Julio Martinez-Galarraga

The long-term patterns of regional income inequality in Spain (1860-2000)

Martínez-Galarraga J., Rosés J. R. and Tirado D. A. The long-term patterns of regional income inequality in Spain, 1860–2000, Regional Studies. Building on a new estimation of regional gross domestic product (GDP) from 1860 to 2000, this paper evaluates the long-run evolution of regional income inequality in Spain. It is found that sustained economic growth and the progressive integration of national markets have been accompanied by an inverted ‘U’-shaped evolution of regional income inequality. Regional inequality in income per worker rose during the second half of the nineteenth century, peaked in the year 1900 and decreased over the following ninety years. Since 1990, together with the exhaustion of the convergence in regional productive structures, Spains membership in the European Union generated a new upsurge of differences in labour productivity across the country that could be the basis for a new phase of regional income divergence.

Wages, Prices, and Technology in Early Catalan Industrialization

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 Barcelona are supplied for the period 1500–1808. Second, the prices of labour and capital are compared and the potential profitability of the adoption of the spinning jenny is analysed. Findings show that although Catalonia was not a high wage economy in the way that Britain was in the second half of the eighteenth century, evidence from the cotton spinning sector confirms the relevance of relative factor prices in the adoption of new technology. Within the booming cotton sector after the 1780s, high wages created strong incentives for the adoption of the labour‐saving spinning jenny.

WHY DID SPANISH REGIONS NOT CONVERGE BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR? AGGLOMERATION ECONOMIES AND (REGIONAL) GROWTH REVISITED *

En este articulo se analiza la existencia de una relacion entre la presencia de economias de aglomeracion y el crecimiento economico regional en Espana durante el periodo 1870-1930. El estudio permite revisitar la existencia de un trade-off entre crecimiento economico y cohesion territorial y, ademas, examinar si las economias de aglomeracion fueron un elemento clave a la hora de explicar el incremento de la desigualdad economica regional en Espana a lo largo de las primeras fases del desarrollo. Para ello, se presentan diferentes indicadores de aglomeracion a nivel provincial (NUTS3) que posteriormente se incluyen en la estimacion de regresiones de crecimiento condicionadas. En la linea de los modelos de Nueva Geografia Economica (NEG), sugerimos que la presencia de economias de aglomeracion en un contexto de integracion de mercado favorecio la aparicion de una causacion acumulativa que amplio la desigualdad regional en la segunda mitad del siglo XIX y dificulto su reduccion durante las primeras decadas del siglo XX.

Wages and Prices in Early Catalan Industrialisation

Catalonia was the only Mediterranean region among the early followers of the British Industrial Revolution in the second third of the nineteenth century. The roots of this industrialisation process can be traced back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when the Catalan economy became successfully integrated in international trade and the region enjoyed an intensification of its agrarian and proto-industrial activities. These capitalist developments were subsequently reinforced by a successful printed calico manufacturing business 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 had occurred earlier in the 1790s. In this paper, in line with Allen (2009a, 2009b), we explore whether relative factor prices played a role in the widespread adoption of the spinning jenny in Catalonia. First, we supply series of real wages in Barcelona for the period 1500-1808 in line with studies conducted within the ‘Great Divergence’ debate. Second, we undertake a comparative analysis of the relationship between the prices of labour and capital.Finally, we focus on the cotton spinning sector to determine the potential profitability of the adoption of the spinning jenny in Catalonia. We find that although Catalonia was not a high wage economy in the way that Britain was in the second half of the eighteenth century, evidence from the cotton spinning sector confirms the relevance of relative factor prices in the adoption of new technology. Within the booming sector of cotton after the 1780s, high wages created strong incentives for adopting the labour-saving spinning jenny.

The Origins of Economic Growth and Regional Income Inequality in Latin Europe, 1870–1950

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 characterizes much of Latin Europe today.

The Shadow of Cities: Size, Location and the Spatial Distribution of Population in Spain

Using a large data set on the population of Spanish municipalities between 1877 and 2001, this paper analyses how their initial size and the presence of neighbouring urban locations influence subsequent population growth and how these links have evolved over time. Our results show that initial size is negatively related to population growth, except in the 1960s and 1970s when this relationship becomes positive. Likewise, the presence of neighbouring urban locations limited local population growth in the late 19th century, a negative effect that persisted, but at a diminishing rate, until the second half of the 20th century. The influence of nearby cities became increasingly positive from then onwards, and especially so during the 1970s.