Biological welfare and the commons: A natural experiment in the Alps, 1765-1845

- Removal of CPR institutions reduced biological welfare of communities in the Alps.
- Community IMR is computed using thousands birth and death registers in 1765-1845.
- DD design exploits Habsburgian and Napoleonic reforms as a natural experiment.
- Reforms contributed to a persistent increase of IMR by around 10
- Effect was lower in communities having prior experience with formal institutions.

In the late 18th century hundreds self-governing alpine communities in Northern Italy came under the direct control of centralized states (Austria and France) at different times. We exploit the timing and location of these interventions in a DD type design to investigate the effects of removing CPR institutions on biological welfare. We find a significant and persistent increase in infant mortality rates and a more modest decrease in birth rates as a result of state centralization. We provide evidence that these demographic changes reflect a critical loss of natural resource income caused by the disruption of communal institutions. Impacts are most severe in communities that have no prior experience with formal institutions.