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Taxation and the stagnation of cotton exports in Brazil, 1800–60

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  • Thales Zamberlan Pereira

Abstract

Brazil's northern region supplied 40 per cent of the cotton imported into Liverpool during the last decade of the eighteenth century. In the following decades, however, cotton exports stagnated, and Brazil became the only major international cotton producer that decreased its exports to European countries. This article shows that the fiscal policies of Brazil's central government had a significant role on the decline of cotton exports. The central government set export taxes to maximize revenue from higher‐quality long‐staple cotton, decreasing the profitability of short staples, which saw the largest increase in demand during the nineteenth century.

Suggested Citation

  • Thales Zamberlan Pereira, 2021. "Taxation and the stagnation of cotton exports in Brazil, 1800–60," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 74(2), pages 522-545, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ehsrev:v:74:y:2021:i:2:p:522-545
    DOI: 10.1111/ehr.13028
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Irwin, Douglas A., 2003. "The optimal tax on antebellum US cotton exports," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(2), pages 275-291, August.
    2. Olmstead, Alan L. & Rhode, Paul W., 2008. "Biological Innovation and Productivity Growth in the Antebellum Cotton Economy," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 68(4), pages 1123-1171, December.
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    4. C. Knick Harley, 1998. "Cotton Textile Prices and the Industrial Revolution," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 51(1), pages 49-83, February.
    5. Nathaniel H. Leff, 1972. "Economic Development and Regional Inequality: Origins of the Brazilian Case," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 86(2), pages 243-262.
    6. Douglas A. Irwin, 2005. "The Welfare Cost of Autarky: Evidence from the Jeffersonian Trade Embargo, 1807–09," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(4), pages 631-645, September.
    7. Wright, Gavin, 1971. "An Econometric Study of Cotton Production and Trade, 1830-1860," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 53(2), pages 111-120, May.
    8. Thomas I. Wahl & Dermot J. Hayes, 1990. "Demand System Estimation with Upward-Sloping Supply," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 38(1), pages 107-122, March.
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    1. Rafael Cariello & Thales Zamberlan Pereira, 2024. "Goodbye, Mr. Portugal: Fiscal crisis, constitutional revolution, and the independence of Brazil (1808–22)," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 77(2), pages 728-749, May.

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