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on Business, Economic and Financial History |
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Issue of 2015‒09‒11
29 papers chosen by |
| By: | Dan Bogart |
| Abstract: | Many markets are limited by laws and customs enforced by political and religious authorities. North, Wallis, and Weingast (2009) argue that the transition from limited access requires a series of steps like rule of law for elites and the creation of perpetually lived organizations. This paper studies how these steps were taken in England in the case of the East Indian market. The East India Company had a legal monopoly over all trade between England and modern day India and China, but its privileges and property were far from secure. The king and parliament authorized interlopers to enter the Company’s market and forced the Company to make loans to retain its monopoly. A secure monopoly only emerged in the mid-eighteenth century when political stability and fiscal capacity increased. However, liberalization of the market had to wait several more decades. A fiscal and political partnership between the government and the Company kept its monopoly stable until a confluence of events in 1813 brought it to an end. |
| JEL: | N00 N13 N43 N73 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21536&r=all |
| By: | Luis Fernando López Pineda (Chamber of Commerce of Cartagena) |
| Abstract: | This article analyzes Colombian industrial structure behavior and its regions between 1974 and 2005, to determinate, if the liberal reform carried out at the end of the 20th century caused the industrial stagnation and its lack of diversification. The evidence proved that the “slow down†of the industrial growth and the stagnation of the productive transformation was because of the greatest competition for national industry since the application of an opening model. The process was not similar in all regions covered in the study, the more industrial regions Antioquia, Atlántico, Valle and Bogota suffered from a deindustrialization and the less industrial regions like Bolívar and Cundinamarca became industrial regions. |
| Date: | 2015–08–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boc:scon15:17&r=all |
| By: | Nicolas End; Sampawende J.-A. Tapsoba; G. Terrier; Renaud Duplay |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of deflation on fiscal aggregates. With deflation relatively rare in modern history, it relies mostly on the historical records, using a dataset panel covering 150 years and 21 advanced economies. Empirical evidence shows that deflation affects public finances mostly through increases in public debt ratios, reflecting a worsening in interest rate–growth differentials. On average, a mild rate of deflation increases public debt ratios by almost 2 percent of GDP a year, this impact being larger during recessionary deflations. Using a simulation model that accounts for composition effects and price expectations, we also find that, for European countries, a 2 percentage point deflationary shock in both 2015 and 2016 would lead to a deterioration in the primary balance of as much as 1 percent of GDP by 2019. |
| Keywords: | Deflation;Public finance;Fiscal policy;Fiscal analysis;Developed countries;Panel analysis;Fiscal policy, Deflation, Low inflation, Inflation, Public finances |
| Date: | 2015–07–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:15/176&r=all |
| By: | Elisabeth Ruth Perlman |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the geographical distribution of patenting in the nineteenth century United States, as it evolves in response to improvements in access to transportation. I revisit the Sokoloff (1988) hypothesis that increasing market access, caused by the spread of transportation infrastructure, led to an acceleration of innovation. I find that twenty years after the arrival of the railroad in a county, the number of patents per capita has doubled. Using cardinal detection lines from the most important ports in 1826 as an instrumental variable suggests that 30-70% of the increase in patenting between 1850 and 1860 was caused by the spread of the railroad in this period, and 15-30% of the increase between 1850 and 1870. These results are driven by the area of a county that is close enough make a round trip to transportation with in a day, and not by area further away. A 1% increase in the area of the county that is within 1.5 miles of some form of transport corresponds to a to a 1.5% increase in patenting. These results are robust to controls for urbanization. Much of the effect comes from patenting in counties that had not previously patented, suggesting that new access to existing markets spurs development and leads to integration into broader markets for innovation. |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:auu:hpaper:036&r=all |
| By: | Zachary Ward |
| Abstract: | Return migrants often come from either the top or bottom part of the foreign-born income distribution, leading to a U-shaped pattern of self-selection. A common explanation for the U-shape is that the low-earners return home because they fail in the labor market, while the high-earners return home because they quickly hit savings targets. However, a simple model demonstrates that the self-selection of return migrants is U-shaped if the costs of migration are higher for low-skilled individuals. I test this model using data on migrants' intentions to return home, which are formed prior to potentially failing in the labor market. In addition to proposing that this model explains the U-shape found in many contemporary datasets, I show that the U-shape exists for a sample of migrants entering Ellis Island during the early 20th century. |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:auu:hpaper:035&r=all |
| By: | Dirks, Nicholas B |
| Keywords: | Education |
| Date: | 2015–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:cshedu:qt4bn9d9g0&r=all |
| By: | Raphael Franck; Oded Galor |
| Abstract: | The research provides the first empirical examination of the hypothesized effect of industrialization on the fertility decline. Exploiting exogenous source of regional variations in the adoption of steam engines across France, the study establishes that industrialization was a major catalyst in the fertility decline in the course of the demographic transition. Moreover, the analysis further suggests that the contribution of industrialization to the decline in fertility plausibly operated through the effect of industrialization on human capital formation. Thus, the study confirms one of the central elements of Unified Growth Theory which hypothesizes that a critical force in the transition from stagnation to growth was by the impact of industrialization on the onset of the demographic transition, via the rise in the demand for human capital. |
| Keywords: | Economic Growth, Fertility Transition, Human Capital, Industrialization, Steam Engine. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bro:econwp:2015-6&r=all |
| By: | Mahoney, Joseph T. (University of IL); Godfrey, Paul (Brigham Young University) |
| Abstract: | The year 2013 marks the 75th anniversary of the publication of Chester I. Barnard's classic, 'The Functions of the Executive', a groundbreaking contribution to management theory. We maintain that Barnard's work provides a valuable perspective on the causes and potential solutions to challenges facing capitalism, business, and management consequent to the scandals and financial crises of the early 21st century. We suggest that Barnard would see a systemic failure of the moral dimension of organization as a driver of these crises. We look back on 'The Functions' and provide a review of key elements of Barnard's theory of organization. We then look forward from 'The Functions' and see unique insights and solutions into the ongoing challenges of managerial morality. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:illbus:14-0100&r=all |
| By: | Dan Bogart; Latika Chaudhary; Alfonso Herranz-Loncan |
| Abstract: | It is widely recognized that railways were one of the most important drivers of economic growth in the 19th and 20th century, but it is less recognized that railways had a different impact across countries. In this paper, we first estimate the growth impact of Indian railways, one of the largest networks in the world circa 1900. Then, we show railways made a smaller contribution to income per-capita growth in India compared to the most dynamic Latin American economies between 1860 and 1912. The smaller contribution in India is related to four factors: (1) the smaller size of railway freight revenues in the Indian economy, (2) the higher elasticity of demand for freight services, (3) lower wages, and (4) higher fares. Our results suggest large disruptive technologies such as railways and other communication technologies can generate huge resources savings, but may not have large growth impacts. |
| Keywords: | Railways, Social Savings, ICT, India, Growth Accounting |
| JEL: | N7 O47 P52 R4 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:auu:hpaper:033&r=all |
| By: | Iyer, Sriya (University of Cambridge) |
| Abstract: | The economics of religion is a relatively new field of research in economics. This survey serves two purposes – it is backward-looking in that it traces the historical and sociological origins of this field, and it is forward-looking in that it examines the insights and research themes that are offered by economists to investigate religion globally in the modern world. Several factors have influenced the economics of religion: (1) new developments in theoretical models including spatial models of religious markets and evolutionary models of religious traits; (2) empirical work which addresses innovatively econometric identification in examining causal influences on religious behavior; (3) new research in the economic history of religion that considers religion as an independent rather than as a dependent variable; and (4) more studies of religion outside the Western world. Based on these developments, this paper discusses four themes – first, secularization, pluralism, regulation and economic growth; second, religious markets, club goods, differentiated products and networks; third, identification including secular competition and charitable giving; and fourth, conflict and cooperation in developing societies. In reviewing this paradoxically ancient yet burgeoning field, this paper puts forward unanswered questions for scholars of the economics of religion to reflect upon in years to come. |
| Keywords: | economics of religion |
| JEL: | Z12 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9320&r=all |
| By: | Ernesto Clar; Miguel Martín-Retortillo; Vicente Pinilla |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to offer a general reflection on the role played by agriculture in the economic development of Spain during the period 1870-2000. It first begins placing emphasis on the unfavourable starting point suffered by the Spanish agricultural sector in the 19th century. The paper then analyses the models of agricultural development that were followed, as well as the productive and institutional conditioning factors of that development. The paper concludes that although Spanish agriculture followed a growth path that was coherent with the endowment and prices of its productive factors, and obtained reasonable results thereby, it was not, in itself, dynamic enough to give momentum to the process of industrialization, but not was it so static as to be the causal factor in the slow pace of industrial development in Spain. |
| Keywords: | Economic Development, Agricultural History, Spanish Economic History, Agriculture and Economic Development |
| JEL: | N53 N54 O13 Q10 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:seh:wpaper:1503&r=all |
| By: | Pinto, Santiago (Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond); Sarte, Pierre-Daniel G. (Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond); Sharp, Robert (Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond) |
| Abstract: | We study diffusion indices constructed from qualitative surveys to provide real-time assessments of various aspects of economic activity. In particular, we highlight the role of diffusion indices as estimates of change in a quasi extensive margin, and characterize their distribution, focusing on the uncertainty implied by both sampling and the polarization of participants' responses. Because qualitative tendency surveys generally cover multiple questions around a topic, a key aspect of this uncertainty concerns the coincidence of responses, or the degree to which polarization comoves, across individual questions. We illustrate these results using micro data on individual responses underlying different composite indices published by the Michigan Survey of Consumers. We find a secular rise in consumer uncertainty starting around 2000, following a decade-long decline, and higher agreement among respondents in prior periods. Six years after the Great Recession, uncertainty arising from the polarization of responses in the Michigan Survey stands today at its highest level since 1978, coinciding with the weakest recovery in U.S. post-war history. The formulas we derive allow for simple computations of approximate confidence intervals, thus affording a more complete real-time assessment of economic conditions using qualitative surveys. |
| Keywords: | Economic Uncertainty; Qualitative Data; Diffusion Index |
| JEL: | C18 C46 C83 D80 E32 E66 |
| Date: | 2015–09–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedrwp:15-09&r=all |
| By: | Isabel Román (IPC-IG) |
| Abstract: | In the mid-20th century, Costa Rica designed a universal social protection system dedicated to the promotion of citizenship and fundamental social rights. The institutionalisation of social policy, the development of universal policies for health care, security, education, housing and basic services (water and electricity), together with significant economic growth, allowed for a continuous improvement in human development and significant, internationally recognized achievements. Among these are the reduction in infant mortality, which dropped from 123 children per 1000 born in 1940, to 61.5 in 1970 and 9.1 in 2011; the increase in life expectancy, which rose from 55.6 years in 1950 to 79.3 in 2011; and the reduction of poverty incidence, from 50 per cent of households in 1950 to 20 per cent at the end of the century.(…) |
| Keywords: | Social Protection Systems, Latin America, Caribbean, Costa Rica |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipc:opager:293&r=all |
| By: | Luis Catão; Rui Mano |
| Abstract: | We re-assess the view that sovereigns with a history of default are charged only a small and/or short-lived premium on the interest rate warranted by observed fundamentals. Our reassessment uses a metric of such a “default premium†(DP) that is consistent with asymmetric information models and nests previous metrics, and applies it to a much broader dataset relative to earlier studies. We find a sizeable and persistent DP: in 1870-1938, it averaged 250 bps upon market re-entry, tapering to around 150 bps five years out; in 1970- 2011 the respective estimates are about 400 and 200 bps. We also find that: (i) these estimates are robust to many controls including on actual haircuts; (ii) the DP accounts for as much as 60% of the sovereign spread within five years of market re-entry; (iii) the DP rises with market exclusion spells. These findings help reconnect theory and evidence on why sovereign defaults are infrequent and earlier debt settlements are desirable. |
| Keywords: | International financial markets;Sovereign debt;Emerging markets;Country Risk, Interest Rate Spread, Haircut, market, debt, default, interest, interest rate, International Lending and Debt Problems, General, International, or Comparative, |
| Date: | 2015–07–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:15/167&r=all |
| By: | Milena Lavigne (IPC-IG); Luis Hernán Vargas (IPC-IG) |
| Abstract: | During the 20th century, the political and social development of the Dominican Republic was marked by the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo (1930–1961), who forged the institutional and legal bases of Dominican social policies, and successive governments headed by Joaquín Balaguer (1960–1962, 1966–1978 and 1986–1996). During the 1990s, the Dominican government started once more to implement social policies, among which we can highlight the Fund for the Promotion of Community Initiatives (PROCOMUNIDAD), the countrys first poverty reduction programme. During the 2000s, some social reforms were undertaken, such as the creation of the Social Cabinet and reform of the pension system, which set up a model of individual capitalisation. Finally, after the economic crisis that affected the Dominican Republic in 2003, programmes aiming to reduce malnutrition (Comer es Primero) and poverty (Solidaridad) began to be implemented.(…) |
| Keywords: | Social Protection Systems, Latin America, Caribbean, Dominican Republic |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipc:opager:296&r=all |
| By: | González, Cristina; Hsu, Funie |
| Keywords: | Education |
| Date: | 2014–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:cshedu:qt85k111gh&r=all |
| By: | Kitae Sohn |
| Abstract: | This paper uses age at menarche to understand the improvement in biological standards of living in South Korea. The main data set, the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, provides a consistent source of nationally representative data with a large number of observations over a long period of time. We find that the mean age at menarche decreases from 16.64 years for the birth year 1941 to 12.68 years for the birth year 1992, decreasing 0.78 (or 0.81 in a regression) years per decade for the birth years 1941– 1992. Comparisons with other populations demonstrate that this is the fastest ever known. Furthermore, the decreasing rate does not appear to slow. The results are consistent with the fact that Korea achieved rapid economic growth in the second half of the 20th century. In addition, we provide suggestive evidence for height and life expectancy at birth improving at the fastest rate in the world. |
| Keywords: | menarche, anthropometrics, South Korea, 20th century, Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey |
| JEL: | I15 N35 |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:auu:hpaper:037&r=all |
| By: | Leonardo Monasterio; Philipp Ehrl |
| Abstract: | Este trabalho examina a evolução da tese que sustenta que o tipo de colonização determina, ou condiciona, o futuro das sociedades. Smith (1776) já apresentava esta proposição e uma tipologia das colônias. Contudo, foram os autores alemães Heeren (1817) e Roscher (1856), no século XIX, os responsáveis pelo desenvolvimento da tese. Estes historiadores influenciaram o economista ortodoxo francês Leroy-Beaulieu (1902), que tratou do assunto em obra publicada em 1902. Fica claro que Caio Prado Júnior foi mais um divulgador da tese colônia de povoamento versus colônia de exploração no Brasil do que seu criador. Nos Estados Unidos, a ideia ressurge nas obras de North (1955; 1959) e de Baldwin (1956).Mais recentemente, os cliometristas Engerman e Sokoloff (1997) aprofundaram a questão, sem fazer referência aos autores europeus. Finalmente, Acemoglu, Johnson e Robinson (2001; 2002) – citando apenas a literatura neoinstitucional – levaram a tese para um público acadêmico mais amplo e apresentaram evidências econométricas. Este estudo se encerra com a discussão sobre as possíveis razões do sucesso da tese e da sua recorrente “descoberta” pelos pesquisadores. The paper examines the evolution of the thesis which states that the type of colonization determines, or conditions, the future of societies. Adam Smith already presented this proposition and a typology of colonies. However, it were the German authors Heeren and Roscher, in the 19th century, who developed the thesis. These historians influenced the French orthodox economist Leroy-Beaulieu, who dealt with the issue in a work published in 1902. Clearly, Caio Prado Jr. was another promoter of the dichotomy “settlement colony versus extractive/exploitation colony” in Brazil rather than its creator. In the United States, the idea resurfaces in the works of Douglass North (1955 and 1959) and Richard Baldwin (1957). More recently, cliometricians as Engerman and Sokoloff (1997) developed the proposition without reference to the European authors. Finally, Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson (2001 and 2002) introduced the thesis to a wider academic audience and offered econometric evidence. The present paper concludes with a discussion on the possible reasons for the success of the thesis and its recurring “discovery” by researchers. |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipe:ipetds:2119&r=all |
| By: | Joost Veenstra; Herman de Jong |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a German/U.S. comparison of labor productivity in mining and manufacturing for two benchmark years, 1909 and 1936/35. German manufacturing productivity had a level of ca 56 per cent of the U.S. level in 1909, and around 50 per cent in 1935. Variation across industries was large. Next we analyze for 1909 whether the scale of production has been a decisive factor in the differences in performance between Germany and the U.S. American data on state level show no direct relationship between the average plant size and labor productivity. We do find a positive relationship between labor productivity and the skewness of the distribution of plants size. In turn, skewness is strongly correlated with the number of plants established in a state. From this we draw the tentative conclusion that skewness provides a measure of plant-concentration and captures external economies of scale, flexibility and competition, driving the positive relation with labor productivity. With respect for the transatlantic labor productivity gap, these findings suggest that the comparatively low average establishment size in Germany did not necessarily convey a disadvantage. More important may have been the setting in which small German establishments operated that kept them from attaining U.S. levels of labor productivity. We conjecture that Germany’s poor average productivity performance in manufacturing was a combined effect of low wages and heterogeneous demand patterns. |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:auu:hpaper:032&r=all |
| By: | Simone Cecchini (IPC-IG); Fernando Filgueira (IPC-IG); Claudia Robles (IPC-IG) |
| Abstract: | "National case studies on social protection systems in Latin America and the Caribbean, published by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), reveal that over the past 10 years social protection systems and, in general, social policies in the region have been transformed. This shift is very different than the nature of reforms in the 1980s and early 1990s. While that time period was characterised by the State pulling back from and limiting its role in social actions (reducing or freezing social spending, privatisation, restricted targeting), the new century has seen the State play a larger role in social issues (expanded coverage, partial or total re-nationalisation, increased social spending)."(...) |
| Keywords: | Social Protection Systems, Latin America, Caribbean, Comparative Perspective |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipc:opager:284&r=all |
| By: | Drelichman, Mauricio; Voth, Hans-Joachim |
| Abstract: | Carlos Alvarez-Nogal and Christophe Chamley (henceforth AC) recently published a paper in the Economic History Review on “Debt policy under constraints: Philip II, the Cortes, and Genoese bankersâ€. In this note, we show that several claims in their article are very similar to earlier research results, published or circulated long before AC’s original submission, by ourselves and other scholars. These results are repeated without attribution or even mention of the earlier work. In addition, we show that what AC present as new quantitative insights are actually replications of earlier results of ours. Finally, AC misrepresent our contributions, as well as those of several other scholars. |
| Keywords: | plagiarism; lack of attribution; misrepresentation; |
| JEL: | N24 N44 G13 H63 |
| Date: | 2015–09–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ubc:bricol:mauricio_drelichman-2015-18&r=all |
| By: | Drelichman, Mauricio; Hans-Joachim, Voth |
| Abstract: | Alvarez-Nogal and Chamley (2015) analyze one debt contract signed by lenders to Philip II, previously discussed in Drelichman and Voth (2014). They re-examine cash flows and challenge our interpretation of this particular contract’s profitability. A closer look reveals that the alleged differences between their and our calculations simply reflect the use of conservative assumptions on our part, which systematically biased estimates of profitability downwards – as good scholarship requires if one is to argue that high profits were one of the main reasons why people lent to Philip II. We also question their use and reading of archival documents, as well as their use of basic financial economics. Finally, we document a continuing pattern of academic misconduct, including plagiarism, the misrepresentation of our findings, and the complete fabrication of a quote in order to discredit our work. |
| Keywords: | sovereign debt; rate of return; Philip II; early modern Spain; plagiarism |
| JEL: | N24 N44 G13 H63 |
| Date: | 2015–09–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ubc:bricol:mauricio_drelichman-2015-19&r=all |
| By: | Huang, Wei (Harvard University); Lei, Xiaoyan (Peking University); Sun, Ang (Renmin University of China) |
| Abstract: | The rise in education of women relative to men is an emerging worldwide phenomenon in recent decades. This paper investigates the impact of the birth control policies on teenage girls' education attainment. The estimates suggest that the policies explain 30 percent of the education increase for women born in 1945-1980 and 50 percent of the gender gap narrowing in China. Further analysis provides some suggestive evidence for potential mechanisms, including the policy-induced expectations for labor and marriage market and subjective attitudes on children and gender-equality. These findings highlight the role of fertility policies in women's empowerment of last century. |
| Keywords: | One-Child Policy, education of girls, expectation |
| JEL: | D84 I20 J13 J16 J18 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9301&r=all |
| By: | Assane Ndao (ESP Dakar - École Supérieure Polytechnique de Dakar - Université Cheikh Anta Diop (Dakar, Sénégal)); Emmanuelle Charles-Cargnello (UPPA - Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour) |
| Abstract: | Management control tools were first developed in industrial enterprises. Today, the growth of service activities such as accounting firms raises the problem of the instrumentation of management control in this very specific sector. The objective of this paper is to study the factors explaining a low adoption of management control tools in accounting firms. The study was conducted in two firms large and eight small firms. |
| Abstract: | Les outils de contrôle de gestion ont été d'abord développés dans les entreprises industrielles. Aujourd'hui, la croissance des activités de service comme les cabinets d'expertise comptable pose le problème de l'instrumentation du contrôle de gestion dans ce secteur très particulier. L'objectif de cet article est d'étudier les facteurs explicatifs d'une faible adoption des outils de contrôle de gestion dans les cabinets d'expertise comptable. L'étude a été réalisée dans deux cabinets de grande taille et huit cabinets de petite taille. |
| Date: | 2015–05–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01188832&r=all |
| By: | Kazuki Onji; John P. Tang |
| Abstract: | This study provides evidence on tax distortion to organizational choices of firm using historical data. We utilize the 1887 introduction of a personal income tax (PIT) in Japan as a quasi-experiment to examine tax-motivated incorporation. We circumvent the data limitation in the 19th century by drawing on a firm-level dataset constructed from genealogies of Japanese corporations. The sample is 3,203 firm-year observations spanning 1880-1892. We find that the introduction of PIT affected the adoption of simpler types of corporations and increased the corporate share of establishments by about 3 percentage points. The evidence indicates the role of a corporate income tax as a backstop to maintain revenue performance of PIT. |
| Keywords: | Tax Avoidance, Organizational Form, Business Incorporation |
| JEL: | G34 H25 K34 |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:auu:hpaper:040&r=all |
| By: | Remi Jedwab; Alexander Moradi |
| Abstract: | We exploit the construction and eventual demise of the colonial railroads in Africa to study the impact of transportation investments in poor countries. Using Ghana and Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole, we assembled new data on railroads and cities spanning over one century to show that: (i) Railroads had large effects on the spatial distribution and aggregate level of economic activity during the colonial period, as they constituted a transportation revolution in a context where no modern transportation technology previously existed. (ii) These effects have persisted to date, although railroads collapsed and road networks expanded considerably in the post-independence period. The analysis contributes to our understanding of the heterogeneous impact of transportation investments. It shows that initial investments may have a large effect in poor countries with basic infrastructure. As the countries develop, increasing returns may then solidify their spatial distribution, and subsequent investments may have a smaller effect on local economic development. |
| Keywords: | Transportation, Railroads, Development, Cities, Path Dependence, Roads |
| JEL: | O1 O3 O18 R4 R1 N97 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:auu:hpaper:031&r=all |
| By: | Timothy J. Hatton |
| Abstract: | This paper examines historical evidence for a quality-quantity trade-off between sibship size and height as an indicator of health. The existing literature has focused more on education than on health and has it produced mixed results. Historical evidence is limited by the lack of household level data with which to link an individual’s height with his or her childhood circumstances. Nevertheless a few recent studies have shed light in this issue. Evidence for children in interwar Britain and for soldiers born in the 1890s who enlisted in the British army at the time of WW1 is reviewed in detail. Both studies support the idea of a significant trade-off, partly due to income dilution and partly because, in these settings, large families were a conduit for infection. Evidence from country-level time series is consistent with this view. The fertility decline that began in the late nineteenth century made a modest but nevertheless important contribution to the overall increase in heights during the following century. |
| JEL: | I12 I38 N24 |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:auu:hpaper:039&r=all |
| By: | Víctor Manuel NIETO; Jennifer Andrea TIMOTÉ; Andrés Felipe SÁNCHEZ; Sebastián VILLARREAL |
| Abstract: | El propósito del documento es presentar un panorama general sobre la distribución de las empresas, haciendo énfasis sobre un aspecto que tiene efectos en el desarrollo de la política industrial en Colombia: la clasificación de las Mipymes. En las dos primeras secciones se presenta una breve descripción sobre dos aspectos fundamentales relacionados con el tamaño empresarial: los factores que explican el tamaño de las empresas y el sesgo a la derecha observado en la distribución de las empresas por tamaño en varios países. Las secciones tres y cuatro contienen una revisión de los marcos legales existentes en América Latina y en Colombia para la clasificación de las empresas por tamaño. Las secciones cinco y seis presentan las metodologías tradicionales utilizadas en Colombia para clasificar las empresas y se señalan las principales limitaciones para alcanzar una clasificación utilizando únicamente métodos numéricos. |
| Keywords: | Distribución empresarial por tamaño, Política Industrial, Métodosno paramétricos |
| JEL: | C14 L11 Y L52 |
| Date: | 2015–08–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000118:013649&r=all |
| By: | David Hugh-Jones (University of East Anglia); Carlo Perroni (University of Warwick) |
| Abstract: | We examine why heterogenous communities may fail to provide public goods. Current work characterizes sanctioning free-riders as an under-supplied public good. We argue that often free-riders can be punished by the coordinated action of a group. This punishment can be profitable, and need not be undersupplied. But the power to expropriate defectors can also be used to expropriate outgroups. Heterogenous societies may be inefficient because minorities, rather than free-riders, are expropriated. Even if this is not so, groups’ different beliefs about the reasons for expropriation may make the threat of punishment less effective at preventing free-riding. We illustrate our theory with evidence from California mining camps, contemporary India, and US schools. In a public goods experiment using minimal groups and a profitable punishment institution, outgroups were more likely to be punished, and reacted differently to punishment than in group members. |
| Keywords: | group coercion, social heterogeneity |
| JEL: | H1 H4 N4 D02 |
| Date: | 2015–04–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uea:wcbess:15-08&r=all |