Fiscal Capacity and State Consolidation Data for Territories in the Holy Roman Empire

Davide Cantoni, Cathrin Mohr, and Matthias Weigand

2024/07/31

This dataset supports the 2024 Econometrica study by Cantoni, Mohr, and Weigand on how early fiscal reforms shaped political survival, size, and compactness of territories within the Holy Roman Empire. The dataset includes novel administrative, fiscal, and geographic variables on territories and cities during the early modern period. Key indicators include the timing and type of fiscal reforms, Imperial tax burdens, revenue sources, military investments, and dynastic outcomes. The authors exploit quasi-random variation in Imperial taxation to establish causality. This dataset enables the replication of their empirical strategy and exploration of mechanisms such as administrative consolidation and absolutist transitions.