GROWTH, INEQUALITY, AND POVERTY IN SPAIN, 1850-2000 EVIDENCE.pdf

GROWTH, INEQUALITY, AND POVERTY IN SPAIN, 1850-2000: EVIDENCE AND SPECULATION By Leandro Prados de la Escosura (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid) leandro.prados.delaescosura@uc3m.es Paper to be presented at Session 116 “A Global History of Income Distribution in the Long XXth Century”, International Economic History Association Congress, Helsinki August 20-26, 2006 This paper originated as a short-term consultancy research for a project on growth and poverty carried out at the Latin America the Caribbean Region Office of the World Bank. Humberto López and Luis Servén kindly allowed me access to their unpublished research. I am indebted to Humberto López and Patricia Macchi for their help with the calibration of poverty reduction. Detailed comments and suggestions by Pedro Fraile Balbín, Giovanni Vecchi and Jeff Williamson are gratefully appreciated. I also acknowledge Francisco Goerlich, Stefan Houpt, Matilde Mas, Jordi Palafox, Francisco Pérez, Mari Ángeles Pons, Joan R. Rosés, Blanca Sánchez-Alonso, James Simpson and participants at seminars at San Pablo-CEU and Valencia universities for their remarks. I am solely responsible for the remaining errors. GROWTH, INEQUALITY, AND POVERTY IN SPAIN, 1850-2000: EVIDENCE AND SPECULATION Abstract_______________________________________________________________ Interconnections between growth, inequality, and poverty, and between these variables and social conflict, dictatorship and democracy, represent a fascinating challenge for social scientists. Spain’s dramatic experience provides an opportunity to explore them. Was the Civil War (1936-39)