0000000000048601
AUTHOR
Julio Martinez-galarraga
showing 23 related works from this author
Spain and Its Neighbours: An International Comparison
2018
This chapter analyses whether the evolution of regional inequality in Spain—in terms of the levels reached and characterization of the major stages involved in its growth or reduction—matches that seen in most of the south-western European economic area. To this end new evidence on the historical evolution of territorial inequality in a significant area of Europe comprising all regions of Portugal, Spain, France and Italy is provided. From the analysis performed it can be gathered that the main patterns observed in the evolution of inequality throughout the economic development process in Spain accurately reflect what happened in all four states as a whole.
New economic geography and economic history: a survey of recent contributions through the lens of the Spanish industrialization process
2021
This paper aims to provide a synthesis of a number of articles that over the last few years have explored the industrialization process in Spain from the perspective of the new economic geography (NEG). To this end, we present some of the seminal theoretical papers of the NEG literature from which originated the main theoretical predictions that have been tested through empirical analysis applied to the case of Spain. We also look at those papers on the economic history of Spain that through the use of an economic geography framework have analysed how the location and regional concentration of manufacturing has evolved over the years. Altogether, this paper aims not only to present the dete…
Spatial Patterns of Regional Income Inequality Then and Now
2018
In this chapter an important element characteristic of territorial inequality is examined: the presence of geographical patterns, that is, the grouping of neighbouring regions into clusters of wealth or poverty. The descriptive evidence provided by the maps is supplemented with spatial autocorrelation statistics to test for the presence of spatial clustering. The analysis aims to identify when exactly the geographical patterns that characterize regional inequality in Spain today took shape. Then some hypotheses as to the causes are established. Finally, the chapter analyses whether the clusters of poor or rich regions continue uninterrupted beyond national borders to include regions of Port…
Regional Inequality in Latin America: Does It Mirror the European Pattern?
2020
The aim of this chapter is to analyse the comparative evolution of regional inequality over the course of the historical economic development processes in four countries of South West Europe—France, Italy, Portugal and Spain—and nine countries of Latin America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. Our analysis, which goes back to the nineteenth century, shows that regional income inequality has followed over time what appears now to be an N-shaped evolution in both regions. However, both experiences differ markedly and we identify the main stylized facts of these trajectories. First, Latin America begun the period with higher levels of regional i…
The uneven transition towards universal literacy in Spain, 1860–1930
2021
This study provides new evidence on the advance of literacy in Spain during the period 1860–1930. A novel dataset, built with historical information from the Spanish population censuses (over 8000 ...
Methodology, Sources and New Evidence
2018
This chapter presents the methodology used to construct the new estimates of regional GDP in Spain, breaking down the territory into NUTS3 and NUTS2 regions (provinces and autonomous communities respectively) and dividing sectors homogeneously into five production areas: agriculture, mining, manufacturing and public utilities, construction and services. Taken as a whole in combination with data on regional population, this information provides a picture of regional inequality in per-capita income in Spain over the long term, starting from the early stages of modern economic growth. This new quantitative evidence enables to point out some of the stylized facts observed in the regional distri…
Inequality and education in pre-industrial economies: Evidence from Spain
2018
Abstract This article contributes to the debate on institutions and economic development by examining the historical link between land access inequality and education. Using information from the 464 districts existent in mid-19th century Spain, this paper confirms that there is a negative relationship between the fraction of farm labourers and male literacy rates. This result does not disappear when a large set of potential confounding factors are included in the analysis. The use of the Reconquest as a quasi-natural experiment allows us to rule out further concerns about potential endogeneity. In addition, controlling for different sources of spatial dependence does not explain away this r…
Why did Spanish Regions not Converge before the Civil War? Agglomeration Economies and (Regional) Growth Revisited
2015
In this paper we explore the relationship between the presence of agglomeration economies and regional economic growth in Spain during the period 1870-1930. The study allows us to revisit the existence of a trade-off between economic growth and territorial cohesion, and also to examine whether the existence of agglomeration economies could explain the upswing in regional income inequality during the early stages of development. In doing so, we present alternative indicators for agglomeration economies and estimate conditional growth regressions at province (NUTS3) level. In line with new economic geography models, agglomeration economies in a context of market integration widened regional i…
Patterns of Regional Income Distribution in Uruguay (1872–2012): A Story of Agglomeration, Natural Resources and Public Policies
2020
In this chapter, we provide a new data set of regional GDP and GDP per capita for Uruguay between 1870 and 2012. As regards the long-term evolution of regional inequality, we find evidence of a persistent decline from the last third of the nineteenth century up to the 1960s with a strong reversal of the process from then on. The first decade of the twenty-first century, however, shows a new decreasing trend in regional inequality. Montevideo has represented a large share, both demographically and economically, over time as consequence of a privileged access to sea and the fact that the city was built around a natural port with excellent conditions. In addition, agglomeration forces identifi…
The long‐term relationship between economic development and regional inequality: South‐West Europe, 1860–2010
2019
This paper analyses the long‐term relationship between regional inequality and economic development. Our data set includes information on national and regional per capita GDP for four countries: France, Italy, Portugal and Spain, compiled on a decadal basis for the period 1860–2010. Using parametric and semiparametric regressions, our results confirm the rise and fall of regional inequalities over time although in recent decades they are on the rise again. Finally, we identify structural change as being a significant transmission mechanism of the inverted‐U relationship. The arrival of technological shocks, beginning during the onset of industrialization, and the transition from agrarian to…
La desigualdad económica regional en América Latina (1895-2010)
2020
En este artículo se analiza por primera vez el crecimiento y la evolución de la desigualdad regional a lo largo del proceso de desarrollo económico de nueve países de Latinoamérica (Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, México, Perú, Uruguay y Venezuela) entre 1895 y 2010. Para ello, en primer lugar se verifica la presencia de un proceso de beta-convergencia entre los países latinoamericanos para la totalidad del periodo. No obstante, se muestra cómo este proceso fue especialmente intenso durante los periodos en los que los diferentes Estados implementaron políticas activas de desarrollo (ISI) que favorecieron la convergencia entre las regiones de un mismo país. En segundo lugar, se …
The determinants of industrial location in Spain, 1856–1929
2012
Abstract During the 19th century, the Spanish economy went through the early stages of the industrialisation process. This process developed in parallel to the growing market integration of goods and factors as a result of the liberal reforms and the construction of the railway network, with the subsequent fall in transport costs. In that period, there were major changes in the pattern of industrial location across Spain, with an increasing spatial concentration of industrial activities between the 1850s and the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) and a deeper regional specialisation. What were the forces behind these changes? On the theoretical side, the Heckscher–Ohlin model suggests that the spa…
Market Potential and Regional Economic Growth in Spain, 1860-1930
2015
espanolEn este articulo se utilizan tecnicas parametricas y no parametricas para el analisis del impacto de los cambios registrados en el potencial de mercado de las regiones espanolas sobre su dinamica de crecimiento en el periodo 1860‐1930. El estudio del caso espanol permite analizar si la construccion de nuevas infraestructuras de transporte, asi como los cambios en la politica comercial, al afectar al potencial de mercado relativo de las regiones espanolas, acabaron por moldear sus trayectorias de crecimiento. Para la realizacion del analisis se utilizan nuevas estimaciones retrospectivas de PIB per capita de las NUTS III espanolas (provincias) y una estimacion a la Harris del potencia…
Regional inequality and economic development in Spain, 1860–2010
2016
Abstract Fifty years ago Jeffrey G. Williamson suggested that during the process of economic development regional income differences trace out an inverted U-shaped pattern. Since then several studies have tested this hypothesis. Yet, most of these only explore particular stages of development. This study, however, investigates the long-term evolution of regional income inequality. Using a novel dataset spanning 150 years, we describe per-capita GDP disparities across Spanish provinces (NUTS3) from 1860 to 2010. Moreover, to gain a deeper understanding of regional inequality, we examine other relevant dimensions: modality, mobility and spatial clustering. Overall, the findings confirm the ex…
The Long-Term Patterns of Regional Income Inequality in Spain, 1860–2000
2013
This paper studies the evolution of Spanish regional inequality from 1860 to 2000. The results point to the coexistence of two basic forces behind changes in regional economic inequality: differences in economic structure and labor productivity across regions. In the Spanish case, the initial expansion of industrialization during the period 1860-1900, in a context of growing economic integration of regions, promoted the spatial concentration of manufacturing in certain regions, which also benefited from the greatest advances in terms of labor productivity. Since 1900 and until 1985, the diffusion of manufacturing and services production to a greater number of locations generated the emulati…
Regional Income Inequality in Spain 1860–2015
2018
How has regional economic inequality evolved since 1860? Is there a relationship between initial per-capita income and regional growth rates? Is there any relation between the evolution of regional inequality and the economic development process in Spain? In order to answer these questions, a number of different indicators of inequality are offered in this chapter. Then the patterns of convergence or divergence followed by Spanish regions from the mid-nineteenth century to the present are studied. Regional income inequality rose in the early stages of economic development and then declined. However, with high levels of development, around the 1980s, a change of trend is observed. In other w…
Inequality and Growth in a Developing Economy: Evidence from Regional Data (Spain, 1860–1930)
2020
ABSTRACTThis article measures inequality at the provincial level in Spain for different benchmark years between 1860 and 1930. It then empirically assesses the relationship between economic growth and inequality. The results confirm that, although growing incomes did not directly contribute to reducing inequality, at least during the early stages of modern economic growth, other processes associated with economic growth such as the rural exodus to urban and industrial centers, the demographic transition, and the spread of literacy, among others, notably improved the situation of the bottom part of the population.
Two stories, one fate: age-heaping and literacy in Spain, 1877-1930
2021
This study looks at human capital in Spain during the early stages of modern economic growth. In order to do so, we have assembled a new dataset on ageheaping and literacy in Spain for both men and women between 1877 and 1930 based on six population censuses with information for 49 provinces. Our results show that age-heaping was less prevalent during the second half of the 19th century than previously thought and did not decrease until the early twentieth century. By contrast, literacy increased throughout the whole period. Interestingly, age-heaping and illiteracy rates depict similar spatial patterns which confirm the stark differences in human capital within Spain. Lastly, we raise crit…
Scratching Beneath the Surface: Distribution Dynamics
2018
This chapter explores how regional inequality has evolved in terms of mobility and persistence. Different statistical methods are used to determine whether there has been a general trend whereby the richest regions have maintained their position over time or whether, on the contrary, any relevant changes can be seen in the positions occupied by the various regions in terms of income levels per capita. The results allow identifying stories of relative success or failure among Spanish regions, discover when exactly these changes were most frequent, and then construct hypotheses about the economic and institutional conditions which led to the biggest changes in the map of regional inequality i…
A Potted History: Spain 1860–2015
2018
This chapter aims to supply a synthetic view of the historical process of economic development in Spain broken down into major stages. Rather than examine it from all angles, the text concentrates on changes involving the elements highlighted in economic theory and empirical works, that is, the rate at which the Spanish economy advanced, the evolution of its production structure and sector employment, and the degree of integration of the goods and factor markets and the effects of this in both national and supranational terms. So as to give a stylized view of the process, the analysis is carried out on the basis of four major stages into which we divide the period of study: 1860–1910, 1910–…
What Explains the Long-term Evolution of Regional Income Inequality in Spain?
2018
This chapter analyses the proximate causes of territorial inequality. To do this per-capita income inequality is broken down into elements related to differences in regional labour markets and elements linked to the presence of differences in labour productivity between regions. Then the factors that determine these differences in productivity are examined by carrying out a number of quantitative exercises to see whether or not they are in some way connected to the territories’ different production structures or whether they are due to the different levels of productivity registered by each sector on a regional scale. This set of exercises shows which of the potential explanatory factors wa…
Wages, prices, and technology in early Catalan industrialization
2015
Catalonia was the only Mediterranean region among the early followers of the British industrial revolution. The roots of this process can be traced back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when the Catalan economy became integrated into international trade, and a successful printed calico industry concentrated in the city of Barcelona. Although the factory system was largely adopted by the cotton industry in the 1840s, the diffusion of the spinning jenny in Catalonia had occurred earlier, in the 1790s. In line with Allen, this article explores whether relative factor prices played a role in the widespread adoption of the spinning jenny in Catalonia. First, series of real wages in Ba…
The Origins of Economic Growth and Regional Income Inequality in Latin Europe, 1870–1950
2018
Regional income inequality in Latin Europe (France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal) showed a distinctive pattern between 1870 and 1950. Data about population on a decadal basis and Gross Domestic Product (gdp) for 171 regions (84 French départements, 22 Italian regioni, 18 Portuguese distritos, and 49 Spanish provincias) shows that regional inequality increased from 1870 to 1910 but gradually flattened out thereafter until 1950. Current regional disparities in per-capita income throughout Latin Europe are essentially the result of a long-term evolution that traces back to the origins of modern economic growth. Moreover, this study shows the emergence of the core–periphery pattern that characte…