The Vagaries of the Sea: Evidence on the Real Effects of Money from Maritime Disasters in the Spanish Empire

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Brzezinski, Adam; Chen, Yao; Palma, Nuno; Ward, Felix
• 署名单位: University of London; London School Economics & Political Science; Erasmus University Rotterdam - Excl Erasmus MC; Erasmus University Rotterdam; University of Manchester; Universidade de Lisboa; Centre for Economic Policy Research - UK
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6535
• DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_01223
• 发表日期: 2024-09
• 页码: 1220-1235
• 关键词: monetary-policy; credit; identification; TRADE; COSTS; MODEL; revolution; origins; prices; shocks

摘要

We estimate the effect of money supply changes on the real economy by exploiting a recurring natural experiment: maritime disasters in the Spanish Empire (1531-1810) that resulted in the loss of substantial amounts of silver money. We find that negative money supply shocks caused Spanish real output to decline. A transmission channel analysis highlights slow price adjustments and credit frictions as mechanisms through which money supply changes affected the real economy. Especially large output declines occurred in textile manufacturing against the backdrop of a credit crunch that impaired merchants' ability to supply their manufacturers with inputs.