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Agricultural institutions, industrialization and growth: The case of New Zealand and Uruguay in 1870-1940

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  • Álvarez, Jorge
  • Bilancini, Ennio
  • D'Alessandro, Simone
  • Porcile, Gabriel

Abstract

In this paper we apply a model of early industrialization to the case of New Zealand and Uruguay in 1870-1940. We show how differences in agricultural institutions may have produced different development paths in two countries which were similar under many respects. While in New Zealand the active role of the Crown in regulating the land market facilitated access to land, in Uruguay land was seized by a small group of large landowners. Our model shows that land concentration may have negatively influenced industrialization and growth by impeding the formation of a large group of middle-income landowners and, as a consequence, the development of a domestic demand for basic manufactures. We support this view with a comparative analysis of agricultural institutions and industrial development in New Zealand and Uruguay.

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  • Álvarez, Jorge & Bilancini, Ennio & D'Alessandro, Simone & Porcile, Gabriel, 2011. "Agricultural institutions, industrialization and growth: The case of New Zealand and Uruguay in 1870-1940," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 151-168, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:exehis:v:48:y:2011:i:2:p:151-168
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    3. Silvana Sandonato & Henry Willebald, 2018. "Natural Capital, Domestic Product and Proximate Causes of Economic Growth: Uruguay in the Long Run, 1870–2014," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-26, March.
    4. Bengtsson, Erik & Waldenström, Daniel, 2018. "Capital Shares and Income Inequality: Evidence from the Long Run," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 78(3), pages 712-743, September.
    5. Rodríguez Weber, Javier, 2015. "Estimación de desigualdad de ingreso y otras variables relacionadas para Chile entre 1860 y 1970. Metodología y resultados obtenidos [Income inequality estimates for Chile between 1860 and 1970. Me," MPRA Paper 68400, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Jorge Álvarez, 2015. "Technological change and productivity growth in the agrarian systems of New Zealand and Uruguay (1870-2010)," Documentos de trabajo 43, Programa de Historia Económica, FCS, Udelar.
    7. Jorge Álvarez, 2013. "The evolution of inequality in Australasia and the River Plate, 1870-1914," Documentos de trabajo 31, Programa de Historia Económica, FCS, Udelar.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agricultural institutions Industrialization Growth New Zealand Uruguay functional distribution Agricultural surplus;

    JEL classification:

    • D33 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Factor Income Distribution
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • P52 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Comparative Economic Systems - - - Comparative Studies of Particular Economies
    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment

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