28/10/2025 | 12:45 | LECL 60

Charles de Pierpont de Burnot

(IRES/LIDAM, UCLouvain)

will give a presentation on 

The Roman roots of the Western European trade linkages

Abstract:

This research examines the persistent legacy of Roman integration in current trade linkages across Western Europe. Using a sample of 16,256 Western region pairs, it provides evidence that regions jointly integrated for a longer period within the Roman states trade significantly more with each other today. Part of this influence reflects subsequent political history, the current transport networks, which sometimes follow past Roman roads, as well as geographic features that may have induced trade without the Roman intervention, such as resource differences and geographic connectivity. However, a remaining sizable part of the estimated net effect of the Roman rule is attributable to cultural convergence measured by preference and linguistic similarities. These findings highlight a long-lasting influence of past political and network (infra)structures on the European market integration.