Genealogies of economic growth in the Spanish empire : back to History

The article delves into the link between the institutional and social frames, settled under the Spanish domination, and the patterns of economic growth that the different regions dominated (such as Lombardy, Netherlands, Catalonia). Two important historiographical revisions pushed in this direction: first, the new thesis concerning the economic decline in the Empire territories during the XVII century and the consequent statement of long-run pattern of economic growth of these areas; second, the recent challenges to NIE (new institutional economics) narrative about the complete inefficiencies of the Spanish institutions, compared to the Anglo-Saxon ones. In the first item, the seventeenth century crisis is no longer considered as a definitive economic sunset, but – for example in the case of Lombardy - as a turning point, as a phase of economic reorganization that put the basis for ‘original’ (and no longer backward) long-run growth. In the second item, the nature of Spanish rule appears greatly different from stylised and caricature interpretations, offered by the new-institutional textbooks; the relationship between the crown and the local elites “was one of negotiation not of command”; for instance, Milanese society was not subject to its rulers, but able to manage its relationship with the Spanish power and to gain its own advantages, thanks to the skilful ability of its ruling class to direct the economic choices of the monarchy, throughout branching alliances of interests. Finally the essay shows empirical findings that demonstrate how the economic, social and institutional issues of these domains, settled during the Spanish age, are linked to and are responsible for peculiar (long-run, informal institution-based) patterns towards modern economic development.