From Convergence to Divergence: Portuguese Economic Growth, 1527–1850

We construct the first time-series for Portugal’s per capita GDP for 1527–1850, drawing on a new database. Starting in the early 1630s there was a highly persistent upward trend which accelerated after 1710 and peaked 40 years later. At that point, per capita income was high by European standards, t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of economic history 2019-06, Vol.79 (2), p.477-506
Main Authors: Palma, Nuno, Reis, Jaime
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
16th century
18th century
19th century
Accounting
Agriculture
Auditing procedures
Consumption
Convergence
Economic decline
Economic growth
Economic history
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
Macroeconomics
Metric system
Per capita
Population
Prices
Wages & salaries
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Summary:We construct the first time-series for Portugal’s per capita GDP for 1527–1850, drawing on a new database. Starting in the early 1630s there was a highly persistent upward trend which accelerated after 1710 and peaked 40 years later. At that point, per capita income was high by European standards, though behind the most advanced Western European economies. But as the second half of the eighteenth century unfolded, a phase of economic decline was initiated. This continued into the nineteenth century, and by 1850 per capita incomes were not different from what they had been in the early 1530s.
ISSN:0022-0507
1471-6372
DOI:10.1017/S0022050719000056