growth gains from decolonization. Colonial indicators also add significant explanatory power to worldwide growth regressions and are correlated with the Sub-Saharan Africa and the Latin America dummies. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

2002 - The Law of Primogeniture an d the Transiti o n from Landed Aristocracy to Industriai Democracy [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.
abstract

2001 - The Politics of Co-optation [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Spagat, M.
abstract

Our model consists of two groups. Group 1 holds political power and Group 2 threatens this power. Group 1 decreases the probability of its upheaval by co-opting some agents from Group 2 into a more benign third group. Improvements in the upheaval technology lead to fewer but better co-optation offers. Increasing the size and/or the degree of fragmentation of Group 2 has the opposite effect. If the co-opted group also threatens Group1, co-optation transfers are reduced.Our model provides a new explanation of why growth is a politically stabilizing force. The theory suggests that, in post-Communist privatizations, unstable governments will give large benebits to a small number of beneficiaries while stable governments will give small benefits to a large group.

1999 - The Politics of Co-Optation [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Spagat, M.
abstract

1998 - Growth under uncertainty with experimentation [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; M., Spagat
abstract

We introduce Bayesian learning into a stochastic growth model and study the effect of experimentation on the optimal level of the investment decision and on the amount of information gathering. When more investment produces more information, experimentation can push towards a lower level of investment, thus reducing information acquisition. Symmetrically, when more investment reduces information, experimentation can increase investment and again decrease information gathering. These results run contrary to intuitions generated by the standard literature on experimentation. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

1998 - The Evolution of Modern Educational Systems. Technical vs. General Education, Distributional Conflict, and Growth [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Spagat, M.
abstract

1997 - Il ruolo dei licei e delle scuole tecnico-professionali tra progresso tecnologico, conflitto sociale e sviluppo economico [Capitolo/Saggio]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Spagat, M.
abstract

All'interno dei moderni sistemi scolastici, si studia la distinzione tra istruzione di tipo generalista e quella tecnico-professionale, con particolare attenzione all'esperienza italiana a partire dall'Unita'.

1997 - Structural uncertainty and subsidy removal for economies in transition [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; M., Spagat
abstract

Economies in transition are faced with a high degree of ´structural uncertainty´, i.e., uncertainty about which it is possible to learn through experience. We study structural uncertainty´s effects on a subsidy removal program. Subsidy removal causes unemployment, but yields fiscal benefits and facilitates private sector growth. When the policymaker does not know the speed with which the private sector absorbs the unemployed, he will be driven toward a more decisive, and therefore more informative, policy. The model also rationalizes policy reversals and implies that irreversibility constraints and political instability dampen the learning effect making policy more gradualist.

1996 - Did Colonization matter for Growth? An Empirical Exploration into the Historical Causes of Africa's Underdevelopment [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Canova, F.
abstract

1996 - Il ruolo dei licei e delle scuole tecnico-professionale tra progresso tecnologico, conflitto sociale e sviluppo economico [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.; Spagat, M.
abstract

1996 - Imperfect Information, Bayesian Learning and Capital Accumulation [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Y., Wang
abstract

This paper examines the consequences of introducing a simple informational imperfection into a growth model with overlapping generations, in which agents learn the technological parameters in a Bayesian fashion. In this setup, we study the properties of the equilibrium dynamics of beliefs and the capital stock. Under mild sufficient conditions, beliefs converge to the true value of the technological parameters. Even short-lived informational imperfections could have lasting effects, as they alter the long-run equilibrium levels of the capital stock. Therefore, learning dynamics may explain the observed differences in the performance of countries with otherwise similar economic characteristics.

1996 - Trade, Wages, and the Persistence of Underdevelopment [Working paper]
Bertocchi, G.
abstract

1995 - Efficiency and optimality in stochastic models with production [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; A., Kehagias
abstract

We consider a discrete-time, infinite-horizon, one-good stochastic growth model and we solve the central planner's optimization problem by developing a stochastic version of Pontryagin's maximum principle for Markov controls. An approximation method is used in order to extend to an infinite horizon the stochastic maximum principle derived by Arkin and Evstigneev (1987) for the finite-horizon case. We obtain efficiency conditions which are expressed in terms of stochastic multipliers, for which we provide an economic interpretation. We also apply the mathematical tool we develop to a central planner's problem in an overlapping-generations model.

1995 - The real value of money under endogenous beliefs [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Y., Wang
abstract

We study an overlapping generations model where the level of confidence in money evolves endogenously as a function of aggregate real money balances. The economy can display multiple stationary equilibria where the aggregate bubble on money is stochastic and the level of confidence is partial. Steady states can be ranked by the degree of confidence, with more inefficiency being associated with less confidence. It is only under certain restrictions that the Golden Rule constitutes a steady state for the system. Autarky becomes unstable and complex dynamics such as cycles and chaos can emerge even under gross substitutability.

1994 - Colonialism in the Theory of Growth [Working paper]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

Surprisingly, growth theory has paid little attention to the economic impact of colonial rule on the countries that were subject to it. We study colonialism in a neoclassical growth model which describes the economy of an underdeveloped country before and after colonization. Colonialization means an inflow of foreign investment which is restricted by the monopoly power of the metropolis. Explicit exploitation in the form of plundering and enslavement of the indigenous population is also considered. We show that the imposition of colonial rule can dramatically alter the growth prospects of a country, and that its effects last even after decolonization occurs.

1994 - Safe debt, risky capital [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

We extend the Diamond (1965) model of national debt in two directions. We first introduce technological uncertainty, and then we allow the stock of debt to vary. We study the dynamical equilibria of the resulting stochastic system and we establish conditions for the existence of stationary states which are expressed in terms of invariant distributions. Since conditions that ensure the existence of a stochastic stationary state with positive debt are very restrictive, in this model financial instability is a pervasive phenomenon and allocations are in general dynamically inefficient.

1993 - A Theory of Public Debt Management with Unobservable Demand [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

We develop a model of public debt management under unobservable demand, where the government can learn though experimentation.

1993 - Learning, Experimentation and Monetary Policy [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella; Spagat, M.
abstract

We present a model of monetary policy where the policymaker faces uncertainty about which he is learning in a Bayesian fashion. A fixed money supply rule is not optimal since the learning leads to adjustments in the monetary action. We present cases in which it is optimal to bear some cost in terms of current output performance in order to gain information that can be used in the formulation of future monetary policy: experimentation therefore pays. We also show that even passive learning without experimentation still leads to an activist monetary policy, i.e., one that is responsive to new information.

1993 - Marketing of Public Debt: The Fixed Price Technique [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

We develop a model where government bond are marketed at a pre-set price and show that equilibrium sequences with demand rationing are associated with higher interest costs than under competition.

1991 - Bubbles and Inefficiencies [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

We study speculative behavior in a stochastic overlapping-generations mode1 and we show how the link between the existence of bubbles and dynamic inefficiency, which has been established for the deterministic case, is broken when risk-related factors, such as risk premia and capital gains, are explicitly taken into account.

1991 - Discussion on "The Informational Role of Upstairs and Downstairs Markets" by S. Grossman [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

Discussion on "The Informational Role of Upstairs and Downstairs Markets" by S. Grossman

1990 - Strutture finanziarie dinamiche [Monografia/Trattato scientifico]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

Si propone una guida alla letteratura che tratta i modelli con generazioni sovrapposte in applicazione a questioni di politica economica, e al tempo stesso si espone una serie di contributi originali basati sull'introduzione di incertezza e di una struttura finanziaria articolata.

1989 - Private Saving and Public Debt: A Review Essay [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

A review essay of a volume on the sustainability ofpublic debt and the effects of government deficits on private saving.

1987 - Il Debito Pubblico in un Modello Generazionale [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

Si presenta un'analisi della dinamica del debito pubblico in un modello con generazioni sovrapposte.

1987 - Una Introduzione alla Teoria della Speculazione [Articolo su rivista]
Bertocchi, Graziella
abstract

Contiene un'analisi della teoria della speculazione, con applicazioni alle bolle finanziarie e al debito pubblico.

Università degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

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