WHY DID THE MEDITERRANEAN FAIL TO GLOBALISE? REAL WAGES AND LABOUR MARKET INTEGRATION IN THE 19TH CENTURY*

Paul Caruana-Galizia

Revista de Historia Económica / Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History, 2015, vol. 33, issue 2, 257-285

Abstract: Can low emigration rates from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic economy partly explain its relative economic decline over the 19th century? Time series tests of real wage integration show that the Maghreb and Eastern Mediterranean exported enough labourers to experience labour market integration, while the emigration rates of the northern Mediterranean, were not high enough. As the latter group comprised most of the region’s economic weight, the Mediterranean as a whole was held back. The wage gap between the first two groups and the Atlantic economy was the highest, but journey costs relative to wage levels were roughly similar across the Mediterranean. The incentive-vs.-cost arithmetic favoured emigration from the Maghreb and Eastern Mediterranean.

Date: 2015
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