The wheel of life? The effect of the abolition of the foundling wheel in nineteenth-century Italy

Abstract

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.