On Self-Organization: The Formation of Volunteer Fire Brigades in 19th-Century Baden

Abstract

How does self-organization emerge? We study the formation of a formal institution for local public goods provision in 19th-century Baden, an autonomous state in Germany. During this period, many, but not all, communities established volunteer fire brigades, a form of bottom-up collective action that persists to this day. We find that self-organization emerged where local shocks interacted with pre-existing social structures. Specifically, a major fire significantly increased the likelihood of establishing a fire brigade, but only in communities that already had a singing club or Turner club.