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Market Power on the Colonial Frontier? Evidence from São Paulo 1800–1840

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 January 2010

Giovanni Federico  and
Ricardo Paixao
Giovanni Federico
Affiliation:
European University Institutea
Ricardo Paixao
Affiliation:
Universidade de São Paulob
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Abstract

Economists often assume that agricultural markets in history were competitive, and all producers received the same price. In contrast, most agricultural historians deem prices to differ among agents, according to their social status and «power». This paper tests these opposite views with a database of some 12,500 transactions for the São Paulo area in Brazil in the first decades of the 19th century. Prices received by farmers were positively related to total sales, a proxy for the size of the estate, and also to the share on the relevant market, which measures the market power. These results are consistent with the anecdotal evidence about the growing importance of large slave estates which, however, did not wipe out small household farms.

Resumen

Los economistas asumen que los mercados agrícolas a lo largo de la historia son competitivos y todos los productores reciben el mismo precio. En contraste, la mayoría de los historiadores agrícolas consideran que los precios difieren entre agentes en relación a su poder y estatus social. Este papel examina estos puntos de vista opuestos a partir de una base de datos de 12.500 transacciones para el área de São Paulo en Brasil en las primeras décadas del siglo XIX. Los precios recibidos por los agricultores estuvieron positivamente relacionados con las ventas, una proxy del tamaño de la hacienda y también con la cuota de mercado principal (una aproximación al poder de mercado). Estos resultados son consistentes con la evidencia cualitativa acerca de la importancia creciente de los grandes estados esclavistas sin dejar fuera de la explicación a los pequeños granjeros.

Keywords

market poweragricultural pricesearly 19th centuryBrazilpoder de mercadoprecios agrícolassiglo XIXBrasil
Type
Artículos/Articles
Information
Revista de Historia Economica - Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History , Volume 27 , Issue 1 , Primavera 2009 , pp. 17 - 36
Copyright
Copyright © Instituto Figuerola de Historia y Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid 2009

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