Inequality and Growth in a Developing Economy: Evidence from Regional Data (Spain, 1860–1930)

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-192
Author(s):  
Francisco J. Beltrán Tapia ◽  
Julio Martinez-Galarraga
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Demographic Transition ◽  
Developing Economy ◽  
Regional Data ◽  
Bottom Part ◽  
Provincial Level ◽  
Modern Economic Growth ◽  
Modern Economic ◽  
Rural Exodus ◽  
The Relationship

ABSTRACTThis article measures inequality at the provincial level in Spain for different benchmark years between 1860 and 1930. It then empirically assesses the relationship between economic growth and inequality. The results confirm that, although growing incomes did not directly contribute to reducing inequality, at least during the early stages of modern economic growth, other processes associated with economic growth such as the rural exodus to urban and industrial centers, the demographic transition, and the spread of literacy, among others, notably improved the situation of the bottom part of the population.

THE TWO REVOLUTIONS, LANDED ELITES, AND EDUCATION DURING THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 1478-1511
Author(s):  
Duarte N. Leite ◽  
Óscar Afonso ◽  
Sandra T. Silva
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Demographic Transition ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Education Reforms ◽  
Modern Economic Growth ◽  
Modern Economic ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Passionate Debate

Understanding the causes of the Industrial Revolution, namely the process of transition from a Malthusian equilibrium to modern economic growth, has been the subject of passionate debate. This paper contributes to insights into the process of industrialization and the demographic transition that followed. We present a model that proposes a mechanism behind the claim that landed elites had strong incentives to block education reforms. By applying the theory of interest groups to landownership, landowners could delay education. However, they could not prevent its introduction indefinitely since gains for the landed elites derived from education would at some moment surpass the costs associated with them. We also sustain that improvements in agricultural productivity prior to the Industrial Revolution may have induced a positive impact on the landowners’ decision to educate the population, which led to an earlier introduction of education reforms. The conclusions fit the patterns of the late boom of industrialization and demographic transition and help explain why some countries (e.g., Britain and The Netherlands) had accelerated education reforms and a faster process of industrialization than most continental countries. A theoretical model is presented, and numerical simulations are exhibited to illustrate our claims.

The Cambridge History of Capitalism

Capitalisms ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 128-151
Author(s):  
David Washbrook
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Capitalist System ◽  
History Of Capitalism ◽  
Modern Economic Growth ◽  
Strategic Role ◽  
History Of ◽  
Modern Economic ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

The concept of capitalism has always been subject to multiple meanings. The definition adopted in The Cambridge History of Capitalism is particularly broad. It makes ‘capitalism’ difficult to distinguish from sustained economic growth and/or progress towards modern economic growth. It also obscures the relationship of labour to capital and promotes the national economy as the natural arena in which discrete histories of capitalism should be written. However, in the case of India, there are other angles to consider. If labour were given a central role in the definition of ‘capitalism’, a very different set of issues becomes apparent. Moreover, if capitalism were understood, from the first, as a transnational set of forces, India’s supposed marginality in its genesis becomes illusory. India played a key strategic role in the evolution of the global capitalist system enmeshed in the British Empire. This essay explores these other sides of capitalism’s history in India.

scholarly journals Getting to Africa’s Demographic Dividend

2021 ◽  
pp. 71-96
Author(s):  
Jakkie Cilliers
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Demographic Transition ◽  
High Fertility ◽  
African Continent ◽  
Demographic Dividend ◽  
Fertility Rates ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractIn this chapter, Cilliers defines the demographic dividend and explains its relationship to economic growth, with a focus on the African continent. It first covers the fundamentals of the relationship between population and economics, then offers an in-depth discussion of two key concepts, the demographic transition and demographic dividend. The chapter demonstrates that sub-Saharan Africa’s high fertility rates are a drag on development rather than an advantage, as the region can only expect to enjoy a demographic dividend after mid-century. It then uses scenario analysis to demonstrate that, given the right policy conditions, Africa can accelerate population-driven economic growth by reducing its fertility rate through interventions in education, infrastructure, human capital and, most importantly, women’s empowerment.

Economic Growth and Human Development since 1820

2018 ◽  
pp. 22-54
Author(s):  
Şevket Pamuk
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Physical Capital ◽  
Modern Economic Growth ◽  
Education Levels ◽  
Modern Economic ◽  
Proximate Causes ◽  
The One

This chapter examines the trends in economic growth and human development in Turkey during the last two centuries. Economists have learned a great deal about modern economic growth since the end of World War II. The large and growing literature has emphasized that increases in productivity, achieved through technological progress on the one hand, and increases in per capita physical capital and education levels, on the other, were the most important factors contributing to economic growth. In addition, the labor force is much better educated than in 1820. In short, technological change and higher rates of investment in both physical and human capital are seen today as the leading proximate causes of economic growth since the Industrial Revolution.

Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-36
Author(s):  
Paul Erdkamp ◽  
Koenraad Verboven ◽  
Arjan Zuiderhoek
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Structural Properties ◽  
Productivity Growth ◽  
Capital Goods ◽  
Roman Economy ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Large Complex ◽  
Modern Economic Growth ◽  
Modern Economic

Investment in capital, both physical and financial, and innovation in its uses are often considered the linchpin of modern economic growth, while credit and credit markets now seem to determine the wealth—as well as the fate—of nations. Yet was it always thus? The Roman economy was large, complex, and sophisticated, but in terms of its structural properties, did it look anything like the economies we know today? Through consideration of the allocation and uses of capital and credit and the role of innovation in the Roman world, this volume explores how capital in its various forms was generated, allocated, and employed in the Roman economy; whether the Romans had markets for capital goods and credit; and whether investment in capital led to innovation and productivity growth.

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