IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jcecon/v51y2023i2p403-421.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

State formation and market integration: Germany, 1780–1830

Author

Listed:
  • Albers, Hakon
  • Pfister, Ulrich

Abstract

The rise of modern states is an important factor for economic development. We test the effects of territorial consolidation and the increase in legal capacity on market integration. The political transformation of Germany in the wake of the Napoleonic Wars, which reduced territorial fragmentation and transformed former semi-autonomous estates to sovereign polities, serves as a natural experiment. We apply a difference-in-differences framework to a new dataset of grain prices and show that territorial consolidation reduced trade costs conditional on trade reforms that replaced heterogenous internal duties by a unified system of external tariffs. The effect was equivalent to a reduction of price gaps by 31 percent. Cities that were part of Prussia both before and after the Wars and experienced trade reform saw a reduction in price gaps of similar magnitude. By contrast, there was no market integration in late-reformer states such as Hanover and Saxony. Trade reforms were the main channel through which territorial consolidation fostered market integration.

Suggested Citation

  • Albers, Hakon & Pfister, Ulrich, 2023. "State formation and market integration: Germany, 1780–1830," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 403-421.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcecon:v:51:y:2023:i:2:p:403-421
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jce.2023.01.007
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147596723000069
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jce.2023.01.007?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Erik Hornung, 2015. "Railroads And Growth In Prussia," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 13(4), pages 699-736, August.
    2. Daron Acemoglu & Davide Cantoni & Simon Johnson & James A. Robinson, 2011. "The Consequences of Radical Reform: The French Revolution," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(7), pages 3286-3307, December.
    3. Federico, Giovanni & Schulze, Max-Stephan & Volckart, Oliver, 2021. "European Goods Market Integration in the Very Long Run: From the Black Death to the First World War," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 81(1), pages 276-308, March.
    4. Buggle, Johannes C., 2016. "Law and social capital: Evidence from the Code Napoleon in Germany," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 148-175.
    5. Fenske, James & Kala, Namrata, 2021. "Linguistic Distance and Market Integration in India," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 81(1), pages 1-39, March.
    6. Martin Uebele & Daniel Gallardo-Albarr�n, 2015. "Paving the way to modernity: Prussian roads and grain market integration in Westphalia, 1821-1855," Scandinavian Economic History Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 63(1), pages 69-92, March.
    7. Wahl, Fabian, 2016. "Does medieval trade still matter? Historical trade centers, agglomeration and contemporary economic development," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 50-60.
    8. Sascha O. Becker & Erik Hornung & Ludger Woessmann, 2011. "Education and Catch-Up in the Industrial Revolution," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(3), pages 92-126, July.
    9. Morgan Kelly, 1997. "The Dynamics of Smithian Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(3), pages 939-964.
    10. John C. Driscoll & Aart C. Kraay, 1998. "Consistent Covariance Matrix Estimation With Spatially Dependent Panel Data," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 80(4), pages 549-560, November.
    11. Giovanni Federico, 2012. "How much do we know about market integration in Europe?," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 65(2), pages 470-497, May.
    12. Burda, Michael C. & Severgnini, Battista, 2018. "Total factor productivity convergence in German states since reunification: Evidence and explanations," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 192-211.
    13. Mark Dincecco & Gabriel Katz, 2016. "State Capacity and Long‐run Economic Performance," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(590), pages 189-218, February.
    14. Kelly, M., 1996. "The Dynamics of Smithian growth," Papers 96/9, College Dublin, Department of Political Economy-.
    15. Dincecco, Mark, 2010. "Fragmented authority from Ancien Régime to modernity: a quantitative analysis," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 6(3), pages 305-328, September.
    16. Wolfgang Keller & Carol H. Shiue, 2020. "Market integration and institutional change," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 156(2), pages 251-285, May.
    17. Ulrich Pfister & Georg Fertig, 2020. "From Malthusian Disequilibrium to the Post-Malthusian Era: The Evolution of the Preventive and Positive Checks in Germany, 1730–1870," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(3), pages 1145-1170, June.
    18. Shiue, Carol H., 2005. "From political fragmentation towards a customs union: Border effects of the German Zollverein, 1815 to 1855," European Review of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 129-162, August.
    19. Pesaran, M. Hashem & Vanessa Smith, L. & Yamagata, Takashi, 2013. "Panel unit root tests in the presence of a multifactor error structure," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 175(2), pages 94-115.
    20. Jenny C. Aker, 2010. "Information from Markets Near and Far: Mobile Phones and Agricultural Markets in Niger," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(3), pages 46-59, July.
    21. Wolf, Nikolaus & Huning, Thilo, 2019. "How Britain Unified Germany: Trade Routes and the Formation of the Zollverein," CEPR Discussion Papers 13634, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    22. M. Hashem Pesaran, 2007. "A simple panel unit root test in the presence of cross-section dependence," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(2), pages 265-312.
    23. Hakon Albers & Ulrich Pfister, 2021. "Climate change, weather shocks, and price convergence in pre-industrial Germany [Information from markets near and far: mobile phones and agricultural markets in Niger]," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 25(3), pages 467-489.
    24. Malinowski, Mikołaj, 2019. "Economic Consequences of State Failure—Legal Capacity, Regulatory Activity, and Market Integration in Poland, 1505–1772," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 79(3), pages 862-896, September.
    25. Kopsidis, Michael & Bromley, Daniel W., 2016. "The French revolution and German industrialization: dubious models and doubtful causality," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(1), pages 161-190, March.
    26. Wolf, Nikolaus & Schulze, Max-Stephan & Heinemeyer, Hans-Christian, 2011. "On the Economic Consequences of the Peace: Trade and Borders After Versailles," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 71(4), pages 915-949, December.
    27. Boerner, Lars & Rubin, Jared & Severgnini, Battista, 2021. "A time to print, a time to reform," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    28. Max-Stephan Schulze & Nikolaus Wolf, 2009. "On the origins of border effects: insights from the Habsburg Empire," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 9(1), pages 117-136, January.
    29. Wolf, Nikolaus, 2009. "Was Germany Ever United? Evidence from Intra- and International Trade, 1885–1933," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 69(3), pages 846-881, September.
    30. Chilosi, David & Murphy, Tommy E. & Studer, Roman & Tunçer, A. Coşkun, 2013. "Europe's many integrations: Geography and grain markets, 1620–1913," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 46-68.
    31. Ploeckl, Florian, 2021. "A novel institution: the Zollverein and the origins of the customs union," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(2), pages 305-319, April.
    32. Huning, Thilo R. & Wahl, Fabian, 2021. "The origins of agricultural inheritance traditions," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 660-674.
    33. Hakon Albers & Ulrich Pfister, 2021. "Erratum to: Climate change, weather shocks, and price convergence in pre-industrial Germany," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 25(4), pages 806-806.
    34. Keller, Wolfgang & Shiue, Carol H., 2014. "Endogenous Formation of Free Trade Agreements: Evidence from the Zollverein's Impact on Market Integration," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 74(4), pages 1168-1204, December.
    35. Greif, Avner, 2000. "The fundamental problem of exchange: A research agenda in Historical Institutional Analysis," European Review of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 4(3), pages 251-284, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. CERMEÑO, Alexandra L. & SANTIAGO-Caballero, Carlos, 2023. "Closing the price gap - Von Thünen applied to wheat markets in 18th century Spain," CEI Working Paper Series 2023-01, Center for Economic Institutions, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    2. Wolfgang Keller & Carol H. Shiue, 2020. "Market integration and institutional change," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 156(2), pages 251-285, May.
    3. John E. Murray & Javier Silvestre, 2020. "Integration in European coal markets, 1833–1913," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 73(3), pages 668-702, August.
    4. Mikołaj Malinowski, 2018. "Economic consequences of state failure; Legal capacity, regulatory activity, and market integration in Poland, 1505-1772," Working Papers 0143, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    5. Alexander Donges & Jean-Marie Meier & Rui C. Silva, 2023. "The Impact of Institutions on Innovation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(4), pages 1951-1974, April.
    6. Wolfgang Keller & Carol H. Shiue, 2016. "Market Integration as a Mechanism of Growth," CESifo Working Paper Series 6070, CESifo.
    7. Martin Uebele & Daniel Gallardo-Albarr�n, 2015. "Paving the way to modernity: Prussian roads and grain market integration in Westphalia, 1821-1855," Scandinavian Economic History Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 63(1), pages 69-92, March.
    8. Ulrich Pfister & Georg Fertig, 2020. "From Malthusian Disequilibrium to the Post-Malthusian Era: The Evolution of the Preventive and Positive Checks in Germany, 1730–1870," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(3), pages 1145-1170, June.
    9. Chilosi, David & Nikolic, Stefan, 2021. "Vanishing borders: ethnicity and trade costs at the origin of the Yugoslav market," SocArXiv fsmch, Center for Open Science.
    10. Quamrul H. Ashraf & Francesco Cinnirella & Oded Galor & Boris Gershman & Erik Hornung, 2017. "Capital-Skill Complementarity and the Emergence of Labor Emancipation," Working Papers 2017-1, Brown University, Department of Economics.
    11. Cassidy, Daniel & Hanley, Nick, 2020. "Regional market integration and the emergence of a Scottish national grain market," eabh Papers 20-05, The European Association for Banking and Financial History (EABH).
    12. Johnson, Noel D. & Koyama, Mark, 2017. "States and economic growth: Capacity and constraints," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 1-20.
    13. Greif, Gavin, 2022. "Merchants, proto-firms, and the German industrialization: the commercial determinants of nineteenth century town growth," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113346, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    14. Quamrul H. Ashraf & Francesco Cinnirella & Oded Galor & Boris Gershman & Erik Hornung, 2017. "Capital-Skill Complementarity and the Emergence of Labor Emancipation," CESifo Working Paper Series 6423, CESifo.
    15. Wasi Ul Hassan Shah & Rizwana Yasmeen & Muddassar Sarfraz & Larisa Ivascu, 2023. "The Repercussions of Economic Growth, Industrialization, Foreign Direct Investment, and Technology on Municipal Solid Waste: Evidence from OECD Economies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-14, January.
    16. Adolfo Maza & Paula Gutiérrez-Portilla, 2022. "Outward FDI and exports relation: A heterogeneous panel approach dealing with cross-sectional dependence," International Economics, CEPII research center, issue 170, pages 174-189.
    17. César Salazar & Andrés Acuña‐Duarte & José Maria Gil, 2023. "Drought shocks and price adjustments in local food markets in Chile: Do product quality and marketing channel matter?," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 54(3), pages 349-363, May.
    18. Omri, Anis, 2018. "Entrepreneurship, sectoral outputs and environmental improvement: International evidence," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 46-55.
    19. Guillaume Daudin, 2002. "Coûts de transaction et croissance : un modèle à partir de la situation de la France du XVIIIe siècle," Revue Française d'Économie, Programme National Persée, vol. 17(2), pages 3-36.
    20. Essossinam Ali & Hodabalo Bataka & Kwami Ossadzifo Wonyra & Nadège Essossolim Awade & Nèmè Nalèwazou Braly, 2024. "Global value chains participation and environmental pollution in developing countries: Does digitalization matter?," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(1), pages 451-478, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    State formation; Market integration; Tariffs; Border; War;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • N13 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N43 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N53 - Economic History - - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Extractive Industries - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N73 - Economic History - - Economic History: Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, and Other Services - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • O43 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Institutions and Growth

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jcecon:v:51:y:2023:i:2:p:403-421. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/622864 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.