The Colonial Origins of the Divergence in the Americas: A Labor Market Approach

This article introduces the Americas in the Great Divergence debate by measuring real wages in various North and South American cities between colonization and independence, and comparing them to Europe and Asia. We find that for much of the period, North America was the most prosperous region of th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of economic history 2012-12, Vol.72 (4), p.863-894
Main Authors: Allen, Robert C., Murphy, Tommy E., Schneider, Eric B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
19th century
Consumer Price Index
Culture
Demography
Economic history
Education
GDP
Geography
Gross Domestic Product
Labor
Labor demand
Labor market
Labor markets
Population growth
Prices
Property rights
Real wages
Slaves
Standard of living
Studies
Wages
Wages & salaries
Workforce
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Summary:This article introduces the Americas in the Great Divergence debate by measuring real wages in various North and South American cities between colonization and independence, and comparing them to Europe and Asia. We find that for much of the period, North America was the most prosperous region of the world, while Latin America was much poorer. We then discuss a series of hypotheses that can explain these results, including migration, the demography of the American Indian populations, and the various labor systems implemented in the continent.
ISSN:0022-0507
1471-6372
DOI:10.1017/S0022050712000629