Discussion Papers 2025

CIRJE-F-1253	"Postal Growth: How the State-Sponsored Post Affected Growth in Preindustrial France, 1500–1850"
Author Name	Sasaki, Yu
Date	June 2025
Full Paper	PDF file
Remarks

Abstract
This paper investigates the role of postal service in city growth in pre-industrial France. Extant research shows that modern-day state-funded infrastructure projects, such as railways, predict growth. I examine the consequences of the post when the pace of expansion was slow and technological innovations were few. I highlight how the French post evolved from the crownonly information tool to a public service and how investments on the physical infrastructure lagged behind. Digitizing untapped published sources, I construct market access via postal routes on the city level from 1500–1850. My analysis finds that it is strongly negatively associated with growth. It also highlights how the proximity to rivers matters to growth, while more geographically-bounded interactions are not impactful. My instrumental-variable estimation points to how post-Roman political consolidation in Gaul misaligned the subsequent urban networks from contemporary perspectives, leaving an ill-conceived design on which the French post was built.
Keywords:

Abstract

This paper investigates the role of postal service in city growth in pre-industrial France. Extant research shows that modern-day state-funded infrastructure projects, such as railways, predict growth. I examine the consequences of the post when the pace of expansion was slow and technological innovations were few. I highlight how the French post evolved from the crownonly information tool to a public service and how investments on the physical infrastructure lagged behind. Digitizing untapped published sources, I construct market access via postal routes on the city level from 1500–1850. My analysis finds that it is strongly negatively associated with growth. It also highlights how the proximity to rivers matters to growth, while more geographically-bounded interactions are not impactful. My instrumental-variable estimation points to how post-Roman political consolidation in Gaul misaligned the subsequent urban networks from contemporary perspectives, leaving an ill-conceived design on which the French post was built.

Keywords: