History Of Work Information System

I am at ERSA. But I`ve been working on a historical paper that has to be ready by next week. There is a website that was really useful to this research: History Of Work Information System. The search is great: you type an historical occupation in any language and it shows you its meaning and classification.

Hello, I must be going

Next Sunday I will return to Brazil. But before taking the plane, I am going to the European Regional Science Association Conference in Paris. The abstracts and some full papers are available , including the one that Martin Brauch and I have written.
I am quite busy packing and writing the final report, but I will try to post daily. Meanwhile I leave my readers with Groucho Marx:

Hello, I must be going.
I cannot stay,
I came to say
I must be going.
I'm glad I came
but just the same
I must be going.

Evolution is suboptimal

You do not need to believe in QWERTY tales or have an appendicitis to realize that evolution - natural or social - is suboptimal. Just look at this amazing history of the alphabet (via Alex). There are lots of problems with similar letters: V and U; lowercase L and 1; and J and I. Besides, some are rather ugly. (I can't stand the letter "R" and "K").
The guys from Stumbling and Mumbling raised the same point: English (or any language) is obviously inefficient and a result of lock-in mechanisms. But, please, do not search for a solution.

One in ten brits lives abroad

A very cool map shows where do they live. But no, the island will not become empty. Around 700 thousand people a year, mostly from the new EU countries immigrate to the UK. The results? Lots of research!

1er Congreso Latinoamericano de Historia Económica

The abstracts bellow have been approved for the CLADHE session on Regional Disparities organized by Moramay Alonso, Eustáquio Reis and me. Thank you all and see you in Montevideo!

Growth with Inequality: Living Standards in Mexico 1850-1950
Moramay Lopez-Alonso (Rice University)

"This article focuses on trends in the adult heights of various sectors of Mexican society between 1850 and 1950 as a proxy for their biological and material standards of living. The evolution of biological standards of living is an alternative way to assess whether or not economic development after 1850 was beneficial to the population, using a proxy that relies on a basic natural characteristic, adult height. The recruitment records of the Mexican rural and federal militia provide us with information on the secular trends of heights of the Mexican labouring classes, while a database of passport applications allows us to compare the evolution of living standards across social classes. It is argued that the benefits of industrialisation and improved economic performance fostered by the Dıá regime (1876–1910) did not have a favourable impact on the biological wellbeing of the labouring population. There are, however, signs of improvement in living standards with the launching of welfare programmes at the end of the Cárdenas administration. In contrast, the average height of the elites increased throughout the period, suggesting that there was a growing disparity in the evolution of living standards between social classes"

"Instituições e Diferenças de Renda entre os Estados Brasileiros: Uma análise histórica"
Naércio Menezes-Filho (IBMEC / USP) , Renato Leite Marcondes (FEA-RP/USP), Elaine Toldo Pazello (FEA-RP/USP), Luiz Guilherme Scorzafave (FEA-RP/USP)

Neste artigo utilizamos a qualidade das instituições atuais e elementos históricos para examinar os determinantes das diferenças de PIB per capita entre os estados brasileiros. Utilizamos uma abordagem empírica para testar a hipótese de que as condições geográficas dos diferentes estados geraram um conjunto de instituições e políticas que visavam a preservar a desigualdade, acabando por reduzir o crescimento econômico nos estados mais desiguais. Analisamos a escravidão, a alfabetização e o acesso ao voto no passado como exemplos de instituições destinadas a manter o status quo e os efeitos da imigração estrangeira como atenuantes deste círculo vicioso. Apesar do reduzido número de observações, as correlações observadas entre essas variáveis e a regressão estimada mostram-se consistentes com estas hipóteses

"The state of the market in a (nation) state-less economy: Argentina at mid-nineteenth century”
María Alejandra Irigoin (The College of New Jersey) & Colin M. Lewis (London School of Economics & Political Science)

The lack of a nation-wide state, endowed with the full attributes of statehood, has led historians (including economic historians) to assume that the modern development of Argentina started in 1880. Namely, that growth became possible only after political turmoil, which characterised the pre-1850s decades, was brought to an end and market-friendly institutions resulting from ‘national consolidation’ were set in place. This paper challenges those assumptions by assembling and evaluating material which suggests that a system of exchange and market production that originated in the colonial economy survived through the revolutionary and early national periods, and even flourished after the 1820s. Recently available data on population, production, trade, commodities, and money and finance facilitate a reassessment of the extent of market production, the behaviour of agents, the organisation of economic activity, and changes in factor allocation in response to regional and international demand. In focussing on the domestic market and internal commercial and monetary networks during the transition from the colonial to the post-Independence economy, the paper maintains that these institutions functioned despite the absence of a nation-wide state. Exploring the ‘state of the market’ in a (national) state-less economy, the paper seeks to re-evaluate the economic consequences of Independence.

The colonial Legacy as a Determinant of Regional Per Capita Income in Colombia
Jaime Bonet, Adolfo Meisel Roca (Banco de la Republica)

Using the Colombian regional experience, this paper introduces new evidence for the analysis of the long-run determinants in per capita income differences. Colombia has experienced significant and persistent regional income disparities. Based on the recent international literature about this topic, we test the relevance of institutions, geography and culture in explaining those differences. Although we establish that colony legacy has had an important impact on the regional income differences in Colombia, it is not easy to know the way through which this legacy influenced outcomes: institutions or human capital. However, human capital seems to play a stronger role than institutions.

Disparidades regionais no Brasil na primeira metade do século XX: Minas
Gerais e São Paulo em perspectiva comparada
Tarcisio R. Botelho (PUC-MG)

O objetivo do paper é apresentar uma proposta metodológica de classificação de ocupações para o passado. O ponto de partida será a aplicação de uma codificação padronizada de ocupações, a HISCO (Historical International Standard Classification of Occupation), baseada na ISCO, utilizada na produção de estatísticas contemporâneas sobre ocupação e mercado de trabalho. A partir da HISCO, é possível recuperar a distribuição da população economicamente ativa segundo os setores econômicos. Pretende-se evidenciar alguns aspectos das desigualdades econômicas intra e inter-regionais a partir de listas nominativas de habitantes da década de 1830 disponíveis para as províncias de São Paulo e Minas Gerais. Simultaneamente, será feita a análise da estratificação social a partir das declarações de ocupação reagrupando-as em conformidade com o modelo HISCLASS (Maas, Leeuwen, 2005), uma adaptação para períodos históricos do modelo de Goldthorpe (Erikson, Goldthorpe, 1992). Ao lado das informações derivadas das declarações de ocupação, pretende-se agregar ao modelo HISCLASS outras dimensões fundamentais para a descrição de status social na América latina, notadamente a condição social (se livre ou escrava) e a cor/raça.

El potencial de mercado en las regiones españolas, 1860-1930.
Julio Martínez Galarraga (Universidad de Barcelona)

En este artículo se lleva a cabo la elaboración del potencial de mercado de las regiones españolas para los años 1860, 1900, 1914 y 1930, para un nivel de desagregación provincial y regional. Por un lado, la disponibilidad de estimaciones del potencial de mercado resulta una variable de gran relevancia para el análisis empírico de las predicciones teóricas dentro de la Nueva Geografía Económica. Por otro lado, desde la historia económica, la aparición del estudio de Crafts (2005) para la economía británica antes de la I Guerra Mundial, sirve como referencia a la hora de obtener estimaciones del potencial de mercado comparables internacionalmente. En este caso, se plantea el estudio de la dinámica seguida por esta variable durante la segunda mitad del siglo XIX y primer tercio del siglo XX, vinculado a las diferentes opciones de política comercial implementada por los gobiernos españoles durante el período estudiado. Así, se puede analizar el impacto sobre la distribución regional del ingreso que tuvo el progresivo cierre al exterior de la economía española desde la última década del siglo XIX, en lo que la literatura ha denominado nacionalismo económico español.

Políticas públicas e disparidades regionais: o caso da zona da Mata de Minas Gerais (1925/1940)
Nicélio do Amaral Barros (Programa de Pós-Graduação em História Social das Relações Políticas – Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo)-

O objetivo central do trabalho é analisar o deslocamento dos eixos político e econômico em Minas Gerais durante a década de 1930. Analisamos como o complexo cafeeiro da zona da Mata foi sobrepujado, neste processo, pela região centro-metalúrgica, especializada no setor siderúrgico. Para tanto, partimos em primeiro lugar da análise teórica de três aspectos fundamentais para se chegar ao foco do estudo: a) os impactos da crise internacional de 1929, fato que influenciou em mudanças na política econômica da maioria dos países latino-americanos; b) a política econômica do governo brasileiro entre 1920 e 1930 e; c) a ação das elites nacionais diante do projeto varguista de industrialização na década de 1930. Em seguida, abordamos as mudanças ocorridas no segmento urbano-industrial do complexo cafeeiro sediado na cidade de Juiz de Fora, na zona da Mata mineira, durante as décadas de 1920 e 1930, em especial no período pós-1929. Para tanto, são analisadas fontes primárias, como processos de falências de sociedades anônimas e firmas limitadas dos ramos industrial, financeiro e comercial. Por fim, procuraremos detectar a ascensão da burguesia sediada em Belo Horizonte, capital de Minas Gerais, no pós-1930.

In this paper the shift of the political and economical axis of coffee production of the zona da Mata, in the state of Minas Gerais, during the 1930’s and the way it was prevailed over by the central metallurgical region, mainly directed to iron and steel industry, is analyzed. The study starts from the theoretical analysis of three basics aspects: a) the shock of the 1929 crisis, which led to changes in the economic policy in most Latin-American countries; b) the economic policy of the brazilian government from 1920 through 1930; and c) the modus operandi of brazilian upper classes concerning president Vargas’s project of industrialization during the 1930’s. Next, changes are analyzed which occurred in the urban and industrial sectors of coffee economy, centered in Juiz de Fora, in the zona da Mata, during the 1920’s and 1930’s, especially during the post-1920 period. In order to reach this aim, primary sources are analyzed, such as bankruptcy proceedings of business corporations and limited companies in the industrial, financial and comercial sectors. Lastly, an effort was made to identify the rise of the bourgeoisie in Belo Horizonte, the capital city of the Minas Gerais, during the post-1930 period. The project, as well as the accomplishment of this class so as to secure admittance to the decision areas of Minas Gerais government, are discussed.

A questão regional no Brasil e a ação do Estado – 1930-1990
Hermes Magalhães Tavares

The Brazilian Economy is made of a typical case of unfair development. Throughout the 20th Century, several images have been used to illustrate the regional Dynamics. First, “The Archepelago Economy”- a period in which the country was formed by several relatively autonomous regions that rarely communicated to one another. Secondly, “The Two Brasis”, a dual focus which did not integrate and, futhermore: the second one pushed the development of the country out of the first one. Finally, the middle-sorrounding model, considered by some as a variant of the second. Whatever approach we might use, the inter-regional labor division has been strictly unfair, which is a question that follows the Brazilian Economy under the sponsorship of the industrial capital. On this essay, we will deal with the Brazilian regional matter between the period of 1930 and 1990, pointing out the actions of the State related to it. Secondary data and other history elements have been used so that the matter is analyzed in its more relevant aspects and moments.


A economia brasileira constitui um caso típico de desenvolvimento desigual. Ao longo do século XX, diversas imagens foram utilizadas para ilustrar a dinâmica regional. Em primeiro lugar, a “economia de arquipélago” – fase em que o país era formado por várias regiões relativamente autônomas, que se articulavam escassamente. Em segundo, “os dois brasis”, enfoque dual que considerava o país constituído por dois segmentos – o Centro-Sul e o Nordeste-Norte – que não se integravam e mais: o segundo segmento emperrava o desenvolvimento do país a partir do primeiro. Em terceiro, o modelo centro-periferia, considerado por alguns como variante do segundo modelo. Qualquer que seja a abordagem, uma divisão inter-regional do trabalho bastante desigual; questão regional que atravessa a economia brasileira sob a égide do capital industrial. Este trabalho trata da questão regional brasileira, no período de 1930 a 1990, destacando a ação do Estado em relação a essa. Usam-se dados secundários e outros elementos da historiografia, com o objetivo de analisar essa questão em seus aspectos e momentos mais relevantes. "

Desenvolvimento Econômico do Rio Grande do Sul
Nali de Jesus de Souza (PUC-RS)

Procurou-se identificar os fatores do desenvolvimento do RS desde o Século 18. A economia originou-se da extração de erva-mate e da produção de couros e charque. Com a chegada dos imigrantes, a agropecuária diversificou-se e surgiram as primeiras indústrias. Conflitos com o governo federal provocaram Revoluções no RS. Os principais fatores de seu desenvolvimento foram: agricultura mecanizada e exportadora (arroz, trigo e soja); criação de programas estaduais de desenvolvimento e incentivos públicos; implantação de empresas públicas e atração de investimentos. Isso neutralizou impactos de fatores climáticos, conjunturais e de políticas nacionais desfavoráveis, como valorização cambial, que afetam a economia gaúcha.

The roots of regional inequalities in Brazil (1872-1920)
Eustáquio Reis (IPEA) , Leonardo Monasterio (UFPel)

This paper provides historical perspectives on regional economic inequalities in Brazil. It analyzes the changes in the spatial concentration of economic activities in Brazil based upon data on the municipal distribution of the labor force by occupation from the Censuses of 1872 and 1920. The New Economic Geography provides the analytical framework to show how geography, technology and institutions combined give industrial preeminence to the city of São Paulo and why the accelerated industrial growth of São Paulo had such a limited and delayed effects in the rest of the country. In short, the significant reduction in transport costs brought by railroads stimulated subsidized international migration as an institutional solution to the labor shortage problem. Other consequences were the increased market potential of the city of São Paulo, which triggered self-reinforcing processes of human capital accumulation, economies of scale and agglomeration externalities in the industrial sector. Regression analyses suggest that immigration, railways and economic diversity were relevant for the locational decisions in 1920. Natural resources, however, seem unimportant to explain the changes in the location of manufacturing activities between 1872 and 1920.

1er Congreso Latinoamericano de Historia Económica

Aí vão os resumos dos artigos aprovados na sessão sobre Disparidades Regionais no CLADHE que Moramay Alonso, Eustáquio Reis e eu organizamos. Nos vemos em Montevidéu!

Growth with Inequality: Living Standards in Mexico 1850-1950
Moramay Lopez-Alonso (Rice University)

"This article focuses on trends in the adult heights of various sectors of Mexican society between 1850 and 1950 as a proxy for their biological and material standards of living. The evolution of biological standards of living is an alternative way to assess whether or not economic development after 1850 was beneficial to the population, using a proxy that relies on a basic natural characteristic, adult height. The recruitment records of the Mexican rural and federal militia provide us with information on the secular trends of heights of the Mexican labouring classes, while a database of passport applications allows us to compare the evolution of living standards across social classes. It is argued that the benefits of industrialisation and improved economic performance fostered by the Dıá regime (1876–1910) did not have a favourable impact on the biological wellbeing of the labouring population. There are, however, signs of improvement in living standards with the launching of welfare programmes at the end of the Cárdenas administration. In contrast, the average height of the elites increased throughout the period, suggesting that there was a growing disparity in the evolution of living standards between social classes"

"Instituições e Diferenças de Renda entre os Estados Brasileiros: Uma análise histórica"
Naércio Menezes-Filho (IBMEC / USP) , Renato Leite Marcondes (FEA-RP/USP), Elaine Toldo Pazello (FEA-RP/USP), Luiz Guilherme Scorzafave (FEA-RP/USP)

Neste artigo utilizamos a qualidade das instituições atuais e elementos históricos para examinar os determinantes das diferenças de PIB per capita entre os estados brasileiros. Utilizamos uma abordagem empírica para testar a hipótese de que as condições geográficas dos diferentes estados geraram um conjunto de instituições e políticas que visavam a preservar a desigualdade, acabando por reduzir o crescimento econômico nos estados mais desiguais. Analisamos a escravidão, a alfabetização e o acesso ao voto no passado como exemplos de instituições destinadas a manter o status quo e os efeitos da imigração estrangeira como atenuantes deste círculo vicioso. Apesar do reduzido número de observações, as correlações observadas entre essas variáveis e a regressão estimada mostram-se consistentes com estas hipóteses

"The state of the market in a (nation) state-less economy: Argentina at mid-nineteenth century”
María Alejandra Irigoin (The College of New Jersey) & Colin M. Lewis (London School of Economics & Political Science)

The lack of a nation-wide state, endowed with the full attributes of statehood, has led historians (including economic historians) to assume that the modern development of Argentina started in 1880. Namely, that growth became possible only after political turmoil, which characterised the pre-1850s decades, was brought to an end and market-friendly institutions resulting from ‘national consolidation’ were set in place. This paper challenges those assumptions by assembling and evaluating material which suggests that a system of exchange and market production that originated in the colonial economy survived through the revolutionary and early national periods, and even flourished after the 1820s. Recently available data on population, production, trade, commodities, and money and finance facilitate a reassessment of the extent of market production, the behaviour of agents, the organisation of economic activity, and changes in factor allocation in response to regional and international demand. In focussing on the domestic market and internal commercial and monetary networks during the transition from the colonial to the post-Independence economy, the paper maintains that these institutions functioned despite the absence of a nation-wide state. Exploring the ‘state of the market’ in a (national) state-less economy, the paper seeks to re-evaluate the economic consequences of Independence.

The colonial Legacy as a Determinant of Regional Per Capita Income in Colombia
Jaime Bonet, Adolfo Meisel Roca (Banco de la Republica)

Using the Colombian regional experience, this paper introduces new evidence for the analysis of the long-run determinants in per capita income differences. Colombia has experienced significant and persistent regional income disparities. Based on the recent international literature about this topic, we test the relevance of institutions, geography and culture in explaining those differences. Although we establish that colony legacy has had an important impact on the regional income differences in Colombia, it is not easy to know the way through which this legacy influenced outcomes: institutions or human capital. However, human capital seems to play a stronger role than institutions.

Disparidades regionais no Brasil na primeira metade do século XX: Minas
Gerais e São Paulo em perspectiva comparada
Tarcisio R. Botelho (PUC-MG)

O objetivo do paper é apresentar uma proposta metodológica de classificação de ocupações para o passado. O ponto de partida será a aplicação de uma codificação padronizada de ocupações, a HISCO (Historical International Standard Classification of Occupation), baseada na ISCO, utilizada na produção de estatísticas contemporâneas sobre ocupação e mercado de trabalho. A partir da HISCO, é possível recuperar a distribuição da população economicamente ativa segundo os setores econômicos. Pretende-se evidenciar alguns aspectos das desigualdades econômicas intra e inter-regionais a partir de listas nominativas de habitantes da década de 1830 disponíveis para as províncias de São Paulo e Minas Gerais. Simultaneamente, será feita a análise da estratificação social a partir das declarações de ocupação reagrupando-as em conformidade com o modelo HISCLASS (Maas, Leeuwen, 2005), uma adaptação para períodos históricos do modelo de Goldthorpe (Erikson, Goldthorpe, 1992). Ao lado das informações derivadas das declarações de ocupação, pretende-se agregar ao modelo HISCLASS outras dimensões fundamentais para a descrição de status social na América latina, notadamente a condição social (se livre ou escrava) e a cor/raça.

El potencial de mercado en las regiones españolas, 1860-1930.
Julio Martínez Galarraga (Universidad de Barcelona)

En este artículo se lleva a cabo la elaboración del potencial de mercado de las regiones españolas para los años 1860, 1900, 1914 y 1930, para un nivel de desagregación provincial y regional. Por un lado, la disponibilidad de estimaciones del potencial de mercado resulta una variable de gran relevancia para el análisis empírico de las predicciones teóricas dentro de la Nueva Geografía Económica. Por otro lado, desde la historia económica, la aparición del estudio de Crafts (2005) para la economía británica antes de la I Guerra Mundial, sirve como referencia a la hora de obtener estimaciones del potencial de mercado comparables internacionalmente. En este caso, se plantea el estudio de la dinámica seguida por esta variable durante la segunda mitad del siglo XIX y primer tercio del siglo XX, vinculado a las diferentes opciones de política comercial implementada por los gobiernos españoles durante el período estudiado. Así, se puede analizar el impacto sobre la distribución regional del ingreso que tuvo el progresivo cierre al exterior de la economía española desde la última década del siglo XIX, en lo que la literatura ha denominado nacionalismo económico español.

Políticas públicas e disparidades regionais: o caso da zona da Mata de Minas Gerais (1925/1940)
Nicélio do Amaral Barros (Programa de Pós-Graduação em História Social das Relações Políticas – Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo)-

O objetivo central do trabalho é analisar o deslocamento dos eixos político e econômico em Minas Gerais durante a década de 1930. Analisamos como o complexo cafeeiro da zona da Mata foi sobrepujado, neste processo, pela região centro-metalúrgica, especializada no setor siderúrgico. Para tanto, partimos em primeiro lugar da análise teórica de três aspectos fundamentais para se chegar ao foco do estudo: a) os impactos da crise internacional de 1929, fato que influenciou em mudanças na política econômica da maioria dos países latino-americanos; b) a política econômica do governo brasileiro entre 1920 e 1930 e; c) a ação das elites nacionais diante do projeto varguista de industrialização na década de 1930. Em seguida, abordamos as mudanças ocorridas no segmento urbano-industrial do complexo cafeeiro sediado na cidade de Juiz de Fora, na zona da Mata mineira, durante as décadas de 1920 e 1930, em especial no período pós-1929. Para tanto, são analisadas fontes primárias, como processos de falências de sociedades anônimas e firmas limitadas dos ramos industrial, financeiro e comercial. Por fim, procuraremos detectar a ascensão da burguesia sediada em Belo Horizonte, capital de Minas Gerais, no pós-1930.

In this paper the shift of the political and economical axis of coffee production of the zona da Mata, in the state of Minas Gerais, during the 1930’s and the way it was prevailed over by the central metallurgical region, mainly directed to iron and steel industry, is analyzed. The study starts from the theoretical analysis of three basics aspects: a) the shock of the 1929 crisis, which led to changes in the economic policy in most Latin-American countries; b) the economic policy of the brazilian government from 1920 through 1930; and c) the modus operandi of brazilian upper classes concerning president Vargas’s project of industrialization during the 1930’s. Next, changes are analyzed which occurred in the urban and industrial sectors of coffee economy, centered in Juiz de Fora, in the zona da Mata, during the 1920’s and 1930’s, especially during the post-1920 period. In order to reach this aim, primary sources are analyzed, such as bankruptcy proceedings of business corporations and limited companies in the industrial, financial and comercial sectors. Lastly, an effort was made to identify the rise of the bourgeoisie in Belo Horizonte, the capital city of the Minas Gerais, during the post-1930 period. The project, as well as the accomplishment of this class so as to secure admittance to the decision areas of Minas Gerais government, are discussed.

A questão regional no Brasil e a ação do Estado – 1930-1990
Hermes Magalhães Tavares

The Brazilian Economy is made of a typical case of unfair development. Throughout the 20th Century, several images have been used to illustrate the regional Dynamics. First, “The Archepelago Economy”- a period in which the country was formed by several relatively autonomous regions that rarely communicated to one another. Secondly, “The Two Brasis”, a dual focus which did not integrate and, futhermore: the second one pushed the development of the country out of the first one. Finally, the middle-sorrounding model, considered by some as a variant of the second. Whatever approach we might use, the inter-regional labor division has been strictly unfair, which is a question that follows the Brazilian Economy under the sponsorship of the industrial capital. On this essay, we will deal with the Brazilian regional matter between the period of 1930 and 1990, pointing out the actions of the State related to it. Secondary data and other history elements have been used so that the matter is analyzed in its more relevant aspects and moments.


A economia brasileira constitui um caso típico de desenvolvimento desigual. Ao longo do século XX, diversas imagens foram utilizadas para ilustrar a dinâmica regional. Em primeiro lugar, a “economia de arquipélago” – fase em que o país era formado por várias regiões relativamente autônomas, que se articulavam escassamente. Em segundo, “os dois brasis”, enfoque dual que considerava o país constituído por dois segmentos – o Centro-Sul e o Nordeste-Norte – que não se integravam e mais: o segundo segmento emperrava o desenvolvimento do país a partir do primeiro. Em terceiro, o modelo centro-periferia, considerado por alguns como variante do segundo modelo. Qualquer que seja a abordagem, uma divisão inter-regional do trabalho bastante desigual; questão regional que atravessa a economia brasileira sob a égide do capital industrial. Este trabalho trata da questão regional brasileira, no período de 1930 a 1990, destacando a ação do Estado em relação a essa. Usam-se dados secundários e outros elementos da historiografia, com o objetivo de analisar essa questão em seus aspectos e momentos mais relevantes. "

Desenvolvimento Econômico do Rio Grande do Sul
Nali de Jesus de Souza (PUC-RS)

Procurou-se identificar os fatores do desenvolvimento do RS desde o Século 18. A economia originou-se da extração de erva-mate e da produção de couros e charque. Com a chegada dos imigrantes, a agropecuária diversificou-se e surgiram as primeiras indústrias. Conflitos com o governo federal provocaram Revoluções no RS. Os principais fatores de seu desenvolvimento foram: agricultura mecanizada e exportadora (arroz, trigo e soja); criação de programas estaduais de desenvolvimento e incentivos públicos; implantação de empresas públicas e atração de investimentos. Isso neutralizou impactos de fatores climáticos, conjunturais e de políticas nacionais desfavoráveis, como valorização cambial, que afetam a economia gaúcha.

The roots of regional inequalities in Brazil (1872-1920)
Eustáquio Reis (IPEA) , Leonardo Monasterio (UFPel)

This paper provides historical perspectives on regional economic inequalities in Brazil. It analyzes the changes in the spatial concentration of economic activities in Brazil based upon data on the municipal distribution of the labor force by occupation from the Censuses of 1872 and 1920. The New Economic Geography provides the analytical framework to show how geography, technology and institutions combined give industrial preeminence to the city of São Paulo and why the accelerated industrial growth of São Paulo had such a limited and delayed effects in the rest of the country. In short, the significant reduction in transport costs brought by railroads stimulated subsidized international migration as an institutional solution to the labor shortage problem. Other consequences were the increased market potential of the city of São Paulo, which triggered self-reinforcing processes of human capital accumulation, economies of scale and agglomeration externalities in the industrial sector. Regression analyses suggest that immigration, railways and economic diversity were relevant for the locational decisions in 1920. Natural resources, however, seem unimportant to explain the changes in the location of manufacturing activities between 1872 and 1920.

India

In Brazil, you are not really aware of India. Everybody knows that there are 1.1 billion Indians, but the average Brazilian -like me - has never met one. This changes completely when you live in London. Here Indian culture is all over the place, my friends have Indian heritage, and I have eaten tons of curries. It is natural to become interested in the country. However it is really hard to understand India (and probably I'll never do).
The site that BBC has set up to celebrate the Independence is a good start to grasp India. Two BBC recent articles are a must for those who want to understand the recent changes: The changing values of modern India and Can India close the wealth gap?
From the first one I learn that in the sixties:

"Such was the scarcity in the country that there was a Guest Control Order which meant you could not invite more than fifty people for a meal - at weddings all you got was a thin slice of ice cream."

And from the latter I learn about rural outsourcing:

"Bellary is home to one of India's first rural outsourcing centres, run by Indian steel maker JSW Steel Limited. The organisation has started two small operations on its Bellary campus, hiring young women from nearby villages to work in their rural processing centres. Here the girls spend their shifts punching in details of American patients' dental records, typing in a language many of them have only recently learned, using a machine many had never seen or heard of before. Twenty-year-old Savithri Amma has a basic high school diploma. She earns about $80 (£40) a month doing this work - the same as one of her peers might earn working as a house-help in Mumbai."

New Economic Geography and Public Choice

Things get really interesting when you combine both approaches:

Do rent-seeking and interregional transfers contribute to urban primacy in sub-Saharan Africa?
Kristian Behrens Alain Pholo Bala

We develop an economic geography model in which mobile skilled workers choose
between working in the production sector or becoming part of an unproductive political elite. The elite sets tax rates on skilled and unskilled workers to maximize its own welfare by extracting rents, thereby influencing the spatial allocation of production and changing the available range of consumption goods. We show that such behavior increases the likelihood of agglomeration and of urban primacy. In equilibrium, the elite may tax the unskilled workers but will never tax the skilled workers, and there are rural-urban transfers towards the agglomeration.
The size of the elite and the magnitude of the tax burden that falls on the unskilled is shown to decrease with product differentiation and, via the tax rates, with the expenditure share for manufacturing goods

Height and Income

This article gets almost everything wrong. It says that the causality runs in the direction height -> income. In fact, kids that have access to better nutrition and health receive a better education as well and end up being taller and more successful (on average). Height is just a confounding variable and does not cause financial or emotional success, as the article suggests. (OK, I do admit that there is labour market discrimination against shorter people, but I guess that these effects are not really important in developed economies.)

PS: Are you interested in Anthropometrics? So read anything from Prof Komlos, Prof Steckel, and Prof Fogel.

Why do I love Economics?

Just glance at a selection of titles from the new NBER papers. Exotic places, interesting questions and all possible themes. The list starts with a Robert Lucas' paper and closes with one titled: "From "White Christmas" to Sgt. Pepper". Amazing, isn't it?

1. Trade and the Diffusion of the Industrial Revolution
by Robert E. Lucas, Jr. #13286 (EFG)
http://papers.nber.org/papers/W13286

2. Island Matching
by Dale T. Mortensen #13287 (EFG)
http://papers.nber.org/papers/W13287

3. Misallocation and Manufacturing TFP in China and India
by Chang-Tai Hsieh, Peter J. Klenow #13290 (EFG PR)
http://papers.nber.org/papers/W13290


6. Why Don't Inventors Patent?
by Petra Moser #13294 (DAE PR)
http://papers.nber.org/papers/W13294

7. Employment, Innovation, and Productivity: Evidence from Italian Microdata
by Bronwyn H. Hall, Francesca Lotti, Jacques Mairesse #13296 (IO PR LS)
http://papers.nber.org/papers/W13296

9. Many Children Left Behind? Textbooks and Test Scores in Kenya
by Paul Glewwe, Michael Kremer, Sylvie Moulin #13300 (ED POL)
http://papers.nber.org/papers/W13300

10. Spatial Growth and Industry Age
by Klaus Desmet, Esteban Rossi-Hansberg #13302 (EFG PR)
http://papers.nber.org/papers/W13302

12. The Power of TV: Cable Television and Women's Status in India
by Robert Jensen, Emily Oster #13305 (LS)
http://papers.nber.org/papers/W13305

13. Wage and Productivity Premiums in Sub-Saharan Africa
by Johannes Van Biesebroeck #13306 (LS PR)
http://papers.nber.org/papers/W13306

14. From "White Christmas" to Sgt. Pepper: The Conceptual Revolution in Popular Music
by David Galenson #13308 (LS)
http://papers.nber.org/papers/W13308

Gregory Clark and the Industrial Revolution

The New York Times reviews Gregory Clark's book. I've have read just the chapters that were available on-line and I am sure that the book is excellent.
However, his thesis that there was a genetic component in the roots of the Industrial Revolution does not convince me at all. When he presented his paper at the LSE Economic History Seminar, this point was severely criticized. The main reason for criticism is that the speed of biological adaptation is too slow to explain economic changes like the Industrial Revolution. There were even tongue in cheek remarks like:"If you look at my ancestors, probably you would change your mind".

Economists' Duel

This shortfilm explains why you should not waste your energy in quarrels with people who hold different beliefs.
UPDATE: Sorry, dailymotion removed the video.

A gentlemen's duel
Uploaded by nettouch

Wages and Industrial Clusters in Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil)

The Review of Regional Studies has published my paper (gated pdf file). The abstract goes like this:

The purpose of this paper is to test whether the New Economic Geography hypothesis concerning the existence of a spatial wage structure applies to the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The first part of the study applies several spatial analysis techniques in order to locate industrial clusters and calculate the market potential of the municipalities studied. The second part uses this information together with demographic data to run wage regressions aimed at capturing the effects of agglomeration and urban economies on individual wages. The results do not falsify the hypothesis that nominal wages, using the proper controls, are higher in municipalities with higher market potential and lower in the economically disadvantaged hinterland of the state.

If you wish to read the paper, I can e-mail you a previous version.

Winnie, the Mathematician

We all know that Brian May is about to receive his Astrophysics PhD. Today, I found out that Danica Mckellar graduated summa cum laude from UCLA and has published an incomprehensible proof in an academic journal . Don't you remember her? She was the Kevin's girlfriend, Winnie Cooper, in my favourite TV series.
Via Wired.