 At the time of the writing of the book, this was a serious problem, arising partly from the industrialization of Italy, which led to a growing need for reliable labour in the cities; the problem was exacerbated by similar, more or less simultaneous, demands for labour in the industrialization of other countries.One major effect was the emigration of much of the Italian peasantry to cities and to foreign countries such as South and North America.Some literary analysts have described Pinocchio as an epic hero.