The aim of the paper is to study empirically the rent dissipation hypothesis in the case of Italy before the creation of the National Bank of Italy in 1893. The major bank of the state of Italy – the Banca Nazionale Sarda (BNS) – experienced over the period 1866-1893 a decrease in its...

The aim of the paper is to examine the hypothesis of rent dissipation in the case of the Italian banking system during the suspension of gold convertibility. The major bank of the new born state of Italy – the Banca Nazionale nel regno d’Italia – experienced over the period 1866-1881 a...