The Distributional Consequences of Trade: Evidence from the Grain Invasion

Stephan Heblich, Stephen Redding and Yanos Zylberberg
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Stephan Heblich: University of Toronto and NBER
Yanos Zylberberg: University of Bristol and CEPR

Working Papers from Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies.

Abstract: We examine the distributional consequences of trade using the New World Grain Invasion that occurred in the second half of the 19th century. We use a newly-created dataset on population, employment by sector, property values, and poor law transfers for over 10,000 parishes in England and Wales from 1801–1901. In response to this trade shock, we show that locations with high wheat suitability experience population decline, rural-urban migration, structural transformation away from agriculture, increases in welfare transfers, and declines in property values, relative to locations with low wheat suitability. We develop a quantitative spatial model to evaluate the income distributional consequences of this trade shock. Undertaking counterfactuals for the Grain Invasion, we show that geography is an important dimension along which these income distributional consequences occur.

Keywords: United Kingdom; international trade, income distribution, geography (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F14 F16 F66 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-geo, nep-his and nep-int
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Related works:
Working Paper: The distributional consequences of trade: Evidence from the Grain Invasion (2024)
Working Paper: The distributional consequences of trade: evidence from the Grain Invasion (2024)
Working Paper: The Distributional Consequences of Trade: Evidence from the Grain Invasion (2024)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pri:cepsud:337

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