Wars, Taxation, and Representation: Evidence from Five Centuries of German History
利用1290至1710年间德国城市的新数据，发现军事冲突导致市议会规模扩大、更可能由公民选举产生并包含行会代表，同时显著提升了地方财政能力。
Abstract We provide causal evidence for the role of warfare in the development of medieval constitutionalism. Using novel data on the universe of German cities between 1290 and 1710, we show that military conflicts led to city councils that were larger, more likely to be elected by citizens, and more likely to include representatives of craft guilds. Additionally, these conflicts resulted in a substantial increase in local fiscal and spending capacity. We exploit the gender of the firstborn children of local nobles as a source of exogenous variation in conflicts.