Publication: Amartya Sen revisited : trade, inequality and growth in central Spain, 1700-1800
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2010-03
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Abstract
This paper studies the effects of trade and inequality in central Spain during
the eighteenth century, taking as case study the province of Guadalajara and
the surrounding regions. The first part of the paper presents a specific factors
model as theoretical framework that will later be applied to the empirical
data. The second part introduces an analysis of income inequality in the
province during the eighteenth century and concludes that inequality
decreased, especially during the last third of the century. Finally the paper
addresses this unexpected result and concludes that it was consequence of
the success of the land reform carried out by the central government in the
late 1760s. The reform was a success in Guadalajara thanks to the
characteristics of its population and the lack of bargaining power of pressure
groups. Following Sen’s ideas, the reduction in inequality meant that markets
could work properly and that a majority and not only a few could take full
advantage of the benefits of trade.
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Trade, Inequality, Pressure groups, Institutions