Documents de treball (Història Econòmica, Institucions, Política i Economia Mundial)

URI permanent per a aquesta col·leccióhttps://diposit.ub.edu/handle/2445/12561

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When lawmakers met progressives. Debating the American federal income tax of 1894
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, 2022) San Julián Arrupe, F. Javier
In 1894 the American Congress passed a 2% tax on incomes over 4,000 US dollars, as part of a bill seeking to reduce tariffs. Transformations in the American society after the Civil War triggered an increasing role of the State, calling for a tax reform. Concerned for tax justice, progressive economists sponsored a tax system grounded on ability to pay, demanding an income tax. Farmers and the working class joined this demand, feeling that American tax system was harmful to them. The decade of 1890 consolidated this opinion, leading a majority of lawmakers at the House to embrace the idea of a federal income tax. Even if struck down by the Supreme Court, the federal income tax of 1894 was an economic milestone in the Progressive Era, mirroring new social concerns. This paper examines the debates on the income tax in the House, with a twofold conclusion. First, representatives accepted the arguments of progressive economists for tax reform and used them in the discussion. Second, political economy played a central role in the debate as an instrument to confer legitimacy and reputation to representatives’ arguments for the income tax, and crucially aided in the building of consensus for the reform.
State capacity and the uneven cost of nation building: Language mismatch and literacy levels in Valencia
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, 2021) Beltrán Tapia, Francisco; Diez-Minguela, Alfonso; Gómez-Tello, Alicia; Martínez Galarraga, Julio; Tirado, Daniel A.
This paper studies the impact generated by the existence of a mismatch between the language of instruction and the language of use of the population in the context of the construction of the liberal state in Spain. In particular, the work analyzes the effects of the presence of this linguistic distance on the unequal diffusion of literacy among the municipalities that made up the former Kingdom of Valencia from 1860 to 1930. For the development of the analysis, a novel data set has been constructed with information that includes the literacy rates of the 524 municipalities that make up the region of Valencia (Valencian Community) in three points in time (1860, 1900 and 1930), the linguistic domain to which each municipality belongs, as well as the institutional, geographic and economic characteristics of each municipality at the end of the Ancien Régime (1787). Based on the available information, the analysis uses Propensity Score Matching techniques to verify the existence of an effect on the literacy levels recorded in Spanish-speaking municipalities with respect to Catalan-speaking ones. Two main results are obtained. The first is to identify the existence of differences in educational outcomes derived from the presence of a mismatch effect. Secondly, it is also shown that this effect only appears when the Spanish state enjoyed the capacity to force compliance with language regulations in public schools, in parallel with the advance of its financial and administrative capacity and the incipient advance of a democratic regime.
Trade globalization and social spending in Spain, 1850-2000
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, 2021) Espuelas Barroso, Sergio
Between 1850 and 2005, Spain experienced major changes in its trade orientation, combining periods of intense trade protectionism with periods of high trade openness. What was the impact on social spending? The econometric results suggest that globalization effect in 1850-2000 Spain has been conditional on fiscal capacity. When fiscal capacity has been high, trade openness has had a positive effect. However, when fiscal capacity has been low, trade-openness effect on social spending has been negative. The results are robust to alternative measures of fiscal capacity and consistent with a placebo test. This would explain why after the 1960s social spending in Spain increased in parallel with trade openness, whereas before that date social spending grew (slowly) in a context of increasing trade protectionism. Thus, both the compensation effect and the race to the bottom find empirical support but the final outcome depends on the fiscal context
Democracy and primary education spending in Spain, 1902-22
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, 2021) Azar, Paola; Espuelas Barroso, Sergio
By the turn of the 20th century, nation-building reformers in Spain tried to stimulate schooling expansion to improve (or at least dignify) Spain’s position in the international arena. However, in this paper we find that democratic imperfections help explaining the modest spread of primary schooling after the 1902 reforms. Regression results show that the lack of effective electoral competition and political patronage lowered public primary education spending across Spanish provinces in 1902-22. Voter turnout had a positive impact but it was not big enough to compensate for this negative effect.
Colonizer Identity and Trade in Africa: Were the British More Favourable to Free Trade?
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, 2020) Tadei, Federico
It has often been claimed that the structure of export trade between Africa and Europe during the colonial period depended on the colonizer identity, with the British relying on free trade and the French employing instead monopsonistic policies. Yet, due to the lack of systematic data on colonial trade, this claim has so far remained untested. In this paper, I use recently available data on export prices from African colonies to estimate monopsonistic profit margins for British and French trading companies. The results challenge the view of the British colonizers as champions of free trade. The level of profit margins was determined much more by the local conditions in Africa than by the identity of the colonial power. The British did not necessarily rely on free trade more than the French and did so only when a stronger control of trade was not a viable option.
Income Inequality in French West Africa: Building Social Tables for Pre-Independence Senegal and Ivory Coast
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, 2019) Alfani, Guido; Tadei, Federico
Sub-Saharan Africa is home today to some of the most unequal countries in the world, in Southern and Central Africa, as well as others that are close to the world average, in Western Africa. Yet, there is no consensus regarding the historical factors that led to such a situation. Given limited data on income distribution during colonial times, we do not know whether present-day inequality patterns can be traced back to the colonial period and which role was played by colonial institutions. Most of our knowledge comes from information on British colonies, while territories subjected to other colonial powers are much less well known. To address this gap, we analyze trends in income inequality for colonies in French West Africa, building social tables for Senegal and Ivory Coast during the last decades of colonial rule. We find that income inequality was high during the colonial period, because of the huge income differential between Africans and European settlers (especially in Senegal) and of high inequality within the African population (especially in the Ivory Coast). Nevertheless, it tended to reduce during colonial rule – but the trend inverted after independence. Our findings cast in a new light the connection between colonialism, extractive institutions, high inequality and inequality extraction ratios.
Spain and the classical gold standard. Short-And long-Term analyses
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, 2018) Roldán Marín, Alba
This paper seeks to link the two theories put forward to explain (the consequences of) Spain’s decision not to adopt the gold standard in the late nineteenth century, and does so by comparing the outcomes of short- and long-run approaches. The empirical results obtained from applying an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and vector error correction (VEC) framework are reported. This ARDL and VEC analysis reveals that the expansionary monetary policies implemented had a positive impact on Spain’s economic growth. The exchange rate was a key factor, since it helped improve the terms of trade and promoted exports in the short run. None of these options would have been available under the gold standard system. This paper provides new empirical evidence for the core-periphery debate through an analysis of a peripheral economy, and sheds important new light on the developments in Spain at the time of the classical gold standard.
A difficult consensus: the making of the Spanish welfare State
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, 2018) Espuelas Barroso, Sergio
Before 1977, the Spanish government was unable (or unwilling) to increase taxation to finance new social programs. As an alternative to this lack of fiscal capacity, Spanish policy makers in the early 20th century promoted contributive social Insurance schemes (mostly financed from employers’ and employees’ contributions). To avoid social conflict in rural areas, rural laborers were also included in these programs. This, however, generated strong business opposition, especially from rural landowners and small-sized, labor intensive businesses (which were predominant in Spain). With the advent of democracy in 1931 new social plans were devised, but redistribution demands focused on land reform. After the Spanish civil war, Franco’s dictatorship consolidated a conservative social insurance model. Social benefits were kept very low and funding relied on employers’ and employees’ compulsory contributions. Labor moviment repression and trade protectionism allowed companies to easily transfer the cost of social insurance to wages and consumer prices. The introduction of income tax, after the restoration of democracy in 1977, gave way to a new social protection model. Taxfunded, non-contributory programs increased and social protection was extended to those without stable ties to the labor market. By 1977 wage dispersion had replaces property incomes concentration -particularly land ownership- as the main source of income inequality, and demands for tax-and-transfer redistribution replaced 1930s expropriation demands. Social spending growth, however, stagnated after the signing of the Maastricht treaty, before Spain reached the European levels.
Political Regime and Social Spending in Spain: A Time Series Analysis (1850-2000) [WP]
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, 2016) Espuelas Barroso, Sergio
Over the past century and a half, Spain has had a tumultuous political history. What impact has this had on social policy? Democracy has had a positive effect on both the levels of social spending and its long-term growth trend. With the arrival of democracy in 1931, the transition began from a traditional regime (with low levels of social spending) to a modern regime (with high levels of social spending). Franco’s dictatorship, however, reversed this change in direction, retarding the positive growth in social spending. At the same time, the effect of left-wing parties was statistically significant only in the nineteen-thirties (prior to the Keynesian consensus) and in the period of the Bourbon Restoration (when the preferences of low-income groups were systematically ignored).
Are All Booms and Busts Created Equal? A New Methodology for Understanding Bull and Bear Stock Markets
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, 2016) Forero Laverde, Germán
This paper presents a new non-parametric methodology for the description of the evolution of the asset cycle in the stock market. It uses the empirical distribution of the data; in particular the structures of the tails of return distributions to build Boom-Bust Indicators (BBI) that describe whether a given market is a bull or a bear. These indicators, for three different time horizons, perform better than the usual binary sequence of financial crises because they measure both direction and intensity, they have stronger variability than a binary variable, they are strongly associated to the original data and keep some of its underlying characteristics such as serial autocorrelation, and they identify at least the same bull and bear markets as other methodologies. There is no evidence that favors one of the BBI specifications above the others
When is an oligarchy formed? The origins and evolution of an elite. Barcelona 1850-1920
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, 2016) Sanjuan Marroquín, José Miguel
This paper tracks the origins and inner changes of Barcelona's economic elite in the long term. The objective is to achieve a deeper understanding of the mechanism that families and individuals developed to gain access to the elites and retain their economic position. For doing so, the paper analyzes industrial and real estate tax payers in three moments (1853-1883-1919). Through this approach we can observe that in aggregate, elites -identified as the 5% of the higher taxpayers- move from a stationary state to a progressive increase of wealth concentration. For a deeper understanding of the mechanism and inner changes of this elite, we focus in 81 families and exhaustively we have tracked down their origin and evolution. The conclusion is that their initial wealth accumulation is linked with a few specific situations. Their economic promotion seems to be related to specific windows of opportunity that open at certain moments and/or places. Once these windows of opportunity close the elites seem to progressively lock on themselves. This tendency created social circles that favored endogamy
Height and Industrialisation in a City in Catalonia during the Nineteenth Century
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, 2015) Ramon-Muñoz, Ramon, 1967-; Ramon i Muñoz, Josep Maria
Drawing on anthropometric information, this article investigates the evolution of the biological standard of living in nineteenth-century Catalonia. We focus on the city of Igualada, one of Catalonia’s main textile centres in the early part of the century. The results show a decline in the height of males born between the 1830s and the 1860s, the period in which factory-based industrialisation emerged and became consolidated. The article also suggests that height inequality rose during the third quarter of the nineteenth century. The empirical evidence gathered provides further support for the pessimistic view of the evolution of the standard of living during the early stages of industrialisation.
Regional income distribution in Mexico: new long-term evidence, 1895-2010
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, 2015) Aguilar-Retureta, José
In the last years, Economic History literature has paid close attention to the long-term changes undertaken by regional income inequality in diferent countries after the integration of their domestic markets. Nevertheless, this literature has mainly focused on developed economies (US and Europe). New evidence is required from peripheral economies, where economic growth has had different features, and income inequality may have been dominated by other forces and followed different trends. The aim of this paper is to analyse several dimensions of the long-term evolution of Mexican regional income inequality, from the early stages of domestic markets integration to the present (1895–2010). This analysis may be taken as basis for further explanatory analysis and may contribute to the emergence of new hypothesis to explain the long-term changes in regional inequality in peripheral economies.
Efficient multilateralism or bilateralism? The TTIP from an EU Trade Policy perspective
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, 2015) Garcia-Duran Huet, Patricia; Millet, Montserrat
The EU bilateral trade strategy since 2006, including the TTIP, has been justified by the European Commission on the bases that deep and comprehensive trade agreements are compatible with efficient multilateralism. The Commission argument is the following: in a context marked by International supply-chains, preferential agreements that allow for progress on what has been achieved at the multilateral level (topics WTO +) and in areas not already covered by the WTO (items WTO- X) may be considered as a stepping stone, not a stumbling block for multilateral liberalization. In other words, EU recent bilateral negotiations and agreements should be seen at worst as complementary to multilateral negotiations and at best as promoters.
Sticky income inequality in the Spanish transition (1973-1990)
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, 2014) Torregrosa Hetland, Sara
This paper investigates the evolution of income inequality in Spain during its transition to democracy, suggesting a method for the correction of under-reporting of earnings and profits in the Household Budget Surveys’ data. The contribution is twofold: the methodological proposal, based on income expenditure discrepancy and scaling-up to National Accounts, improves on previous work, and can be convenient for similar historical sources in other countries. Secondly, its application results in an alternative history of the distribution of income in this case, changing the levels and also the observed trend. Previous literature asserted a substantial equalization, related to the democratization process, while after the adjustment inequality in disposable income is shown to have been quite persistent.
The long run development of Chile and the Natural Resources curse. Linkages, policy and growth, 1850-1950
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, 2014) Badia-Miró, Marc; Ducoing Ruiz, Cristián Arturo
This chapter analyses the effects of Natural Resources on the Chilean economy in the long run -1850-1950-. Specifically, the authors focus their attention on the mining cycles -nitrates and copper- and their impact on the mining activity. We also compare it with the evolution of the industry and whole economy, and how this has affected the economic growth of the country. In that sense, the industrial performance in Chile at the end of the 19th century until the Great Depression is still under debate. The optimistic view of Kirsch -1977- forehead the pessimistic view of Lagos -1966- and Palma -1979-. The new data and its analyses shows a neutral effect of the Natural Resources in the industrial development.
The determinants of CAP reform: learning from the European financial crisis and CAP 2013
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, 2014) Garcia-Duran Huet, Patricia; Millet, Montserrat
There is an ongoing debate on which are the determinants of CAP reform. The economic environment has not been contemplated as a direct determinant of CAP reform but its proxy, the budget, has not only been looked at as such but underlined as a key cause of CAP reform. This paper argues, however, that the budget does not affect the modus operandi of the CAP. It affects the quantity of support each farmer is going to get and sometimes even the timing of the reform, but not the form it is going to receive it. Other CAP determinants and international negotiations in particular, have an impact on the substance of CAP reform. This hypothesis is not contradicted by an analysis of CAP 2013 changes.
Parlament del Sr. Ernest Lluch a la Festa de la nit de Santa Llúcia de 1982
(1982) Lluch, Ernest, 1937-2000
Wages and prices in early Catalan industrialisation
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, 2014) Prat Sabartés, Marc; Martínez Galarraga, Julio
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.
The determinants of social spending in Spain (1880-1960): Is Lindert right?
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, 2008) Espuelas Barroso, Sergio; Vilar Rodríguez, Margarita
[spa] El principal objetivo de este artículo se centra en analizar los orígenes del Estado de Bienestar en España a partir del marco teórico elaborado por Peter Lindert. Con este fin, se ofrece un análisis econométrico de los factores que determinaron la evolución del gasto social público en este país entre 1880 y 1960. Utilizando nueva evidencia cuantitativa, se construyó un panel de datos por quinquenios con el porcentaje de gasto social respecto al PIB desagregado en tres partidas: sanidad, seguridad social y beneficencia. El análisis permite insertar el caso español en el debate internacional y los resultados revelan interesantes singularidades de este país.

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