Economy and Population in Italy 1300-1913

The objective of the article is to describe in a simple, but complete, model the dynamics of the population-economy relationship during the 14th-19th centuries. Ordinarily, when dealing with pre-modern centuries, economists and economic historians are used to considering England as a benchmark. This country, however, was the exceptional first comer when considered from a European perspective. Our choice of Italy is advantageous as it represents the norm in respect to the rest of Europe .