The Curse of Geography? Railways and Growth in Spain 1877-1930

Guillermo Esteban-Oliver ()
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Guillermo Esteban-Oliver: Department of Geography and Sociology, University of Lleida, Spain

No 2011, Documentos de Trabajo (DT-AEHE) from Asociación Española de Historia Económica

Abstract: In this study, we explore the relationship between rail accessibility and municipal population growth in Spain from 1877 to 1930. To carry out this analysis we introduce a novel database, which combines census data with the geo-location of access points (stations and stops). Then, and in order to establish causality, we use a Least Cost Path (LCP) instrument. Our results suggest that municipalities with direct access (less than 1-hour walking distance to the nearest station or stop) experienced more rapid growth. The findings are robust to several checks and point to the transformative power of transport infrastructure, especially developing economies with an unforgiving geography.

Keywords: Railways; population; growth (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: N7 N9 R00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 37 pages
Date: 2020-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-geo, nep-his, nep-tre and nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ahe:dtaehe:2011

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