Trade policy and wage gradients: evidence from a protectionist turn

Tirado, Daniel A., Pons Novell, Jordi and Paluzie, Elisenda (2009) Trade policy and wage gradients: evidence from a protectionist turn. Working Paper. University of Warwick. Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation, Coventry.

[img]
Preview
PDF - Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader
245Kb

Official URL: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/csgr/research/workingpapers/2009/25809.pdf

Abstract

In the spirit of Hanson (1997), we analyze the existence of regional nominal wage gradients in Spain during the interwar period (1914-1930) and their transformation fol­lowing an important change in trade policy. However, our case study analyzes the effects of the substitution of an open economy by a closed one - exactly the reverse of the process studied by Hanson. We find strong evidence of the existence of a regional wage gradient centered on Barcelona, which weakened after 1922. In Spain during the interwar period protectionist policies appear to have favored the loss of centrality of the coastal location (Barcelona) and the relative rise of other locations.

Item Type:Working or Discussion Paper (Working Paper)
Subjects:H Social Sciences > HF Commerce
H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
Divisions:Faculty of Social Sciences > Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):Commercial policy, Wage differentials -- Spain, International trade, Protectionism -- Spain, Spain -- Economic policy -- 20th century
Series Name:Working papers (Warwick Business School. Financial Econometrics Research Centre)
Publisher:University of Warwick. Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation
Place of Publication:Coventry
Date:January 2009
Number:No.258
Number of Pages:25
Status:Not Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version:Open Access
References:[1] Amiti, M. and Cameron, L. (2007) �Economic geography and wages�, The Review of Economics and Statistics, vol 89, 15-29. [2] Behrens, K. (2004): �International integration and regional inequalities: how important is national infrastructure?�, CORE discussion paper 2004/66, Université Catholique de Louvain. [3] Behrens, K., C. Gaigné, G. Ottaviano, and J-F. Thisse (2006) "Is remoteness a locational disadvantage?, Journal of Economic Geography, 6, 347-368. [4] Behrens, K., C. Gaigné, G. Ottaviano, and J-F. Thisse (2007 "Countries, regions and trade: On the welfare impacts of economic integration", European Economic Review, 51, 1277-1301. [5] Betrán, C. (1999) �Difusión y localización industrial en España durante el primer tercio del siglo XX�, Revista de Historia Económica, 3, 663-696. [6] Black, D. and Henderson, V. (1999) �A theory of urban growth�, Journal of Political Economy, 107, 252-284. [7] Brülhart M., Crozet, M. and Koenig-Soubeyran, P. (2004) "Enlargement and the EU periphery: The impact of Changing Market Potential", World Economy, 27(6), 853-875. [8] Crozet, M. and Koenig-Soubeyran, P. (2004) �EU enlargement and the internal geography of countries�, Journal of Comparative Economics, 32, 265-279. [9] Fujita, M., Krugman, P. and Venables, A. J. (1999) The Spatial Economy: Cities, Regions and International Trade. The MIT Press, Cambridge. [10] Hanson, G. H. (1997) �Increasing returns, trade and the regional structure of wages�, Economic Journal, 107, 113-133. [11] Hanson, G. H. (2001) �Scale economies and the geographic concentration of industry�, Journal of Economic Geography, 1, 255-276. [12] Hanson, G. H. (2005) �Market potential, increasing returns, and geographic concentration�, Journal of International Economics, 67, 1-24. [13] Head, K. and Mayer, T. (2004) �The empirics of agglomeration and trade�, in Henderson, V. and Thisse, J. (eds.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, NorthHolland. [14] Krugman, P. (1991) �Increasing returns and economic geography�, Journal of Political Economy, 99, 483-499. [15] Krugman, P. and Livas Elizondo, R. (1996) �Trade policy and third world metropolis�, Journal of Development Economics, 49, 137-150. [16] League of Nations (1927) Tariff Level Indices. Publications of the League of Nations, Economic and Financial Section, Geneva. [17] Liepmann, H. (1938) Tariff levels and the economic unity of Europe. George Allen & Unwin, Edinburgh. [18] Monfort, P. and Nicolini, R. (2000) �Regional convergence and international integration�, Journal of Urban Economics, 48, 286-306. [19] O´Rourke, K.H. and Williamson, J. G. (1999) Globalization and History: The evolution of Nineteenth-century Atlantic Economy, Cambridge, MIT Press [20] Palafox, J. (1992) Atraso económico y democracia. La Segunda República y la economía española (1892-1936), Barcelona, Crítica. [21] Paluzie, E. (2001) �Trade policy and regional inequalities�, Papers in Regional Science, 80, 67-85. [22] Paluzie, E. , Pons, J. and Tirado, D. A. (2004) �The geographical concentration of industry across Spanish Regions, 1856-1995�, Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft (Review of Regional Research), 24 (2), 143-160. [23] Rauch, J. E. (1993) �Productivity gains from geographic concentration of human capital: evidence from the cities�, Journal of Urban Economics, 34, 380-400. [24] Redding, S. and Venables, A.J. (2004) �Economic geography and international inequality�, Journal of International Economics, 62, 53-82. [25] Roback, J. (1982) �Wages, rents, and the quality of life�, Journal of Political Economy, 90, 1257-1278. [26] Serrano Sanz, J. M. (1997) �Sector exterior y desarrollo en la economía española contemporánea�, Papeles de Economía Española, 73, 308-335. [27] Silvestre, J. (2005) "Internal migrations in Spain, 1877-1930", European Review of Economic History, 9, 233-265. [28] Tena, A. (1999) �Un nuevo per�l del proteccionismo español durante la Restauración, 1875-1930�, Revista de Historia Económica, 3, 579-622. [29] Tirado, D. A., Paluzie, E. and Pons, J. (2002) �Economic Integration and Industrial Location: the case of Spain before World War I�, Journal of Economic Geography, 2, 343-363.

Request changes to a record

Document Downloads

More statistics for this item...

Repository Staff Only: item control page

WRAP: Warwick Research Archive Portal is powered by EPrints 3 which is developed by the School of Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton. More information and software credits.