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American Precious Metals and their Consequences for Early Modern Europe

Author

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  • Nuno Palma

    (Department of Economics, University of Manchester; Instituto de Ciências Sociais, Universidade de Lisboa; CEPR)

Abstract

Over the early modern period and beyond, massive amounts of silver and gold were found and mined in the Americas. In this paper, I review the consequences for the European economies. Some second-order receiver countries such as England benefited in both the short and long run. First-order receivers such as Spain and Portugal also benefited in the short-run, but their continued exposure to the arrival of massive quantities of precious metals eventually led to loss of competitiveness and an institutional resource curse.

Suggested Citation

  • Nuno Palma, 2019. "American Precious Metals and their Consequences for Early Modern Europe," Working Papers 0174, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    • Handle: RePEc:hes:wpaper:0174
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    File URL: https://www.ehes.org/wp/EHES_174.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Adam Brzezinski & Yao Chen & Nuno Palma & Felix Ward, 2024. "The Vagaries of the Sea: Evidence on the Real Effects of Money from Maritime Disasters in the Spanish Empire," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 106(5), pages 1220-1235, September.
    2. Chen, Yao & Palma, Nuno & Ward, Felix, 2021. "Reconstruction of the Spanish money supply, 1492–1810," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    3. Palma, Nuno & Reis, Jaime & Rodrigues, Lisbeth, 2023. "Historical gender discrimination does not explain comparative Western European development: evidence from Portugal, 1300-1900," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    4. Kedrosky, Davis & Palma, Nuno, 2021. "The Cross of Gold: Brazilian Treasure and the Decline of Portugal," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 574, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    5. Adam Brzezinski & Roberto Bonfatti & K. KıvançKaraman & Nuno Palma, 2020. "Monetary Capacity," Economics Series Working Papers 926, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    6. Palma, Nuno, 2019. "Patterns of Iberian economic growth in the early modern period," IFCS - Working Papers in Economic History.WH 29185, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Instituto Figuerola.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    American Precious Metals; Early Modern Period; Dutch Disease; Political Institutions; Economic growth; comparative development;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E02 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - Institutions and the Macroeconomy
    • E4 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates
    • N14 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Europe: 1913-
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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