European patterns of development in historical perspective

Europe provides a suitable scenario for testing empirical regularities of growth since, to a large extent, its countries share institutions, policies, and resource endowments. Patterns of development, which associate structural change with variations in GDP per head and population, are constructed for modern Europe (1850-1990) along the lines of Chenery and Syrquin's pathbreaking work. Thus, it is possible to discern whether a common set of development processes is observable for the whole continent and whether countries that had a late start exhibited, as suggested by Gerschenkron, a differential behaviour in terms of accumulation, resource allocation, and demographic transition. The results tend to confirm the different nature of latecomers' development.Publicad

Growth, inequality, and poverty in Spain, 1850-2000: evidence and speculation.

Was the Civil War (1936-39) originated by staggering inequality and extreme poverty? How did Franco's dictatorship (1939-75) affect inequality and poverty? As a first step to provide an answer, growth and inequality over the long-run are assessed and their impact on absolute poverty calibrated. The paper concludes that during the last one and a half centuries economic growth, but also the decline in inequality during the Interwar years and since the late 1950s, led to a substantial reduction in absolute poverty. Raising inequality and poverty do not seem to have triggered the Civil War

European patterns of development in historical perspective.

Europe provides a suitable scenario for testing empirical regularities of growth since, to a large extent, its countries share institutions, policies, and resource endowments. Patterns of development, which associate structural change with variations in GDP per head and population, are constructed for modern Europe (1850-1990) along the lines of Chenery and Syrquin's pathbreaking work. Thus, it is possible to discern whether a common set of development processes is observable for the whole continent and whether countries that had a late start exhibited, as suggested by Gerschenkron, a differential behaviour in terms of accumulation, resource allocation, and demographic transition. The results tend to confirm the different nature of latecomers' development.Chenery and Syrquin; Gerschenkron; Latecomers; Modern Europe; Patterns of development;

WHEN DID LATIN AMERICA FALL BEHIND?.EVIDENCE FROM LONG-RUN INTERNATIONAL INEQUALITY

When did Latin America fall behind?. Has the gap between developed countries and Latin America widened over time?. This paper addresses these recurrent questions with the tools provided by the inequality literature. Long-run inter-country inequality is assessed in terms of real (purchasing power-adjusted) GDP per head and of an ‘improved’ human development index as an indicator of welfare for present-day OECD and Latin America. A long term rise in income inequality is observed for this sample of countries with the deepening gap between OECD and Latin America as its main determinant. Contrary to a widespread view, in terms of income, Latin America fell behind in the late twentieth century. Inequality in terms of human development declined over time, but the gap between OECD and Latin America remained largely unchanged.

The world economy : a millennial perspective [book review].

Relaciones económicas internacionales; Distribución de la renta; Indicadores económicos; Población;

Spain´s International Position, 1850-1913

Spain’s financial position during the late 19th and early 20th century 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 growth. 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.Balance of payments, Current acount reversals, Saving, Investment, Growth, Spain

ASSESSING THE ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF LATIN AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE

This paper discusses the economic consequences of independence in Latin America. Grand interpretations that assess Nineteenth Century Latin America by comparison to the U.S. performance are examined and the alternative approach of using African and Asian post-colonial experiences as the yardstick is explored. Empirical evidence on the consequences of removing the colonial burden and opening up to the international economy is, then, examined. The paper concludes with discussion of when Latin America fell behind.