West versus East: Early Globalization and the Great Divergence

19 Pages Posted: 23 Jul 2013

See all articles by Rafael Dobado Gonzáles

Rafael Dobado Gonzáles

Universidad Complutense Madrid - Department of Economic History

Alfredo García-Hiernaux

Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) - Department of Fundamentals of Economic Analysis II (Quantitative Economics)

David E. Guerrero

Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) - Colegio Universitario de Estudios Financieros (CUNEF)

Date Written: July 22, 2013

Abstract

This paper extends our previous work on grain market integration across Europe and the Americas in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (Dobado, García-Hiernaux and Guerrero, 2012). By using the same econometric methodology, we now present: 1) a search for statistical evidence in the East of an “Early Globalization” comparable to the one ongoing in the West by mid eighteenth century; 2) a study on the integration of grain markets in China and Japan and its functioning in comparison to Western countries; 3) a discussion of the relevance of our findings for the debate on the Great Divergence. Our main conclusions are: 1) substantial differences in the degree of integration and the functioning of grain markets are observed between East and West; 2) a certain degree of integration may be reached through different combinations of factors (agents, policies, etc.) and with dissimilar effects on long-run economic growth; 3) the absence of an “Early Globalization” in the East reveals the existence of some economic and institutional limitations in this part of the world and contributed to its “Great Divergence” with the West from at least the eighteenth century.

Keywords: economic history, market integration, globalization, great divergence, time series analysis

JEL Classification: C22, F15, N10, N70

Suggested Citation

Dobado Gonzáles, Rafael and García-Hiernaux, Alfredo and Guerrero, David E., West versus East: Early Globalization and the Great Divergence (July 22, 2013). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2296852 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2296852

Rafael Dobado Gonzáles

Universidad Complutense Madrid - Department of Economic History ( email )

School of Business Administration
Somosaguas Campus
Madrid, Madrid 28223
Spain

Alfredo García-Hiernaux

Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) - Department of Fundamentals of Economic Analysis II (Quantitative Economics) ( email )

Campus of Somosaguas
Madrid
Spain

David E. Guerrero (Contact Author)

Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) - Colegio Universitario de Estudios Financieros (CUNEF) ( email )

Serrano Anguita 9
Madrid, Madrid 28004
Spain

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