This paper is aimed at analysing the origins of the factory system in the Catalan cotton industry. It concludes that the Catalan industrialisation process can be considered to have been founded during the crisis of the Spanish Ancien Régime. In order to show that, two different pieces of information are presented. Firstly, the appearance of the first mechanical spinning mills by the end of the 18th century, as well as the conditions that allowed it, are studied. Secondly, the subsequent modernisation of the sector after the Spanish War of Independence is analysed. We try to show that, after the crisis brought about by the loss of the Empire and the bankruptcy of the Treasury, the response of the sector mainly consisted of intensifying technical and organisational change and defending commercial prohibicionism.

This paper measures the direct contribution of railways to economic growth before 1914 in four Latin American economies with large railway systems (Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay) using growth accounting techniques. The outcomes of the analysis indicate that the growth contribution of railways in Uruguay was very low. By contrast, in Argentina and Mexico railways provided huge benefits, amounting to 20-25% of income per capita growth before 1914. Finally, in Brazil, the growth contribution of railways was even higher, although this was largely a consequence of the stagnation of the Brazilian economy. These results provide an example of a technology whose growth contribution was much higher in some peripheral economies than in the core countries where it was developed.

Based on a variety of archival sources, this paper presents estimations for cost of living and living standards for Lima, Peru during the 19th century. During this century Peru experienced deep swings in economic activity marked by the independence wars, the War of the Pacific, and a commodity boom. These new series show that a sizable inflationary period during the guano age had dampening effects on the living standards of the popular class. While living standards peaked by mid 1850s, GDP per capita did not do so until two decades later. These results suggest that the guano bonanza failed to lift working-class living standards above subsistence levels. Even though living standards climbed steadily, almost reaching those of England, all these gains were lost by the end of the century.

This article outlines the development of gender disparities in education for 28 Latin American and Caribbean countries for the period from 1880 to 1949, using age heaping techniques. We explore in particular the hypothesis of a U-shaped development of women's education during economic development, i.e., a decrease in gender equality at lower levels of overall education, and increasing gender equality at higher levels. For the downward sloping part, we find some evidence, although this part is relatively small. The upward sloping part is strongly confirmed. We also find that non-Hispanic Caribbean countries had substantially lower gender inequality rates than Latin American countries. A second major contribution is to document the development of average numerical abilities (of both genders) in these 28 countries.

Long run economic progress in modern Spain is assessed in this paper and its performance placed in European perspective. Over one and a half centuries, income per person rose 15 times. Three main phases can be established: 1850–1950, 1951–1974 and 1975–2000. Spain underperformed in the long run mostly due to its sluggish growth in specific phases of the century prior to 1950. Catching up took place in the late twentieth century, in which the years 1959–74 stand out. Structural change contributed significantly to growth acceleration while lack of exposition to international competition represents a recurrent element of retardation.

The main object of this paper is to present as precise a measure as possible of the growth of prices in Europe between 1500 and 1700. First, I calculate a weighted index of prices for Castilla la Nueva which is consistent with other European regions. This allows me to incorporate in the study one of the areas on which the study of the price revolution has traditionally centered. Second, employing the tools of modern monetary theory, I attempt to offer an ínterpretation of the behavior of prices based on the quantity theory of money. This theory, in my opinion, continues to offer the best explanation of the long-run changes in the absolute level of prices.

En los últimos decenios del siglo XVIII suele situarse el punto de partida de la industrialización de Cataluña. Pierre Vilar propuso para ese «arranque» un esquema explicativo que ha merecido amplia aceptación, tanto por su trabazón lógica como por la apoyatura documental en que se funda. En dicho esquema, que no hace falta recordar aquí, la industria aparece principalmente como resultado del proceso. Por otra parte, en ocasiones se ha insinuado la necesidad de introducir en la explicación de ese proceso, y como factor, el relieve y arraigo que en la región había alcanzado la industria tradicional. El interés renovado por lo que ahora se llama «protoindustrialización» invita a recoger tales sugerencias y a considerar la transformación de la economía catalana en el Setecientos a la luz de los planteamientos que en esta línea se están formulando.

El propósito de este ensayo es ofrecer por vez primera una serie anual de las exportaciones e importaciones españolas que abarque desde la emancipación de las colonias continentales de Hispanoamérica hasta la Primera Guerra Mundial. Las nuevas series permitirán conocer la evolución del sector, tanto su tendencia como sus fluctuaciones, así como establecer el saldo de la balanza comercial.

Hace más de cuarenta años, en 1948, en su obra pionera sobre la política monetaria y las fluctuaciones de la economía española en el siglo XIX, el profesor Joan Sardà escribía: «… el conflicto europeo [de 1914–1918] tuvo repercusiones económicas muy favorables para España. En pocos años permite pagar casi del todo la deuda exterior en capitales. Se nacionaliza la Deuda exterior y se recupera por los españoles la gran mayoría de las inversiones tenidas por extranjeros en España […]. A base de este aumento extraordinario de riqueza ganado durante la guerra europea, continuó funcionando la economía española en los años siguientes». Estas frases formaban parte del capítulo que dentro de aquel libro el profesor Sarda dedicaba al estudio de la balanza de pagos española. Pese a quedar fuera del ámbito temporal de su estudio, se avanzaba allí una cifra tentativa de los beneficios que la economía española, en su conjunto, pudo obtener durante el conflicto bélico.

Spain’s financial position during the late 19th and early 20th centuries has usually been presented as one of persistent deficit on current account, which resulted from her integration into international commodity and factor markets and this, in turn, slowed down the growth of the economy. In this essay a preliminary reconstruction of the balance of payments on current account allows us to reject this view. In fact, a net capital inflow made possible to meet the demand for investment-boosting economic performance. Current account reversals in a context of macroeconomic domestic imperfections help to explain the economic slowdown at the turn of the century.

Financial crises are not unique to current financial systems. Are crises alike? Have they become more frequent, longer lasting and more severe since the 20th century? What does history tell us? The objective of this paper is to study the financial crises that have occurred in Spain over the last 150 years. We consider different types of crises (banking, currency and stock market crises), together with all their possible combinations, estimate their frequency by period and measure their length and depth. The main conclusion we obtain is that Spanish crises have been more frequent than in the rest of the world and have been more severe and more complex since 1973, as the 2007 crisis is confirming.

This paper comments on studies that aim to quantify the long-term economic effects of historical European settlement across the globe. We argue for the need to properly conceptualise «colonial settlement» as an endogenous development process shaped by the interaction between prospective settlers and indigenous peoples. We conduct three comparative case studies in West, East and Southern Africa, showing that the «success» or «failure» of colonial settlement critically depended on colonial government policies arranging European farmer’s access to local land, but above all, local labour resources. These policies were shaped by the clashing interests of African farmers and European planters, in which colonial governments did not necessarily, and certainly not consistently, abide to settler demands, as is often assumed.

This article makes a contribution to the empirical and methodological discussion on the standard of living in Latin America during the colonial period. It presents evidence obtained from primary sources on the evolution of nominal wages, cost of living and real wages for 10 occupational categories in the region of Montevideo between 1760 and 1810. The results place rural laborers and masons in Montevideo below subsistence levels until at least the first decade of the 19th century, a finding that is difficult to reconcile with the demographic and productive growth of the region at the same time. Wages may not be the main component in the structure of family income among the subordinate sectors of the colonial Río de la Plata.

Price statistics and, in particular, food price statistics are much more abundant that those of consumption. In this article we use price statistics to analyze the qualitative variations in consumption and, specifically, the diet composition, a variable which is difficult to observe, but has remarkable implications in the evolution of living standards, health and mortality. Our analysis focuses on the years between 1910 and 1912, in a period of important changes in Spanish mortality, in order to analyze the provincial variation in the level and structure of food prices. The estimated relative price indexes suggest significant regional differences in diets which should be taken into account in living standards and mortality studies.

This essay presents recent estimates of average heights for different regions of Argentina during the period 1850–1950. This evidence, taken from registers of prisoners and military recruits, serves to question some traditional views of Argentine economic growth based on income and wage data. The essay suggests that the era of liberal progress resulted in less welfare among the lower classes than is usually assumed. A similar situation occurred during the agrarian-export growth of the first decade of the 20th century. In contrast, the period known as the «great delay» wit- nessed notable improvements in biological welfare, particularly during the 1930s. In addition, height estimates indicate that during WWII and the first Peronist administrations there was a nutritional setback in the Buenos Aires industrial belt. Data on the provincial distribution of heights for the 1920s show an important degree of regional inequality.

This article applies an anthropometric study to Spanish conscripts between 1893–1954 in order to explore a proxy for living standards in Spain. The first part of the article introduces the importance of height as an indicator of levels of nutrition and epidemiological enviroment, and its determinants. The second part uses the conscripts files to calculate average heights at a national and regional level and by socio-professional categories. This section shows changes and differences in Spanish living standards. A second finding is the strong correlation between height, income and sanitary conditions. Finally, height can be used as an indicator of the evolution of the degree of inequality in material living conditions which in the case of Spain shows a divergent behaviour between regions and socio-professional categories.

Much of Argentina's decline in relative economic performance can be attributed to deleterious conditions for capital accumulation after 1913. In the first phase (pre–1913), the success of the Belle Epoque was due to spectacular rates of accumulation. In the second phase (1913–1930s), low domestic savings rates constrained the rate of capital accumulation. In the third phase (1930s–1950s) import–substitution policies were implemented and the relative price of key imported capital goods rose sharply. Retardation ensued: at first because of insufficient saving; later because price disincentives channeled funds away from investment activities which are the precursor of growth.

The article is divided into three sections. In the first I examine long term changes in final agricultural output between 1891 and 1936, which indicates that only from 1909/13 did land and labour productivity start to increase. In die second section I present figures for regional productivity in 1929/33, and suggest reasons why some of the major local differences occurred. Finally, I show changes in regional productivity between 1909/13 and 1929/33, the period identified as die one with greatest productivity growth. The article also includes appendices which explain the methods used, and provides Tables showing the results by province.

Las insuficiencias de las estadísticas españolas de comercio exterior son, hasta fechas relativamente cercanas, evidentes. No existen balanzas comerciales con periodicidad anual hasta 1850 y, para la primera mitad del siglo xix, tan sólo se dispone de informatión dispar en once años. En el siglo XVIII, únicamente la balanza comercial de 1792 y la estimatión incompleta para 1795, publicada por Matilla Tascón, se encuentran disponibles. Por otra parte, la precisión de las cifras ofrecidas en las estadísticas existentes ha sido puesta en duda. En los últimos años han sido realizados algunos intentos para establecer la fiabilidad de las estadísticas comerciales.

This paper offers a long-term comparative study of Bolivian public finances using a new detailed database. First, it shows that Bolivian government revenues and expenditures were particularly small and volatile until the 1980s. Second, it stresses that, whereas the relative importance of social expenditure has grown constantly since the late 1930s, public revenues have always had an unbalanced structure. Finally, it confirms that budget deficits have been constant, at times reaching levels that were especially damaging for the overall economy. This suggests that the potential redistributive impact of Bolivian public finances was not necessarily (or not only) hindered by the lack of an explicit commitment towards redistributive expenses, but by an extreme vulnerability in the revenue side.