Research

Peer-Reviewed Publications

• Brioschi, Alessandro and Fochesato, Mattia. “The determinants of the skill premium in late medieval and early modern Europe, 1400–1800”. European Review of Economic History (Forthcoming). DOI: 10.1093/ereh/heaf003

Work in progress

• Networks paving the way: apprenticeship and occupational mobility in early modern Genoa
  [Abstract]

  The functioning of pre-industrial labour markets remains an area of ongoing scholarly debate. Using a dataset of 8,000 apprenticeship contracts drafted in Genoa between 1450 and 1530, this paper examines how social networks shaped labour market outcomes and provides three main insights. First, social networks, particularly the presence of family ties with masters and guild members, structured the entry of apprentices into skilled occupations and significantly increased their chances of becoming masters after training. Second, individuals with family ties to guild members benefited from favourable conditions throughout their professional careers, ultimately improving their labour market outcomes and restricting access to opportunities for those without such connections. Third, the segmentation of the urban labour market confirms that apprenticeship was only a limited source of opportunities for upward occupational mobility in Italian labour markets.

• Asymmetric shocks in pre-industrial labour markets: evidence from the 1630-1631 plague in Venice
  [Abstract]

  This paper examines the impact of the 1630–31 plague on apprenticeship wages in early modern Venice, offering new evidence on how pre-industrial labour markets adjusted to large demographic shocks. Using a dataset of over 17,000 apprenticeship contracts, I reconstruct wage trends across trades and skill levels before and after the epidemic. My findings suggest that, in contrast to the equalizing effects often attributed to the Black Death, the 1630–31 outbreak produced a pronounced skill-biased wage shift. Real wages rose across the board in its aftermath, but the increase was significantly larger in skill-intensive trades, where training was longer and human capital harder to replace. Using a difference-in-differences strategy, I estimate a post-plague skilled wage premium of 12-14 percent. These results are robust to controls for contract structure, in-kind payments, and recruitment patterns. The findings highlight the interaction of labour scarcity and institutional mediation in shaping wage outcomes, suggesting that, under certain conditions, epidemics could entrench rather than erode labour market stratification.