Latin American Per Capita GDP in Colonial Times

Growth under Extractive Institutions?
Latin American Per Capita GDP in Colonial Times

LETICIA ARROYO ABAD AND JAN LUITEN VAN ZANDEN

This article presents new estimations of per capita GDP in colonial times for the

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notion that colonial institutions impoverished Latin America.

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down to a subsistence level and thus extract all income in excess of this

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sapped much of its economic potential.”

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ꢅꢅꢇꢎ

Arroyo Abad and van Zanden

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motherland: Spain.

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despite the limitations to economic development in this period.

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GDP discussed earlier and proxied the structure of the labor force over

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1188

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available for the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and Robert McCaa

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Latin American Per Capita GDP in Colonial Times ꢅꢅꢇꢌ

TABLE 1

727$/ꢀ3238/$7,21ꢀ$1'ꢀ85%$1,=$7,21ꢀ5$7(6ꢀ,1ꢀ0(;,&2ꢃꢀ3(58ꢃꢀ$1'ꢀ63$,1

ꢅꢐꢐꢈ

ꢅꢍꢈꢈ

ꢅꢍꢐꢈ

ꢅꢆꢈꢈ

ꢅꢆꢐꢈ

ꢅꢇꢈꢈ

Mexico Total

population (in millions)

8UEDQ

population (in thousands)

ꢍꢂꢍ ꢅꢅꢍ

1.8

ꢑꢂꢈ ꢅꢌꢎ ꢍꢂꢐꢀ
ꢊꢂꢑ ꢊꢊꢈ ꢌꢂꢇꢀ

2.8

ꢑꢂꢇ

ꢐꢂꢅ

ꢑꢑꢇ

ꢎꢑꢐ

ꢆꢎꢎ

8UEDQL]DWLRQꢀꢀꢀ

ꢅꢊꢂꢈꢀ

ꢅꢅꢂꢐꢀ

ꢅꢎꢂꢍꢀ

rate

ꢀ ꢀꢉSHUFHQWꢋ

Peru^a

Total

2.1

ꢍꢑ
ꢅꢂꢍ ꢅꢌꢑ

12.1

ꢅꢂꢐ

1.2

ꢅꢂꢎ

2.2

8UEDQ

212

ꢊꢑꢆ

212

ꢊꢆꢅ

population (in thousands)

8UEDQL]DWLRQꢀ

ꢑꢂꢈꢀ

ꢅꢎꢂꢅꢀ

ꢊꢈꢂꢈꢀ

ꢅꢐꢂꢌꢀ

ꢅꢊꢂꢍꢀ

rate

ꢀ ꢉSHUFHQWꢋ

Spain Total

ꢐꢂꢎ ꢍꢈꢎ

11.2

ꢍꢂꢌ

ꢆꢂꢊ

ꢆꢂꢐ

ꢇꢑꢑ

11.1

ꢌꢂꢑ

ꢅꢅꢂꢌ

ꢊꢃꢊꢅꢈ ꢅꢇꢂꢍꢀ

8UEDQ

ꢌꢆꢊ

ꢌꢈꢈ

ꢅꢃꢊꢐꢍ

ꢅꢑꢂꢐꢀ

population* (in thousands)

8UEDQL]DWLRQꢀ

ꢅꢎꢂꢊꢀ

ꢅꢊꢂꢐꢀ

rate

ꢀ ꢀꢉSHUFHQWꢋ ꢓꢀ$GMXVWHGꢀXUEDQL]DWLRQꢀUDWHꢀꢉH[FOXGHVꢀ³DJUR´ꢀWRZQVꢋꢂꢀ,WꢀLQFOXGHVꢀXUEDQꢀFHQWHUVꢀRIꢀDWꢀOHDVWꢀꢐꢃꢈꢈꢈꢀ

inhabitants.

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