Spain was one of the world’s richest countries around 1500. Two centuries later, it was a backwater. This column discusses the long-run impact of the influx of precious metals from the New World on the economic development of Spain. Using an augmented synthetic control methodology, the authors show that in the long run the growth and price level trajectories evolved
New evidence is transforming the way we look at long-term trends in economic inequality. This column reconstructs wealth inequality in the German area over five centuries. The significant declines in inequality triggered by the Black Death and again by the Thirty Years’ War of 1618–1648 and the plague that followed provide strong support for the potential levelling effects of
Capital and economic growth in Britain, 1270–1870 | VOX, CEPR Policy Portal voxeu.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from voxeu.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.