Publication: Subcontracting and vertical integration in the Spanish cotton industry
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2009
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Wiley-Blackwell
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Abstract
This paper examines changes in the organization of the Spanish cotton industry from
1736 to 1860 in its core region of Catalonia. As the Spanish cotton industry adopted
the most modern technology available and experienced the transition to the factory
system, cotton spinning and weaving mills became increasingly vertically integrated.
Asset specificity, more than other factors, explains this tendency towards vertical
integration. The probability of a firm being vertically integrated was higher among
firms located in districts with high concentration ratios, and rose with size and the use
of modern machinery. At the same time, subcontracting predominated in other
phases of production and distribution, where transaction costs appear to be less
important
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Keywords
Subcontracting, Cotton industry, Vertical integration, Catalonia, Spain
Bibliographic citation
Economic History Review, 2009, v. 62, n. 1, pp. 45-72