Seminar When the Dictator is in Town Econometrics and Applied Micro seminar Add to calendar 2025-01-20 11:00 2025-01-20 12:15 Europe/Rome When the Dictator is in Town Seminar Room 3rd Floor Villa La Fonte YYYY-MM-DD Print Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Send by email When 20 January 2025 11:00 - 12:15 CET Where Seminar Room 3rd Floor Villa La Fonte Organised by Department of Economics In this seminar, Nicola Fontana (Trinity College Dublin), will present the paper: 'When the Dictator is in Town'. Do dictators need aligned bureaucrats? We examine the impact of exposure to the autocratic leader on one key tool at dictatorships’ disposal to maintain power: repression. Focusing on Italy’s Fascist dictatorship (1926-1939), the paper utilizes newly gathered data on visits by Mussolini. Using the temporal and geographical variation of these visits in a staggered difference-in-differences framework, we show that a visit by Mussolini significantly increased repression. The results suggest a top-down mechanism, driven by increased policing and allocation of bureaucrats aligned with the regime’s goals.Co-authors: Francesco Barilari (Tor Vergata University) and Nicola Mastrorocco (Bologna University) Contact(s): Cecile Marie Brière (EUI - Department of Economics) Scientific Organiser(s): Prof. Andrea Ichino (EUI - Department of Economics) Speaker(s): Ass. Prof. Nicola Fontana (Trinity College Dublin)