Especialización ganadera, industrias agroalimentarias y costes de transacción: Cataluña, 1880-1936

En este artículo se analiza la relación entre cuatro variables, tomando como referencia los procesos de cambio agrario que se experimentaron en Cataluña antes de la guerra civil. Esto es, el desarrollo de la actividad ganadera de la región tras la crisis agraria de finales del siglo XIX, los cambios técnicos que se experimentaron en el conjunto del sector hasta 1936, la consolidación de la explotación agraria familiar mientras avanzaban los anteriores procesos y el desarrollo de una nueva industria agroalimentaria. Se muestra así que estos procesos sólo se pueden entender cuando se consideran en sus mutuas relaciones y que la teoría de los costes de transacción puede ser una buena aproximación para entender la difusión de la industriación en el sector productor de alimentos.This article analyzes the relationship between four variables, taking the process of agricultural change experienced in Catalonia prior to the Spanish Civil War as a point of reference. These variables are the development of livestock activity in the region after the agrarian crisis at the end of the 19th century, the technical changes undergone in the sector as a whole until 1936, the consolidation of family farming as the previous processes developed, and the development of a new agro-food industry. It the further becomes clear that these processes can only be understood when considered in relationship to each other, and that the theory of transaction costs can be a good approach for understanding the spread of industrialization in the food production sector

Wheat varieties and technological change in Europe, 19th and 20th centuries: New issues in economic history.

Este artículo: a) analiza la evolución de las innovaciones biológicas en variedades de trigo entre mediados del siglo XIX y finales del siglo XX, en Gran Bretaña, Francia, Italia y España; y b) muestra que cuando consideramos ese aspecto de los cambios tecnológicos en la agricultura, se explica mejor la evolución que siguieron en estos cuatro países los rendimientos en grano del cereal. El artículo también muestra la diferente incidencia que tuvieron en la evolución de las innovaciones cuatro variables: los progresos científicos en biología y distintos factores ambientales, institucionales y tecnológicos. El artículo también aporta un nuevo indicador sobre la evolución de las innovaciones, que puede ser especialmente útil para determinar mejor la difusión en el tiempo de trigos de tallo corto y semienanos: la producción de trigo por unidad de peso de la paja cosechada.This article: a) analyzes the evolution of biological innovations in wheat varieties from the mid19th to the end of 20th century in Britain, France, Spain and Italy, and b) shows that the analysis of technological changes in agriculture provides a better understanding of the evolution of grain yields in these countries. The article also shows the effect of four key variables in these innovations: scientific advances in the field of biology, alongside environmental, institutional and technological factors. In addition, it provides a new indicator for the evolution of these innovations, which can be particularly useful to better determine the distribution of short‐stemmed and semidwarf wheats over time: wheat production per weight unit of hay harvested

Nuevas perspectivas en historia económica: innovaciones biológicas y cambio técnico en el sector triguero europeo, siglos XIX-XX

This article: a) analyzes the evolution of biological innovations in wheat varieties from the middle of nineteenth century to the end of twentieth century, in Britain, France, Spain and Italy, and b) shows that when we consider that aspect of the technological changes in agriculture, it explains better the evolution of grain yields in that cereal. The article also shows the impact of the following four variables on these innovations: scientific advances in biology; and other environmental, institutional and technological factors. The article also provides a new indicator on the evolution of these innovations, which can be particularly useful to better determine the distribution in time of short-stemmed and semi dwarf wheat: wheat production per weight unit of the hay harvested

GDP and life expectancy in Italy and Spain over the long run: A time-series approach

Background: A growing body of literature focuses on the relationship between life expectancy and GDP per capita. However, available studies to date are overwhelmingly based on either cross-country or cross-sectional data. We address the issue from a novel, more historically grounded approach, i.e., comparing long-run consistent time series. Objective: To investigate what, if any, is the causal link between life expectancy and GDP. Methods: We provide consistent and updated long-term yearly time series of GDP and life expectancy for Italy and Spain and compare them with those available for France. Results: Both Italy and Spain converged towards the European core (France) earlier in life expectancy than in GDP. We find it necessary to split the series into two sub-periods, and we find that, in general, both improvements in life expectancy cause GDP growth and economic growth causes improvements in life expectancy. For the countries and the periods considered there are, however, exceptions in both cases. Conclusions: Our findings confirm the hypothesis of a non-monotonic relationship between life expectancy and income, but they also emphasize the importance of empirical qualifications, imposed by the historical experience of each national case

Milk, from medicine to food in Mediterranean Europe: Catalonia, 19th-20th centuries.

The spread of milk consumption was a significant change in the diet of Europeans, however it is one that has not been greatly studied with regard to the populations of Mediterranean Europe. In this article we shall analyse the main circumstances that conditioned that process in Catalonia between the middle of the 19th century and 1936. In our study we shall argue that the consumption of milk in this area was only relevant in the 19th century in situations of illness or old age, and that it subsequently increased and acquired a new significance as a result of various factors. In particular, we shall emphasise: (a) the scientific advances in microbiology and nutrition, (b) the activities carried out by doctors and various public institutions to promote the consumption of fresh milk, and (c) the technological innovations in the milk producing sector. In Appendix 1 we show two maps representing the main territorial references that we shall mention.

El cambio tecnológico en la historia agraria de la España contemporánea

En este estudio se revisan las investigaciones recientes sobre la innovación y el cambio tecnológico en las agriculturas españolas contemporáneas en los siglos XIX y XX, destacando sus marcos teóricos, sus principales conclusiones y sus límites, En este estudio también se diferencian los trabajos dedicados a las transformaciones de la agricultura orgánica de los que se ocupan de la revolución verde y se proponen nuevas vías de investigación, Al final se ofrece una amplia relación de los trabajos publicados en los últimos años sobre el tema del cambio técnico en la agricultura española contemporánea.This paper reviews the latest research on innovations and technological changes occurred in Spanish contemporary agriculture in the 19th and 20th centuries, underlying its different theoretical approaches, conclusions, and problems. The main works devoted to the transformations experienced by organic agriculture and to the green revolution are considered here. An extensive list of works published in the last years is included at the end