This paper examines the effects of abolishing the foundling wheel (ruota) on reproductive decision-making in post-unitary Italy (1863–1882). The ruota was a turning wheel placed on a wall outside foundling homes across Catholic Europe, which offered a means for anonymous infant abandonment. As infant abandonment rates and foundling mortality soared in the nineteenth century, countries began dismantling these systems. Italy mirrored this trend, with provinces abolishing the ruota at different times. We investigate the specific impacts of the ruota abolition on infant abandonment, infant mortality, births, and gender discrimination. To do so, we use a novel longitudinal dataset of Italian provinces and a staggered Difference-in-Difference empirical design. Our findings show a 54.9% decrease in abandonment, a 10.4% decline in infant deaths, and a 4% drop in births after the abolishment of the ruota. This suggests a significant shift in reproductive behavior and family planning in response to policy change.

中文翻译：

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生命之轮？19 世纪意大利废除育婴轮的影响


本文研究了废除弃儿轮 （ruota） 对统一后意大利 （1863-1882） 生殖决策的影响。ruota 是放置在天主教欧洲各地弃儿屋外墙上的转动轮，它为匿名遗弃婴儿提供了一种手段。随着 19 世纪婴儿遗弃率和弃儿死亡率的飙升，各国开始拆除这些系统。意大利也反映了这一趋势，各省在不同时期废除了 ruota。我们调查了废除 ruota 对婴儿遗弃、婴儿死亡率、出生和性别歧视的具体影响。为此，我们使用了意大利各省的新颖纵向数据集和交错的 Difference-in-Difference 实证设计。我们的研究结果显示，废除 ruota 后，遗弃率下降了 54.9%，婴儿死亡率下降了 10.4%，出生率下降了 4%。这表明，为了应对政策变化，生殖行为和计划生育发生了重大转变。