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TWO STORIES, ONE FATE: AGE-HEAPING AND LITERACY IN SPAIN, 1877-1930

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 March 2021

Francisco J. Beltrán Tapia Open the ORCID record for Francisco J. Beltrán Tapia [Opens in a new window] ,
Alfonso Díez-Minguela Open the ORCID record for Alfonso Díez-Minguela [Opens in a new window] ,
Julio Martinez-Galarraga Open the ORCID record for Julio Martinez-Galarraga [Opens in a new window]  and
Daniel A. Tirado-Fabregat Open the ORCID record for Daniel A. Tirado-Fabregat [Opens in a new window]
Francisco J. Beltrán Tapia
Affiliation:
Norwegian University of Science and Technologya
Alfonso Díez-Minguela
Affiliation:
Universitat de Valènciab
Julio Martinez-Galarraga
Affiliation:
Universitat de Valènciac
Daniel A. Tirado-Fabregat
Affiliation:
Universitat de Valènciad
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Abstract

This study looks at human capital in Spain during the early stages of modern economic growth. We have assembled a new dataset for age-heaping and literacy in Spain with information about men and women from six population censuses and forty-nine provinces between 1877 and 1930. Our results show that, although age-heaping was less prevalent during the second half of the 19th century than previously thought, it did not decline until the early 20th century. Given that literacy increased throughout the whole period, our study thus unveils stark differences between age-heaping and literacy, which raises further questions regarding sources, methods and interpretation.

Resumen

RESUMEN

Este trabajo analiza el capital humano en España durante las primeras etapas del crecimiento económico moderno. Para ello, hemos construido una nueva base de datos que recoge el nivel de age-heaping y de alfabetización a nivel provincial para hombres y mujeres a partir de la información contenida en seis censos de población entre 1877 y 1930. Los resultados muestran que durante la segunda mitad del siglo XIX el nivel de age-heaping era menor de lo sugerido en estudios previos, y que éste no comenzó a reducirse de manera significativa hasta el inicio del siglo XX. Dado que la alfabetización aumentó a lo largo de todo el período, este trabajo revela la existencia de marcadas diferencias entre los niveles de age-heaping y de alfabetización, lo cual genera cuestiones relacionadas con las fuentes, la metodología y la interpretación de los indicadores.

Keywords

Spainage-heapingliteracy19th-centuryEspañaage-heapingalfabetizaciónsiglo XIXI25N01N9O15
Type
Articles/Artículos
Information
Revista de Historia Economica - Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History , Volume 40 , Issue 3 , December 2022 , pp. 405 - 438
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Instituto Figuerola, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

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Footnotes

a

Department of Modern History and Society, Trondheim, Norway. [email protected]

b

Departament d'Anàlisi Econòmica, València, Spain. [email protected]

c

Departament d'Anàlisi Econòmica, València, Spain. [email protected]

d

Departament d'Anàlisi Econòmica, València, Spain. [email protected]

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