Growth under Extractive Institutions? Latin American Per Capita GDP in Colonial Times
重新估算西班牙帝国两大支柱墨西哥和秘鲁殖民时期的人均GDP，发现其经济动态增长，甚至缩小了与西班牙的差距，挑战了殖民制度导致拉丁美洲贫困的传统观点。
This article presents new estimations of per capita GDP in colonial times for the two pillars of the Spanish empire: Mexico and Peru. We find dynamic economies as evidenced by increasing real wages, urbanization, and silver mining. Their growth trajectories are such that both regions reduced the gap with respect to Spain; Mexico even achieved parity at times. While experiencing swings in growth, the notable turning point is in 1780s as bottlenecks in production and later, the independence wars reduced economic activity. Our results question the notion that colonial institutions impoverished Latin America.