Tancredi Buscemi

Tancredi Buscemi, PhD Candidate from University of Perugia will present his paper Real wages in the Kingdom of Sicily (1540-1830).

ABSTRACT:
Focusing on the Kingdom of Sicily, this study reassesses the debate on the Italian economic downturn and the Italian regional development. Tracking the early evidence on the Island in the first fifty years of the Kingdom of Italy (Federico, Nuvolari and Vasta, 2019), the findings challenge the common belief of Southern Italy as a homogenous backward area. Instead, results suggest more than one divide in pre-unitarian regions showing Sicilian living standards as structurally above the Italian average. The paper discusses crucial implications on traditional debates of pre-industrial Italy and poses new questions on the origins of its regional divide. Furthermore, it enhances the evidence of living standards on the Mediterranean sea.