Should we trust? : explaining trade expansion in early modern Spain : Seville, 1500-1600

Abstract

From the early 21st century, the discipline of Economic History has paid a growing amount of attention to the phenomenon of preindustrial trade. Estimations of GDP per capita by Maddison (2001) and (2003) and Van Zanden (2005), for example, have attracted significant interest from scholars in different countries and have emphasized the relevance of Atlantic trade and its consequences for economic growth. Especially noteworthy in this regard has been the contribution of Acemoglu et al. (2002) and (2005). Their analysis of the different growth patterns among western States has placed Atlantic trade firmly in the spotlight. Taking the year 1500 as a starting point and conducting a long-term analysis, these authors have assessed the importance of political institutions as a major explanation for differences among States in terms of GDP per capita. They argue that the introduction of a parliamentary monarchy regime in England and the Netherlands explains the increments in GDP per capita for both countries. By contrast, countries such as Spain and Portugal, which continued as absolute monarchies, experienced much lower levels of development.