In this article I present new calculations for the evolution of prices and standards of living in Seville from 1521 to 1603. Using new data on prices and new research on changes in nutrition and consumption, I improve the consumer price index. Two major improvements can be highlighted: the inclusion of rented housing prices and the use of three baskets of goods, according to the transformations identified in the consumption patterns. As a result of these improvements, the new data show that prices increase more (336%) than previously estimated by Hamilton (155%) and when using the Allen method (234%). Consequently, real wages decrease more with the new index (32%).

Apart from Appendini (1972) for 1900, there are, so far, no Mexican regional GDP estimates for the period before 1930. The aim of this paper is to fill this gap by presenting new Mexican regional GDP per capita estimates for several benchmark years between 1895 and 1930. The paper presents the methodology and sources used to estimate the new series, compares them with the previous estimates and offers a first long-term picture of Mexican regional per capita GDPs (1895-2010).

The foundation of specialised economic journals was one of the main traits in the process of institutionalisation of political economy in 19th century Western Europe. Spain joined this trend at an early stage and in the 1850s and 1860s some specialised, albeit ephemeral, journals sponsored by the liberal school of economic thought – the Economist School – emerged. However, when these reviews ceased publication, Spanish economists lacked specialised periodicals as an outlet for their contributions. Miscellaneous literary reviews addressing a wider audience represented an alternative for the diffusion of economic papers into educated society, sharing space with many other scientific and literary disciplines. This paper analyses the presence of texts on political economy in four of the most important of these reviews in the period 1868-1914, when Spain lacked economic publications. In spite of not being specialised reviews, these publications played a central role in the process of diffusion and popularisation of political economy as a valuable field of knowledge, acting as a good substitute for specifically economic journals.

The development of postal services has played an indisputable role in industrialization, market integration and state formation. Smooth functioning of these services depended on the existence of a well-paid and motivated body of civil servants. I study the organization of the internal labour market for civil servants in postal services in Spain from 1890 to 1935 showing a career in the postal services offered high entry wages, growing wages over the life cycle, and a secure job until retirement. There were two downsides to pursuing a career in the postal services. Firstly, entry and promotion depended on the expansion of employment. Secondly, nominal wages were upward rigid, causing large real wage losses during WWI.

In this article I build an analytic narrative to provide an integrated and analytical view of the economic reforms that took place in Colombia during the years 1974-1978. Through the use of basic game theory and historical evidence, I present the core of the strategic interactions between several players: Government is depicted as a committed but poorly endowed agenda setter, Coffee as the dominant player and Industry as the contending but relatively weak player. The analysis shows that the 1976 coffee boom changed the interaction between sectors from an assurance to a prisoner’s dilemma game, and identifies as the post-boom solution the Government–Coffee coalition, which carried out a soft version of the initial reforms.