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Trade and Growth

Paper Session

Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM (PST)

San Francisco Marriott Marquis, Foothill A
Hosted By: Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy
  • Chair: John J. Devereux, CUNY-Queens College

The Forsaken Road: Reassessing Living Standards Following the Cuban Revolution and the American Embargo

João Pedro Bastos
,
Texas Tech University
Jamie Bologna Pavlik
,
Texas Tech University
Vincent Geloso
,
George Mason University

Abstract

We investigate the causal effects of the 1959 Cuban Revolution on income using a synthetic control approach. We employ a novel dataset with revised GDP estimates that do not rely on the regime’s self-reported statistics. We also analyze GDP estimates net of transfers coming from the Soviet Union. Our identification strategy allows us to separate the direct effects of the revolution from the diplomatic events that ensued. We estimate the potential effect of the 1962 U.S. Embargo by comparing Cuba’s economic trajectory with that of other communist countries following the collapse of the USSR. We find no evidence that Cuba fared worse than these other communist countries, despite the trade restrictions that remained in place in Cuba and not elsewhere

Race, Ethnicity, and Inequality among Migrant Workers in the Dominican Republic

Brian Marein
,
Wake Forest University
Craig Palsson
,
Utah State University

Abstract

This paper examines racial and ethnic inequality among immigrants to the Dominican Republic using residency permit data from 1940 to 1954. Most immigrants came from Haiti and the West Indies to cut sugarcane for American corporations. We document a racial socioeconomic hierarchy, with whites at the top and blacks at the bottom. Haitians fared worse than other blacks, and these differences are not fully explained by observed health and human capital. The evidence does not support explanations for these differences based on the importance of English fluency or British diplomatic support. There is some evidence that geographic isolation deepened labor market inequalities, allowing monopsonistic employers to discriminate against Haitians. Even so, much of Haitians' initial disadvantages likely stemmed from lower levels of human capital upon arrival.

Cuba – Trade, Income, and Development Under Late Spanish Rule

John J. Devereux
,
CUNY-Queens College

Abstract

There is a considerable literature on the economic history of Cuba during the nineteenth century. For the most part, this work concerns itself with sugar and slavery. To date, we lack quantitative measures for the main economic aggregates. To fill the gap, this paper provides new series on the volume of exports and imports, the terms of trade, along with tentative measures of GDP.

Discussant(s)
John J. Devereux
,
CUNY-Queens College
Carlos Sieglie
,
Rutgers University-Newark
Alan Dye
,
Bernard College
JEL Classifications
  • O1 - Economic Development
  • N0 - General