Year: 2011
Type: article
Abstract: One of the features of the wheat market in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was the existence of marked regional differences: wheat prices in coastal Spain were higher and less volatile than those of inland regions. The aim of this paper is to explain these differences. The analysis is based on the so-called homogeneity condition and Fogel’s method for calculating the slope of the demand curve. According to the former, the sum of price elasticities, income and substitute goods must be equal to zero. Fogel’s method makes it possible to estimate the elasticities of demand without contemporary data on prices and consumption. This study draws two main conclusions. First, wheat price elasticities in Spain are not markedly different from those across the rest of Europe. Nevertheless, the demand curve in inland regions is slightly more rigid than that of the rest of the country. Second, income elasticities grew slightly during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This preference for wheat reveals an improvement in market conditions and the standard of living.
Source: Histoire & Mesure
Author: Rafael Barquín
Institution: Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W1607027318