Este trabajo presenta un análisis de la desigualdad regional en Castilla en la segunda mitad del siglo XVIII, a partir del estudio del consumo per cápita provincial calculado con las recaudaciones de dos rentas que supusieron los mayores ingresos fiscales del estado: alcabalas y cientos. La desigualdad regional presentó unos niveles reducidos y constantes durante la segunda mitad del siglo, analizando la productividad del trabajo, no encontrando elementos que alterasen significativamente la diferencia entre regiones. Asimismo, podemos señalar que se advierten las dificultades relacionadas con el sector agrario, con limitaciones a la producción y bajos rendimientos. Esas dificultades trataron de minimizarse con actuaciones reformistas que, no obstante, no tuvieron un claro impacto sobre la desigualdad, que permaneció homogénea.

This paper examines the cost of living and evolution of welfare ratios among urban workers in Rio Grande's vila, the main commercial enclave of the southern Portuguese dominions in America. From diverse sources (military and hospital expenditure accounts, merchant credit bills from probate inventories), we build different consumption baskets to calculate their cost in seven benchmark years: 1772, 1792, 1802, 1809, 1816, 1819 and 1823. The evolution of cost of living shows a consistent upward trend during the period, which, however, does not substantially affect welfare ratios. In order to build regional comparisons, we follow Allen's methodology (2001) to estimate welfare ratios of skilled and unskilled workers in Rio Grande, Buenos Aires and Montevideo. The results of using this approach could be useful to adjust the methodology for further international comparisons.

This study builds the first internationally comparable index of real wages for Mexico City bridging the 18th and the early 20th century. Real wages started out in relatively high international levels in the mid 18th century, but declined from the late 1770s on, with some partial and temporal rebounds after the 1810s. After the 1860s, real wages recovered and eventually reached 18th-century levels in the early 20th century. Real wages of Mexico City’s workers subsequently fell behind those of high-wage economies to converge with the lower fringes of middle-wage economies. The age of the global Great Divergence was Mexico’s own age of stagnation and decline relative to the world economy.