The economic impact of legislation and litigation on growth: a historical analysis of Italy from its unification to World War II

This paper aims to evaluate the impact of Italy's unification on its economic growth from 1861 to the outbreak of World War II. This historical analysis attempts to prove that the process of legislative harmonization intrinsic to the unification had a positive effect on Italy's GDP because legislative uniformity facilitates economic transactions. Moreover a uniform and more effective legislation would have caused less litigation and therefore favoured economic growth, thanks to smoother relations between economic agents.