Les trois essais dans cette thèse étudient les implications des frictions financières, telles que les contraintes de collatérale ou de crédit, pour les décisions économiques des agents et leur impact sur les variables macro-économiques agrégées. Dans le premier chapitre "Financial Contracts and the Political Economy of Investor Protection" nous proposons une théorie du niveau de protection des investisseurs. Une faible protection des investisseurs implique un coût de financement externe plus élevé à cause des problèmes d'agence plus aigus entre les investisseurs et les entrepreneurs. À l'équilibre, ceci exclut les agents plus dépendants sur le financement externe de l'entrepreneuriat, ce qui augmente les profits des entrepreneurs qui restent actifs. Quand le niveau de la protection des investisseurs est choisi par un vote majoritaire, la théorie génère (i) une protection des investisseurs plus faible dans les économies avec plus grande inégalité dans les besoins de financement externe parmi les entrepreneurs, (ii) une dynamique non-monotone de l'output, (iii) améliorations (détériorations) de la protection des investisseurs suite à des ralentissements (accélérations) de l'output agrégé. L'évidence empirique donne un support à ces prédictions de la théorie. Dans le deuxième chapitre "Financial Frictions, Internal Capital Markets, and the Organization of Production", nous examinons comment la présence des frictions financières peut mener à la formation des conglomérats et des "business groups" diversifiées. Particulièrement, nous construisons un modèle d'équilibre général d'entrepreneuriat dans lequel les conglomérats émergent de façon endogène et substituent partiellement le marché du crédit imparfait. Nous montrons que ce modèle est capable d'expliquer quantitativement plusieurs faits stylisés concernant l'organisation de la production, les différences de productivité entre les firmes et les différences en présence des conglomérats entre les pays. Le troisième chapitre "Size and Productivity of Single-segment and Diversified Firms: Evidence from Canadian Manufacturing" étudie empiriquement la relation entre la taille, la productivité, et la structure organisationnelle d'une firme. Utilisant les micro-données sur les établissements manufacturiers canadiens, nous documentons plusieurs faits stylisés concernant la taille et la productivité totale des facteurs des établissements dans les conglomérats et dans les firmes non-diversifiées. Nous trouvons que les établissements dans les conglomérats sont en moyenne plus larges que leurs contreparties dans les firmes non-diversifiées, les petits établissements dans les conglomérats sont moins productifs que les établissements de taille similaire dans les firmes non-diversifiées, mais les larges établissements dans les conglomérats sont plus productifs que ceux de taille similaire dans les firmes non-diversifiées. Cette évidence est consistante avec réallocation interne efficiente des ressources au sein des conglomérats. / The three essays in this thesis study the implications of financial frictions, such as collateral and credit constraints, for economic decisions of agents and their impact on aggregate macroeconomic variables. In the first chapter "Financial Contracts and the Political Economy of Investor Protection", we propose a theory of the level of investor protection. Lower investor protection implies higher cost of external financing due to more severe agency problems between outside investors and entrepreneurs. In equilibrium, this excludes more financially dependent agents from entrepreneurship, increasing the profits of the remaining entrepreneurs. When the level of investor protection is chosen by majority voting, the theory generates (i) lower investor protection in economies with higher inequality in financial dependence across entrepreneurs, (ii) non-monotone output dynamics, (iii) improvements (worsening) of investor protection following output slowdowns (accelerations). The empirical evidence provides some support to these predictions. In the second chapter "Financial Frictions, Internal Capital Markets, and the Organization of Production", we investigate how the presence of financial frictions may lead to formation of diversified conglomerates or business groups. Specifically, we build a general equilibrium model of entrepreneurship in which business groups arise endogenously and partially substitute for imperfect credit market. We show that the model is able to quantitatively explain several key stylized facts on the way production is organized, on cross-firm productivity differences, and on cross-country differences in the degree of conglomeration. The third chapter "Size and Productivity of Single-segment and Diversified Firms: Evidence from Canadian Manufacturing" studies empirically the relation between size, productivity, and the organizational structure of a firm. Using micro-data on Canadian manufacturing plants, we document several stylized facts about size and total factor productivity of establishments in conglomerates and single-segment firms. We find that establishments in conglomerates are on average larger than their counterparts in single-segment firms, small plants in conglomerates are less productive than plants of similar size in single-segment firms, but large plants in conglomerates are more productive than those of similar size in single-segment firms. This evidence is consistent with efficient internal reallocation of resources in conglomerates.

Questa tesi analizza le determinanti e gli effetti dell'innovazione attraverso un'analisi empirica. Nel primo capitolo viene analizzato l'impatto delle leggi di proprietà intellettuale sull'innovazione domestica in campo farmaceutico. Nel secondo capitolo, in cui vengono usati dati a livello di impresa, si studia la correlazione tra innovazione, export, produttività e vincoli finanziari. Infine nell'ultimo capitolo si studia l'effetto dell'innovazione domestica nell'attrarre investimenti diretti esteri. Mentre nel primo e nell'ultimo capitolo l'innovazione viene misurata come output, usando il numero di brevetti attribuiti ad un determinato paese, nel secondo capitolo vengono usati dati di R&D, e quindi di input di innovazione. / This dissertation analyses the determinants and the effects of innovation using an empirical analysis. In the first chapter the impact of Intellectual Property Rights on domestic innovation in the pharmaceutical sector is estimated. In the second chapter the correlation between innovation, export, productivity and financial constraint is studied at the firm level. Finally, in the last chapter the role of domestic innovation in attracting Foreign Direct Investments is estimated. While in the first and in the last chapter innovation output is considered, and innovation is proxied by patent data, in the second chapter innovation input is taken into account, and R&D data are used.

Made available in DSpace on 2010-04-20T20:58:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 4 JOSE_ANTONIO_DE_SOUZA_DISSERTACAO_VERSAO_FINAL.pdf.jpg: 17403 bytes, checksum: e10358d7e12871cef2b0316788b3e376 (MD5) JOSE_ANTONIO_DE_SOUZA_DISSERTACAO_VERSAO_FINAL.pdf.txt: 192545 bytes, checksum: bd219ee8e4077c7534538b47349df885 (MD5) license.txt: 4810 bytes, checksum: 5a0053361f1e90aa2d2231437718e9df (MD5) JOSE_ANTONIO_DE_SOUZA_DISSERTACAO_VERSAO_FINAL.pdf: 761735 bytes, checksum: 652c91e503be04b555cfabf4dcbabf1e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-11-26T00:00:00Z / The basic hypothesis and core of this dissertation is that various methods of estimating production functions produce different results when applied to sectors of different technological intensity. This dissertation focused on determining the total factor productivity in several industries. Four sectors with high technological intensity and four sectors of low technology intensity were selected for assess this hypothesis. Production functions were estimated and its residue used to calculate the productivity. The correlation between residuals and the explanatory variables inherent to this procedure, including that of simultaneity, omitted variables and selection, was taken into account. One goal of this study was to identify whether a particular method would be more suitable to estimate production functions for industries with low/high technological intensity. This work studied several methods to estimate production functions, including: Olley & Pakes, and Levinsohn & Petrin. Our results show that, for industries with low and with high technological intensity, the Olley & Pakes method estimates are marginally better than the ones from Levinsohn & Petrin. In our opinion, such results do not provide enough advantage to put away the Levinsohn & Petrin method as a method to estimate production functions. The sensitivity of results to the different methods suggests that all of them should be consulted. In addition to the previously stated results, this work identified that the sectors studied experienced a productivity decline or stagnation from 1996 to 2005. / Este trabalho investigou o problema da determinação da produtividade total dos fatores em diversos setores industriais. Tal determinação se dá por meio de estimação de funções de produção, obtendo-se a produtividade a partir do resíduo destas estimações. A questão que aflora deste procedimento é a existência de correlação entre os resíduos e as variáveis explicativas, implicando em diversos vieses, entre eles o de simultaneidade, de variáveis omitidas e de seleção. Neste trabalho foram abordados diversos métodos de estimação de funções de produção, entre eles os métodos de Olley e Pakes e Levinsohn e Petrin. Todos os métodos foram aplicados a diversos setores da economia. A escolha dos setores se deu com base na intensidade tecnológica de cada um, sendo então escolhidos quatro setores de alta intensidade tecnológica e quatro de baixa intensidade tecnológica. A hipótese básica, fio condutor deste trabalho, é que os diversos métodos de estimação de funções de produção apresentam diferentes resultados quando aplicados a setores de diferentes intensidades tecnológicas. Um dos objetivos deste estudo foi identificar se determinado método seria mais adequado a setores de baixa intensidade tecnológica, enquanto outro seria mais apropriado a setores de alta intensidade tecnológica. Conclui-se que o método de Olley e Pakes é levemente superior ao de Levinsohn e Petrin em ambos os grupos de setores, mas não a ponto de se descartar o segundo método. A sensibilidade dos resultados aos diferentes métodos sugere que todos devem ser consultados. Um resultado adicional deste trabalho é a constatação de que houve queda ou estagnação da produtividade nos setores selecionados para a década de 1996 a 2005.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e TecnolÃgico / A presente tese à composta por trÃs ensaios que investigam os impactos da educaÃÃo sobre o crescimento econÃmico recente dos municÃpios e estados brasileiros. O primeiro ensaio lanÃa luzes sobre a efetividade dos investimentos federais em novas unidades de ensino superior ocorridos na Ãltima dÃcada. A abordagem empÃrica utilizada permitiu comparar diferentes perfis municipais e diferenciar os impactos de curto e longo prazo, a partir da construÃÃo de amostras pareadas de municÃpios. Os resultados mostram que o retorno social dos novos campi universitÃrios, em termos de crescimento sustentado da renda e da produtividade local, dependeu fundamentalmente do perfil econÃmico e populacional de municÃpio beneficiado. Em especial, apenas os municÃpios com economia e populaÃÃo relativamente maiores perceberam ganhos de longo prazo, relacionados ao aumento da produtividade local. No segundo ensaio, analisou-se a relaÃÃo entre a dotaÃÃo de capital humano, em suas diferentes composiÃÃes, e o crescimento da Produtividade Total dos Fatores - PTF - dos municÃpios brasileiros nas duas Ãltimas dÃcadas. Em particular, testou-se a hipÃtese de que o capital humano à fator crucial para permitir a adoÃÃo de tecnologias de fronteira. Os resultados indicam que, para a grande maioria dos municÃpios, a escolarizaÃÃo de nÃvel mÃdio foi mais relevante para o crescimento da PTF do que a escolarizaÃÃo de nÃvel superior, o contrÃrio sendo observado para os municÃpios com economias mais dinÃmicas. Finalmente, no Ãltimo ensaio, foram analisados os canais pelos quais a dotaÃÃo de capital humano afetou a PTF dos estados brasileiros nas Ãltimas dÃcadas. Os resultados sugerem que os estados mais pobres, todos da RegiÃo Nordeste, se beneficiaram bem menos das externalidades derivadas da acumulaÃÃo de capital humano, em especial, daquelas capazes de gerar progresso tÃcnico endÃgeno, quando comparados aos estados das regiÃes Sul, Sudeste e Centro-Oeste. Em seu conjunto, os resultados dos trÃs ensaios tÃm implicaÃÃes relevantes sobre as decisÃes pÃblicas de investimento em educaÃÃo, sobretudo as de cunho federal. Primeiramente, o aprofundamento do papel dos campi universitÃrios federais nos municÃpios mais populosos e de maior porte econÃmico pode trazer um retorno social bem superior ao atual. Por outro lado, outros investimentos estruturantes relevantes podem resultar em impactos bem mais amplos entre os municÃpios de menor porte econÃmico. Em segundo lugar, hà um largo espaÃo para se elevar a produtividade brasileira via educaÃÃo tÃcnica e de nÃvel mÃdio, mais direcionada para a absorÃÃo de tecnologias jà existentes, o que beneficiaria a grande maioria dos municÃpios, especialmente os mais pobres e com economias menos desenvolvidas. O foco no ensino tÃcnico-profissionalizante se aplica, sobretudo, Ãs unidades da federaÃÃo que apresentam estruturas econÃmicas e sociais menos avanÃadas, onde ganhos mais expressivos de produtividade dependerÃo, pelo menos em um primeiro momento, de polÃticas que viabilizem o catch-up tecnolÃgico nessas economias. / This thesis comprises three essays that investigate the impact of education on the recent economic growth of Brazilian cities and states. The first essay sheds light on the effectiveness of federal investments in new university campuses over the last decade. Starting from the construction of paired samples of municipalities, the empirical approach allowed us to compare different municipal profiles and differentiate the impacts of short and long term. The results show that the social return on new campuses, in terms of sustained income growth and local productivity, depended crucially on economic and demographic profile of the municipality. In particular, only the municipalities with relatively larger economy and population realized long-term gains, due to productivity gains. In the second essay, we analyzed the relationship between human capital endowments, and their different compositions, and the growth of Total Factor Productivity - TFP - in the last two decades. In particular, we tested the hypothesis that human capital is crucial to enable the adoption of frontier technologies. The results indicate that, for most municipalities, the secondary education was more relevant to TFP growth than the higher education, the opposite being observed for municipalities with more dynamic economies. Finally, in the last essay, we analyze the channels through which human capital endowments affected the TFP of the states in recent decades. The results suggest that poorer states, all of the Northeast Region, benefited far less from the externalities derived from the accumulation of human capital, in particular those that are able to generate endogenous technical progress. Taken together, the results of the three essays have significant implications for public investment decisions in education, especially those of federal nature. First, deepening the role of the federal university in the relatively larger municipalities can bring a higher social return. On the other hand, other relevant structural investments can result in much broader impacts on the smaller economies. Secondly, there is a great opportunity to raise Brazilian productivity via secondary-technical education, oriented to the absorption of existing technologies, which would benefit the vast majority of municipalities, especially the poorest and least developed economies. The focus on technical and vocational education is indicated mainly to the states with less advanced economic and social structures, where more significant productivity gains depend most of policies that support the technological catch-up in these economies.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:31:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Paulo Dutra Costantin.pdf: 1161497 bytes, checksum: 80c40c8fcef9308bff7d9389b7a7a3f0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-11-09 / Instituto Presbiteriano Mackenzie / The current work aims to provide an inquiry into the causes of productivity increase observed in the Brazilian agricultural sector from the 1970s till the early years of the 2000s. Its working hypothesis is that gains in productivity are explained by factors like increased rural credit, research (technology), tractors, fertilizers and pesticides. More specifically, it analyses and estimates the impact of each of the foregoing variables on the trajectory of agriculture productivity increase in the period under study. In order to accomplish these tasks, we built up a database that gathered the relevant information for subsequent parametric (as well as non-parametric) estimation of the above specified explanatory variables. The first stage of the research consists of developing a conceptual analysis of the term productivity that fits well with neoclassical microeconomic theory and allows for a systematic explanation based on items like production function, cost function and technical progress. The second stage scrutinizes the properties of parametric and non-parametric research methods underlying the overall study. The third part specifies the selected techniques in tune with the available information. They refer to Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), Cobb-Douglas Production Function, Translog Production Function and Model of Error Correction Vector. The DEA model suggests that there has been an improvement of technical efficiency as well as room for technological progress throughout the last three decades. Based on the Cobb Douglas model, we found out that the three main factors explaining productivity gains in the sector are harvest area, credit and investment. The Translog production function suggests neutrality of technical progress relative of factor employment over time and a positive effect on production. Additionally, it suggests that reduction of cultivated area,rural credit, pesticide and increase of employment of limestone (calcario)contributes to technical progress. Finally, the model of vector error correction identified that rural credit and R&D yield positive effects on agricultural productivity. / Esta tese constata que a agricultura brasileira apresentou ganhos de produtividade ao longo das décadas de 1970, 1980, 1990 e nos primeiros anos da década de 2000 em decorrência da utilização de fatores como crédito agrícola, pesquisa, maior número de tratores, fertilizantes, corretivos e defensivos agrícolas. Desse modo, procura-se analisar e mensurar a influência dessas variáveis sobre a produtividade agrícola. Para tanto, foi elaborado um banco de dados contendo as informações que serviram de base para a realização de estimativas paramétricas e não-paramétricas para buscar as evidências do impacto desses fatores sobre o aumento da produtividade agrícola. A primeira etapa do trabalho consistiu em definir o conceito de produtividade, em conformidade com a teoria microeconômica neoclássica, para instrumentalizar a explicação este fenômeno, a partir dos conceitos de função de produção, função custo e progresso técnico. A segunda etapa consistiu na avaliação das propriedades dos métodos paramétricos e não paramétricos a serem utilizados. A etapa seguinte implicou a definição das técnicas a serem empregadas, em função da disponibilidade de informações. Assim, foram selecionadas as seguintes técnicas: o Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), a Função de Produção Cobb-Douglas, a Função de Produção Translog e o Modelo de Vetor de Correção de Erros. O modelo DEA indicou a existência, ao longo de um período de trinta anos, de melhora tanto da eficiência técnica quanto do progresso tecnológico. O modelo de Cobb-Douglas identificou como principais fatores que contribuíram para o aumento da produtividade neste período a área colhida e os créditos de custeio e investimento. A função de produção Translog identificou que o progresso técnico permaneceu neutro, no tempo, em relação ao emprego de fatores, tendo apresentado efeito positivo sobre a produção. Verificou, ainda, que as reduções da área colhida, do crédito agrícola e do uso de defensivos, assim como o aumento da quantidade empregada de calcário, contribuíram positivamente para o progresso técnico. Por fim, o Modelo de Vetor de Correção de Erros identificou nas variáveis crédito agrícola e pesquisa e desenvolvimento efeitos positivos para o aumento da produtividade agrícola.

This study examines the effects of market concentration on firm-level productivity using data on Chinese above-scale industrial firms from 2001 to 2007. Productivity is identified as total factor productivity (TFP) and estimated using the Olley-Pakes three-step estimation in order to avoid simultaneity and selection biases. Using data on around 590,000 industrial firms, empirical results indicate that the less concentrated the market, the higher the productivity generally. However, a few industries are identified to have opposite direction; that is, the more concentrated, the more productive are the firms. In some industries, there is no significant relationship between market concentration and firm productivity.

No description available.

It is a sandwich Thesis. The first and the second essay are joint works with my Supervisor, Dr. Ronald Balvers. The third essay is joint work with Fangxing Liu, a Ph.D. candidate (Finance) at DeGroote School of Business, where we have equally shared the work responsibility. / First essay deals with Productivity shocks. Productivity shocks transmitted from productivity leaders to trailing sectors are systematic sources of risk. Global technology and knowledge diffusion leads to predictable patterns in productivity dynamics across countries and industries. Productivity gaps determine the level of exposure to the systematic leader productivity shocks. Firms in a country-industry with larger productivity gaps relative to the world leader are more dependent on the leader's innovations compared to their own productivity improvements. They thus have higher loadings on the leader productivity shocks and higher average stock returns. For OECD panel data, a country-industry's productivity gap significantly predicts the stock returns of the country-industry: holding the quintile of country- industry portfolios with the largest gaps and shorting the quintile with the smallest gaps generates annual returns of 9.8% (6.7% after risk adjustment with standard factors). A factor associated with the productivity gap explains country-industry portfolio returns substantially better than standard factor models. Loadings on leader-country-productivity shocks are found to have substantial correlation with productivity gaps, and leader productivity shocks are more important for stock returns than idiosyncratic productivity shocks. These findings suggest that the productivity gaps and associated higher average returns are indeed tied to systematic risk. The second essay deals with Technology shocks. Technology shocks from technological frontier economies are a critical determinant of productivity shocks. These shocks spill over, pervading all lagging economies and are true systematic shocks. A country's aggregate technology gap with the frontier determines the potential for the systematic innovation shocks to affect it, but the country's absorption capacity determines its effective sensitivity to these shocks. We find conforming evidence that the technology gap, R&D intensity, and absorption capacity can explain stock returns. For OECD panel data, a one standard deviation increase in the technology gap increases excess stock returns by 0.578 percent per month. A one standard deviation increase in R&D intensity increases the excess return by 0.637 percent per month. An increase in absorption capacity of one standard deviation increases the excess return by 0.275 percent per month. When global FF factors are included, the results are diluted, which suggests that the FF factors may alias for the three variables associated with the systematic risk arising from frontier technology shocks. The third essay deals with Political risk. We find that the differences in Hassan et al. (2019) political Risk proxy derived from text processing of analyst transcripts can price cross-sectional returns after controlling for standard factor risks. A mimicking factor for the political risk measure, when added to the standard Fama French 5 factor model or the Q5 model, explains the test asset returns better than these models. In our limited sample, the changes in PRisk measure captures more information about political risk than the traditional measures from Baker et al. (2016), which suggests that one can start using changes in PRisk characteristic as a political risk proxy. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Diese Dissertation umfasst sowohl einen theoretisches als auch einen empirischen Beitrag zur Analyse der Messung der gesamten Faktorproduktivität (TFP). Das erste Kapitel inspiziert die bestehende Literatur über die häufigsten Techniken der TFP Messung und gibt einen Überblick über deren Limitierung. Das zweite Kapitel betrachtet Daten, die durch ein Real Business Cycle Modell generiert wurden und untersucht das quantifizierbare Ausmaß von Messfehlern des Solow Residuums als ein Maß für TFP Wachstum, wenn der Kapitalstock fehlerhaft gemessen wird und wenn Kapazitätsauslastung und Abschreibungen endogen sind. Das dritte Kapitel schlägt eine neue Methodologie in einem bayesianischen Zusammenhang vor, die auf Zustands- Raum-Modellen basiert. Das vierte Kapitel führt einen neuen Ansatz zur Bestimmung möglicher Spill-over Effekte auf Grund neuer Technologien auf die Produktivität ein und kombiniert eine kontrafaktische Zerlegung, die von den Hauptannahmen des Malquist Indexes abgeleitet wird mit ökonometrischen Methoden, die auf Machado and Mata (2005) zurückgehen. / This dissertation consists of theoretical and empirical contributions to the study on Total Factor Productivity (TFP) measurement. The first chapter surveys the literature on the most used techniques in measuring TFP and surveys the limits of these frameworks. The second chapter considers data generated from a Real Business Cycle model and studies the quantitative extent of measurement error for the Solow residual as a measure of TFP growth when the capital stock is measured with error and when capacity utilization and depreciation are endogenous. Furthermore, it proposes two alternative measurements of TFP growth which do not require capital stocks. The third chapter proposes a new methodology based on State-space models in a Bayesian framework. Applying the Kalman Filter to artificial data, it proposes a computation of the initial condition for productivity growth based on the properties of the Malmquist index. The fourth chapter introduces a new approach for identifying possible spillovers emanating from new technologies on productivity combining a counterfactual decomposition derived from the main properties of the Malmquist index and the econometric technique introduced by Machado and Mata (2005).

En esta tesis se estudia la producción agrícola y la productividad de los factores en la agricultura española (tierra, trabajo y simiente) desde 1752 hasta 1935. La tendencia a largo plazo de la producción agrícola se analiza desde una estimación directa (datos sobre cantidades), otra estimación indirecta (a través de los datos sobre precios). La productividad de los factores se estudia desde una doble perspectiva: la productividad simple de los factores y la productividad total de los factores. Para analizar la productividad simple de los principales factores de la agricultura se ha recurrido tanto a examinar la productividad media (vía de las cantidades) como la productividad marginal (vía de los precios, es decir, renta de la tierra y salarios agrícolas).Además de la utilización de nuevas fuentes en esta investigación (Cuadernos generales de la Riqueza, boletines oficíales provinciales, cartillas evaluatorias, etc.) y de la aplicación de la teoría económica para deducir cantidades a partir de la información disponible sobre precios, las principales conclusiones que se han alcanzado en esta tesis se centran en la constatación de un importante crecimiento de la producción agrícola (a una tasa anual acumulada entre 0,8 y el 1,5 por 100 desde 1799/1800 hasta 1900/05) y en el incremento de la productividad de la tierra, de la simiente y de la productividad total de los factores antes de finalizar el siglo XIX. / This thesis studies agricultural production and the productivity of factors for Spanish agriculture (land labour, and seed) from 1752 to 1935. The long-run trend of agricultural production is approached from direct estimates (information on quantities) and indirect estimates (information on prices). The productivity of factors is considered from a twofold viewpoint: the single productivity of factors and the total productivity of factors. In order to analyse the single productivity of the main agricultural factors, the thesis examines average productivity (quantities method) as well as marginal productivity (prices method), i.e. land rent and agricultural wages. To this goal, this research has extensively used new sources (Cuadernos de Riqueza, Boletines Oficiales Provinciales, cartillas evaluatorias) and has applied economic theory to deduce quantities from the available historical information on prices. The main conclusions obtained by this thesis deal with the existence of an important growth of agricultural production (annual rates accumulate between 0.8 and 1.5 per cent from 1799/1800 to 1900/1905) and an increase in land productivity, seed productivity and total factor productivity in Spain well before the end of the nineteenth century.