THE RAILWAY NETWORK AND THE PROCESS OF POPULATION CONCENTRATION IN SPAIN, 1900-2001*

Xavier Franch-Auladell, Mateu Morillas-Torné and Jordi Martí-Henneberg

Revista de Historia Económica / Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History, 2014, vol. 32, issue 3, 351-379

Abstract: This paper proposes a methodology for quantifying the territorial impact on population distribution of the railway. The central hypothesis is that access to railway services provides the best-connected areas with a long-term comparative advantage over others that are less accessible. Carrying out a historical analysis and providing comparable data at the municipal level allows us to determine the extent to which the railway has fostered the concentration of population within its immediate surroundings. The case study presented here is that of Spain between 1900 and 2001, but the same methodology could equally be applied to any other country for which the required data are available. In this case, key data included a Geographic Information System with information about both the development of the railway network and census data relating to total population at the municipal level. The results obtained suggest the relevance of this methodology, which makes it possible to identify the periods and areas in which this influence was most significant.

Date: 2014
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cup:reveco:v:32:y:2014:i:03:p:351-379_00

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