Data and Code for: Speed of Convergence in a Malthusian World: Weak or Strong Homeostasis?

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) Arnaud Deseau, Aix-Marseille School of Economics (AMSE)

Version:  View help for Version V1

Name File Type Size Last Modified
  code 10/17/2024 10:25:AM
  data 10/17/2024 10:24:AM

Project Citation: 

Deseau, Arnaud. Data and Code for: Speed of Convergence in a Malthusian World: Weak or Strong Homeostasis? Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2024-10-17. https://doi.org/10.3886/E209662V1

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary

Abstract of the Paper: The Malthusian trap is a well recognized source of stagnation in per capita income prior to industrialization. However, previous studies have found mixed evidence about its exact strength. This article contributes to this ongoing debate by estimating the speed of convergence for a panel of 9 preindustrial European economies over a long period of time (14th-18th century). The analysis relies on a calibrated Malthusian model for England and β-convergence regressions. I find evidence of significant differences in the strength of the Malthusian trap between preindustrial European economies. The strongest estimated Malthusian trap is in Sweden, with a half-life of 20 years. The weakest estimated Malthusian trap is in England, with a half-life of about 230 years. This implies that some preindustrial economies were able to experience prolonged variations in their standards of living after a shock, while still being subject to Malthusian stagnation in the long run.


Guide for Replication:

There are two Stata do files:

  1. "do_file_simulations". It contains the necessary code to generate all the simulated data used in the paper.
  2. "do_file_empirical_analysis" . It contains the necessary code to replicate all the empirical analysis made in the paper and the figures (Figures 1, 2, 3 and Tables 3, 4, B-2, D-1, D-2 and D-3).

There are seven Stata data files:

  1. "simulated_data". It contains the necessary data to replicate Figures 1, 2, and Table B-2.
  2. "broadberry_pop_gdppc". It contains the necessary data from Broadberry et al. (2015) to generate the simulated data.
  3. "beta_convergence". It contains the necessary data to replicate Figure 3 and Tables 3 and 4.
  4. "robustness_beta_convergence_15yearswindow". It contains the necessary data to replicate columns 1 and 2 of Table D-1.
  5. "robustness_beta_convergence_35yearswindow". It contains the necessary data to replicate columns 3 and 4 of Table D-1.
  6. "robustness_beta_convergence_statehist". It contains the necessary data to replicate Table D-2.
  7. "robustness_beta_convergence_lagerlof2019". It contains the necessary data to replicate Table D-3.

See the paper for further details on the sources, variables definition and methods.



Funding Sources:  View help for Funding Sources Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-17-EURE-0020); Initiative d'excellence - A*MIDEX

Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms Convergence; Homeostasis; Malthusian trap; Preventive checks; Positive checks; Malthusian model; Beta-convergence
Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage Europe
Time Period(s):  View help for Time Period(s) 1200 – 1800 (Pre-industrial times)


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Published Versions

V1 [2024-10-17]

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