Is Spain’s Corporate Elite Undergoing Democratization?

4 de March, 2026

Corporate power in Spain, embodied in the boards of the country’s largest companies, has historically been a highly masculinized space. Over recent decades, however, changes have emerged that appear to point toward a process of democratization within corporate networks (Heemskerk and Fennema 2014). Between 1950 and 2020, the proportion of women participating in these decision-making arenas increased from just 0.1% to 21%. … More Is Spain’s Corporate Elite Undergoing Democratization?

Why did silver mining not foster Mexico’s economic growth from 1821 to 1870?

2 de February, 2026

History is written by the winners, and in that sense, the 19th century is known as the era of the Industrial Revolution, the expansion of the railroad, other means of communication, and, in general, the spread of economic modernity. However, the reality is that for most of the world, those years were a time of economic divergence. This means that, compared to the countries where these innovations were taking place and modern economic growth was occurring, entire regions saw these changes arrive only slowly, and these levels of growth were not achieved. … More Why did silver mining not foster Mexico’s economic growth from 1821 to 1870?

What do We Know about Catalan Forestry Businesses in the Tropics?

8 de September, 2025

The article also highlights the activities carried out by these companies beyond forest exploitation, specially their establishment of factories in Barcelona. We can thus analyse the connections between the colony and the metropole. This was a complex process and it was not free from conflicts, as businesses had to navigate economic crises and uncertainties in the 1930s, and isolation during the Francoist autarchy period of the 1940s and early 1950s. Problems and crises, though, did not deter Catalan capital from investing in colonial forestry, which turned out to be a highly profitable business. … More What do We Know about Catalan Forestry Businesses in the Tropics?

What drives the transformation of oppressive institutions, and how does this affect economic development amongst those working under European colonial rule in Africa?

3 de December, 2024

My latest research tackles these questions through the case of the Companhia de Diamantes de Angola (Diamang), one of the largest colonial enterprises to exist in Portuguese Africa. By exploring how forced labour gave way to freer systems in Angola’s diamond mines, the study reveals insights into the dynamic nature of institutional change. … More What drives the transformation of oppressive institutions, and how does this affect economic development amongst those working under European colonial rule in Africa?

Is African Economic History Experiencing a Revival? A Bibliometric Analysis of the 21st century

25 de November, 2024

esearch on the economic history of Africa has experienced an unprecedented surge since the turn of the 21st century. This is not surprising given the rising role of Africa on the global stage, for instance in terms of the continent’s growing share in global population and extreme poverty, the disproportional impact of climate change on Africa’s economies, and the region’s vast reserves of critical energy transition minerals. Understanding the historical nature and origins of the continent’s present-day economic and demographic development is key. … More Is African Economic History Experiencing a Revival? A Bibliometric Analysis of the 21st century

How high were living standards in Boston before 1900?

1 de July, 2024

Economists and historians have long studied living standards in Massachusetts. An article by Luis Felipe Zegarra Basurco employs linear programming to estimate laborers’ welfare ratios in Boston from 1785-1900. The research indicates that Boston was a high-wage economy, with families exceeding their basic needs. The findings also show higher living standards in Boston compared to European cities during the same period.

… More How high were living standards in Boston before 1900?

Is industrial growth possible in the context of a peripheral commodity-exporting economy? An evaluation of the Chilean case, 1860-1924

6 de May, 2024

The stances regarding pre-Great Depression industrial development can be encapsulated in three overarching hypotheses (O’Rourke & Williamson, 2017). Firstly, associated with the “Dutch disease” thesis, emphasis is placed on the influence of exogenous shocks on the growth of industrial production, contending that, consequent to adverse international shocks such as wars or global economic crises, economies within the region tended to undergo industrialization, whereas during periods of export expansion the converse trended to occur (ECLAC, 1969). A second hypothesis, coined as “endogenous industrialization,” regards the industrial growth of this era as a consequence of export-driven expansion (Bulmer-Thomas, 2003). Conversely, a third hypothesis associates industrial development with the enactment of proactive industry protection policies by the State, predominantly via tariff safeguards (Hirschman, 1968) … More Is industrial growth possible in the context of a peripheral commodity-exporting economy? An evaluation of the Chilean case, 1860-1924

Does social network analysis really make any difference when identifying and visualizing business groups?

27 de February, 2024

Social Network Analysis (from now on, SNA), besides providing a new statistical methodology and new visualization tools, is considered a differentiated research perspective within social sciences (Wasserman and Faust, 2004). In Spain, SNA has been employed to identify and visualize business networks and groups in different Spanish regions during the 19th and 20th centuries (Badía et al., 2010; Garrués et al., 2013; Rubio and Garrués, 2017; Catalán et al., 2017). However, in spite of its growing acceptance in the academic community, it is still not fully proved whether its application does really offer new findings and new research questions and lines that would not have emerged using the traditional analysis. … More Does social network analysis really make any difference when identifying and visualizing business groups?

How did Russia transition from the sickle to the hammer, overcome production frictions, and embrace industrialization?

28 de January, 2024

Russia’s industrial trajectory from Tsarism to Stalinism unfolds as a saga of challenges, policy shifts, and socio-economic upheavals, shaping the nation’s industrial landscape. A key element of this transition was the reduction of intersectoral (manufacturing vs agriculture) market frictions in the production process, such as those due to firm monopoly power or barriers to entry. Hence, this study traverses the main eras of Russian industrialization by providing estimates of production frictions from 1885 to 1940 (Figure 1) and analyzing the factors behind their evolution. … More How did Russia transition from the sickle to the hammer, overcome production frictions, and embrace industrialization?

What’s the story with theory and econometrics in economic history?

11 de January, 2024

This special issue revisits the debate concerning the use of quantitative methods in business history research after almost 15 years from the publication of the provocative article “Quantitative methods in Business History: an impossible equation?” by Eloranta, Ojala and Valtonen (Eloranta, Ojala and Valtonen, 2010). … More What’s the story with theory and econometrics in economic history?