This paper analyses the impact in Catalonia of the grape Phylloxera plague in Europe (1865-90). A statistical model is used to analyse the economic resilience of 35 districts in Catalonia to this external ecological and economic shock, and to explain why districts in the provinces of Barcelona and Tarragona resumed growing wine grapes after the plague, in contrast to districts in Girona and Lleida provinces. The opportunity cost of labour, the demand pull of Barcelona's commercial growth, and the agro-climatic suitability of land for growing grapes are used to explain the differing capacities of districts to endure the Phylloxera plague in Catalonia.a ehr_271 39..61 JEL categories: N53, N54, Q17, Q54, Q56, R14, R40

ResumenEl análisis de la evolución de la localización de la actividad económica en Portugal, entre 1890 y 1980, nos muestra un fuerte proceso de concentración de la producción en las zonas costeras, coincidiendo con el proceso de decadencia de las provincias agrícolas del interior. A su vez, la evolución de la desigualdad espacial sigue una curva U-invertida, en la línea de lo observado en otras regiones de Europa, pero con el punto máxima desigualdad hacia 1970, mucho más tarde que esas regiones. Las razones de ese comportamiento estarían en las dificultades que tuvo el país para modernizar la economía JEL: N9, R1 AbstractThe analysis of the evolution of the localization of the economic activity in Portugal, among 1890 and 1980, shows a strong process of concentration of the economic activity in the coastal zones, coinciding with the process of decline of the agriculture in the inner provinces. At the same time, the evolution of spatial inequality follows a U-inverted curve, in line with that observed in other regions of Europe, with the unequal peak around 1970, much later than those regions. The reasons for this behavior would be found in the difficulties experienced by the country in their effort to modernize the industry in the lagged regions, and the benefits generated by the agglomeration economies in the more developed regions.

We present a model of vine-growing specialization that explains the key agricultural change carried out before and throughout the Catalan industrialization. The results confirm the role played by a "Smithian" market-pull force exerted from the Atlantic demand, together with the "Boserupian" population-push on land-use intensification. They jointly put in motion a process of opening and closing of an inner frontier of vineyard planting, whose local impact was conditioned by the agroecological endowments as well as to the different levels and trends of income inequality. Vineyard planting gave rise to less inequality up to the 1820s, but it grew again afterwards.

The English Agricultural Revolution began during a period of climate change in which temperatures decreased significantly. Lower temperatures meant less bacterial activity, a slower release of mineral nitrogen into cultivated soils, and a shorter growing season for crops—a combination that tended to diminish yields. The English farmers reacted by increasing the flow of organic matter and manure into the soil, thus mitigating the negative effect of the colder temperatures to some extent. When the temperatures rose again, the faster mineralization of soil organic matter led to bountiful yields that encouraged English farmers to continue with these innovative strategies. The upshot is that the English agricultural revolution was more a discovery than an invention, that the English agricultural revolution was more a discovery than an invention, induced by a combination of climate challenges, social and institutional settings, and market incentives.

Abstract:The new estimates of the Maddison Project show that GDP per capita ratio at purchasing power parity (ppp) between Bolivia and Finland has changed from 0.68 ca. 1850 to 0.16 in 2015; similarly, that between Chile and Norway from 0.65 to 0.28. The aim of this article is to present a review of the literature and available quantitative evidence to understand how these extreme differences became possible between countries with similarly enormous natural resource endowments. Specifically, the article seeks to: (a) identify some stylized facts that may help understand the divergence between Andean and Nordic countries; (b) identify key historical processes that explain the divergent effect of natural resource abundance in Andean and Nordic economies. In order to achieve these objectives, four topics are covered: GDPpc, population, trade and taxation. The analysis comprises three Nordic countries (Finland, Norway and Sweden) and three Andean countries (Bolivia, Chile and Peru) from the mid-Nineteenth Century to present day. The sample size, time span covered and thematic approach provide new evidence regarding previous work.