Tariff history lessons from the European periphery. protection intensity and the infant industry argument in Spain and Italy 1870-1930.

This paper endeavors to study Spanish protectionism on the Italian mirror. On the assumption that literature present both European peripheral countries at a similar stage of development that reacted with a similar protectionist reply to late 19th century economic globalization. Nevertheless, competitiveness and specialization of the respective industrial structures were quite different, as the manufacture export performance in the two countries shows since the turn of the century. This paper will emphasize the existence of significant different protection policies in Spain and Italy between 1860-1930 as an influential variable. The analysis of the quantitative evidence characterize the Italian and Spanish protectionist as low and fiscal versus high and manufacture respectively. The paper develop a new test on the infant industry argument for Spain and Italy which aims at measuring the dynamic effects produced by protection on both economie

New series of the Spanish foreign sector, 1850-2000.

This paper offers new series on the evolution of the foreign sector of the Spanish economy in the period between 1821 and 2001. Besides the classical series of the trade balance in current, constant and gold pesetas, it incorporates the series of incomes, payments and balance of the main entries of the Current Account and Capital Balance, along with a special treatment of the tourist series since the 1920s. As a complement to the analysis of the foreign sector, new indicators of trade, financial and customs tariffs protection and degree of openness of the Spanish economy have been included together with new homogeneous estimations of the distribution by products and the revealed comparative advantage (according to a systematic aggregate following the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC. 2 (UN (1985) and GATT (1986)) as well as the geographical distribution of exports and imports (following the UN Classification (INE (2002)).Foreign Sector; Foreign Trade; Accuracy Foreign Trade; Spanish New Series;

Tariff history lessons from the European periphery. protection intensity and the infant industry argument in Spain and Italy 1870-1930..

This paper endeavors to study Spanish protectionism on the Italian mirror. On the assumption that literature present both European peripheral countries at a similar stage of development that reacted with a similar protectionist reply to late 19th century economic globalization. Nevertheless, competitiveness and specialization of the respective industrial structures were quite different, as the manufacture export performance in the two countries shows since the turn of the century. This paper will emphasize the existence of significant different protection policies in Spain and Italy between 1860-1930 as an influential variable. The analysis of the quantitative evidence characterize the Italian and Spanish protectionist as low and fiscal versus high and manufacture respectively. The paper develop a new test on the infant industry argument for Spain and Italy which aims at measuring the dynamic effects produced by protection on both economies

Bairoch revisited. Tariff structure and growth in the late 19th century

This paper revisits Bairoch’s hypothesis that tariffs were positively associated with growth in the late 19th century, as confirmed recently by a new generation of quantitative studies (see O`Rourke (2000), Jacks (2006) and Clements-Williamson (2002, 2004)). This paper highlights the importance of the structure of protection in the relation between trade policy and growth and its potential growth-promoting impact. Evidence is based in a new data base on industrial tariffs for the 1870`s. First results, based on these findings, show that protection was only positive for a “rich club” if we include in this group New Settler countries which grew rapidly in the late 19th century. Leaving out these countries, which protected mainly for fiscal reasons, the evidence shows that more protection, indicated by total average and manufacture tariff average, implied more un-skilled inefficient protection and less growth and this is especially true for the poor countries in the late 19th century.Tariffs and growth, Tariff structure, Late 19th Century

Tariff History Lessons from the European Periphery. Protection Intensity and the Infant Industry Argument in Spain and Italy 1870-1930.

This paper endeavors to study Spanish protectionism on the Italian mirror. On the assumption that literature present both European peripheral countries at a similar stage of development that reacted with a similar protectionist reply to late 19th century economic globalization. Nevertheless, competitiveness and specialization of the respective industrial structures were quite different, as the manufacture export performance in the two countries shows since the turn of the century. This paper will emphasize the existence of significant different protection policies in Spain and Italy between 1860-1930 as an influential variable. The analysis of the quantitative evidence characterize the Italian and Spanish protectionist as low and fiscal versus high and manufacture respectively. The paper develop a new test on the infant industry argument for Spain and Italy which aims at measuring the dynamic effects produced by protection on both economies.

MEASURING PROTECTION OVER TIME. REVENUE AND PROTECTIVE PRODUCTS IN THE 19TH CENTURY EUROPEAN TARIFF GROWTH DEBATE

This paper shows the relevance of the strong and changing presence of the so-called fiscal products throughout European trade history, the bigger index number problems in periods and countries with higher levels and shares of manufacture tariffs in total imports and the different association between tariffs and growth according to development heterogeneity and the tariff average used. Evidence showed in this paper appear quite contrary to Bairoch traditional hypothesis on the positive role that protection played to foster Continental Europe industrialization before First War World. Conclusions suggests caution in the use of the conventional average tariffs and advises the estimation of alternative manufacture, agrarian and fiscal tariff average by countries as a necessary contribution for the better defined tariff growth debate.

Bairoch revisited : tariff structure and growth in the late nineteenth century.

This article revisits Bairoch’s hypothesis that in the late nineteenth century tariffs were positively associated with growth, as recently confirmed by a new generation of quantitative studies (see O’Rourke 2000; Jacks 2006; Clemens and Williamson 2002, 2004). This article highlights the importance of the structure of protection in the relation between trade policy and its potential growth-promoting impact. Evidence is based on a new database on industrial tariffs for the 1870s. The results show that income, factor endowment and policy independence are important for explaining regional asymmetries between tariffs and growth. At a global level, increased protection, measured by total and average tariffs on manufactures, implied more unskilled inefficient protection and less growth, and this is especially true for the poor countries in the late nineteenth century. Protection was only positive for a ‘rich club’ if we include in this group new settler countries, which grew rapidly in the late nineteenth century and imposed high tariffs mainly for fiscal reasonsTariffs and growth; Tariff structure;

Did trade policy foster Italian industrialization evidences from the effective production rates 1870-1930

Trade policy, and its effects oftariffs on structural change and industrialization, is arguably the 1110st contentious topic in Italian economic history. However, so far the discussion has relied almost exclusively on few scattered data and anecdotal evidence. This article builds on a comprehensive data-base of nominal and effective protection rates to test the main hypotheses put forward in the literature. We show that there is little evidence of a deliberate strategy to foster industrialization, or of any consisted strategy at aH. So we argue that the actual lay-out of Italian duties was the somewhat haphazard outcome of several causes, notably the need for revenue and the lobbying by sectional interests