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on Business, Economic and Financial History |
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Issue of 2013‒08‒10
twelve papers chosen by |
| By: | Rafael, Dobado-González; Alfredo, García-Hiernaux; David , Guerrero-Burbano |
| Abstract: | This paper extends our previous work on grain market integration across Europe and the Americas in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (Dobado, García-Hiernaux and Guerrero, 2012). By using the same econometric methodology, we now present: 1) a search for statistical evidence in the East of an “Early Globalization” comparable to the one ongoing in the West by mid eighteenth century; 2) a study on the integration of grain markets in China and Japan and its functioning in comparison to Western countries; 3) a discussion of the relevance of our findings for the debate on the Great Divergence. Our main conclusions are: 1) substantial differences in the degree of integration and the functioning of grain markets are observed between East and West; 2) a certain degree of integration may be reached through different combinations of factors (agents, policies, etc.) and with dissimilar effects on long-run economic growth; 3) the absence of an “Early Globalization” in the East reveals the existence of some economic and institutional limitations in this part of the world and contributed to its “Great Divergence” with the West from at least the eighteenth century. |
| Keywords: | economic history, market integration, globalization, great divergence, time series analysis |
| JEL: | N0 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:48773&r=his |
| By: | Sambit Bhattacharyya; Jeffrey G. Williamson |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the distributional impact of commodity price shocks over both the short and very long run. Using a GARCH model, we find that Australia experienced more volatility than many commodity exporting developing countries over the periods 1865-1940 and 1960-2007. A single equation error correction model suggests that commodity price shocks increase the income share of the top 1, 0.05 and 0.01 percents in the short run. THe very top end of the income distribution benefits from commodity booms disproportionately more than the rest of the society. The short run effect is mainly driven by wool and mining and not agricultural commodities. A sustained increase in the price of renewables (wool) reduces inequality whereas the same for non-renewable resources (minerals) increases inequality. We expect the initial distribution of land and mineral resources explains the asymmetric result. |
| Keywords: | commodity price shocks, commodity exporters, top incomes, inequality |
| JEL: | F14 F43 N17 O13 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:oxcrwp:117&r=his |
| By: | Philippe Bance (CREAM - Centre de Recherche en Economie Appliquée à la Mondialisation - Université de Rouen); Nathalie Rey (CEPN - Centre d'Economie de l'Université Paris Nord - Université Paris XIII - Paris Nord - CNRS : UMR7234) |
| Abstract: | La Poste is a very ancient organisation of the postal service in France.It became an administration at the beginning of the 17th century to accomplish postal public missions. In 1991, the PTT administration was separated in two enterprises: France Telecom and La Poste. This last one is became a public enterprise, totally owned by the French state. La Poste is too an operator in the banking service. In 2006, was created La BanquePostale which is a subsidiary company 100% owned by La Poste. The case study will address the two main activity fields of La Poste: the delivery of mail and packages on one hand; financial services, on the other hand. It will be analysed under what conditions could be consistent the exercise of public missions, such as accessibility to postal and financial services, development of territories and the competitive constraints. |
| Date: | 2013–06–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00849394&r=his |
| By: | BRESSER-PEREIRA, Luiz Carlos |
| Abstract: | The Capitalist Revolution was the period of the transition from the ancient societies to capitalism; it was a long transition that began in the north of Italy, in the 14th century, and for the first time got completed in England, in the second part of the 18th century, with the formation of the nation state and the Industrial Revolution; it is a major rupture, which divided the history of mankind between a period where empires or civilizations prospered and then fell into decadence and disappeared, and a period of ingrained economic development and long-term improvement of standards of living. Since then the different peoples are engaged in the social construction of their nations and their states; since then, they are experiencing economic development, because capitalism is essentially dynamic; since then they are struggling for the political objectives that they historically defined for themselves from that revolution: security, freedom, economic well-being, social justice, and protection of the environment. |
| Date: | 2013–08–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fgv:eesptd:326&r=his |
| By: | Jeffrey Lin (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, I study long-run population changes across U.S. metropolitan areas. First, I argue that changes over a long period of time in the geographic distribution of population can be informative about the so-called \resilience" of regions. Using the censuses of population from 1790 to 2010, I find that persistent declines, lasting two decades or more, are somewhat rare among metropolitan areas in U.S. history, though more common recently. Incorporating data on historical factors, I find that metropolitan areas that have experienced extended periods of weak population growth tend to be smaller in population, less industrially diverse, and less educated. These historical correlations inform the construction of a regional resilience index. |
| Keywords: | City growth, metropolitan areas, persistence |
| JEL: | N91 N92 R11 R12 R23 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieb:wpaper:2013/6/doc2013-22&r=his |
| By: | Ternyik, Stephen I. |
| Abstract: | The humanistic science of Jewry is discussed from the empirical and historical viewpoint of Jewish economics and ethics (Judaism as Humanistic Science/Judentum als Geisteswissenschaft). |
| Keywords: | humanistic science/Geisteswissenschaft; Jewry; Judaism/Judentum; economics; ethics; human history |
| JEL: | B0 |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:48825&r=his |
| By: | Stefania Albanesi (Federal Reserve Bank of New York and CEPR); Claudia Olivetti (Boston University and NBER) |
| Abstract: | U.S. fertility rose from a low of 2.27 children for women born in 1908 to a peak of 3.21 children for women born in 1932. It dropped to a new low of 1.74 children for women born in 1949, before stabilizing for subsequent cohorts. We propose a novel explanation for this boom-bust pattern, linking it to the huge improvements in maternal health that started in the mid 1930s. Our hypothesis is that the improvements in maternal health contributed to the mid-twentieth century baby boom and generated a rise in women's human capital, ultimately leading to a decline in desired fertility for subsequent cohorts. To examine this link empirically, we exploit the large cross-state variation in the magnitude of the decline in pregnancy-related mortality and the differential exposure by cohort. We find that the decline in maternal mortality is associated with a rise in fertility for women born between 1921 and 1940, with a rise in college and high school graduation rates for women born in 1933-1950 relative to previous cohorts, and with a decline in fertility for women born in 1941-1950 relative to those born in 1921-1940. The analysis provides new insights on the determinants of fertility in the U.S. and other countries that experienced similar improvements in maternal health. |
| Keywords: | Maternal mortality, Fertility choice, Baby boom, human capital |
| JEL: | J11 J13 N12 N3 |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hka:wpaper:2013-003&r=his |
| By: | Huillery, Elise (Département d'économie) |
| Abstract: | Was colonization costly for France? Did French taxpayers contribute to colonies' development? This paper reveals that French West Africa's colonization took only 0.29 percent of French annual expenditures, including 0.24 percent for military and central administration and 0.05 percent for French West Africa's development. For West Africans, the contribution from French taxpayers was almost negligible: mainland France provided about two percent of French West Africa's revenue. In fact, colonization was a considerable burden for African taxpayers since French civil servants' salaries absorbed a disproportionate share of local expenditures. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:sciepo:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09na41pc24o&r=his |
| By: | Stefania Albanesi (Federal Reserve Bank of New York and CEPR) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of the decline in maternal mortality on fertility and women's human capital. Fertility theory suggests that a permanent decline in maternal mortality initially increases fertility and generates a permanent rise in women's human capital, relative to men. The resulting rise in the opportunity cost of children leads to a subsequent decline in desired fertility, generating a boom-bust response. We assess these predictions using newly digitized data on maternal mortality for 25 advanced and emerging economies for the time period 1900-2000. The empirical estimates suggest that the decline in maternal mortality contributed significantly to the baby booms and subsequent baby busts experi- enced by these economies in the twentieth century, and that the female-male differential in education attainment grew more in those countries that experience a sizable maternal mortality decline. |
| Keywords: | Maternal mortality decline, fertility choice, baby boom, women's, human capital |
| JEL: | J11 J13 J16 N3 |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hka:wpaper:2013-005&r=his |
| By: | Carlo V. Fiorio (University of Milan); Simon Mohun (Queen Mary University of London); Roberto Veneziani (University of Massachusetts, Amherst) |
| Abstract: | ln the last three decades, two questions have been central for the Left. ls there a future for electoral socialism and social democracy? And, is it any longer possible to promote a significant redistribution of income in favour of labour? Political and economic events seem to suggest negative answers. ln his influential work, Adam Przeworski suggests that this is an irreversible trend that makes it impossible in the long-run to promote genuinely socialist objectives in capitalist democracies. ln particular, the structural dependence of labour on capital severely constrains feasible income distributions. ln this paper, a detailed quantitative and qualitative analysis of the post-war UK economy is provided which casts doubts on the structural dependence thesis. A short run profit-squeeze mechanism seems to exist, but income shares are more variable than the structural dependence argument suggests, and the power resources available to the two main classes in the economy are among the key determinants of distributive outcomes, different political-economic equilibria corresponding to different configurations of the balance of power between the two classes. JEL Categories: |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ums:papers:2013-06&r=his |
| By: | Scoppa, Vincenzo (University of Calabria) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the role of fatigue in soccer (football). Although this issue is important for the "productivity" of players and the optimal organization of national and international championships, empirical evidence is lacking. We use data on all the matches played by national teams in all the tournaments of the FIFA Soccer World Cup (from 1930 to 2010) and the UEFA European Football Championship (from 1960 to 2012). We relate team performance (in terms of points gained and goals scored and conceded) to the respective days of rests that teams have had after their previous match, controlling for several measures of teams' abilities. Using different estimators we show that, under the current structure of major international tournaments, there are no relevant effects of enjoying different days of rest on team performance. However, we find that before Nineties days of rest had a positive impact on performance, presumably because athletic preparation of players was less effective. Furthermore, we show that the advantage of additional rest is quite relevant, when rest time of one of the opposing teams is three days or less. |
| Keywords: | sports economics, soccer, fatigue, team performance, World Cup, European Football Championship |
| JEL: | L83 J4 J22 L25 C29 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7519&r=his |
| By: | Dwyer, Gerald P; Devereux, John; Baier, Scott L.; Tamura, Robert |
| Abstract: | We examine the relationship of banking crises with economic growth and recessions. Our data cover 21 economies from around the world, most from 1870 to 2009 with the rest starting in 1901 or earlier. The data include capital investment and human capital formation. We have two major findings. First, there is very large heterogeneity in growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and capital investment after banking crises. Most strikingly, twenty-five percent of counties experience no decrease in real GDP per capita in the year of the crisis or the following two years. Some countries see an increase in long run growth after a crisis while others see a fall, with no clear overall pattern. Second, we find clear evidence consistent with Zarnowitz’s Law. If there is a contraction in economic activity after a banking crisis, larger decreases in real GDP per capita are followed by faster subsequent growth. |
| Keywords: | financial crises, banking crises, recessions, Zarnowitz's Law, Zarnowitz's rule |
| JEL: | E32 E44 G01 |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:48843&r=his |