Data and Code for: Speed of Convergence in a Malthusian World: Weak or Strong Homeostasis?

<b><br></b><b>Abstract of the Paper:</b> The Malthusian trap is a well recognized source of stagnation in per capita income prior to industrialization. However, previous studies have found mixed evidence about its exact strength. This article contributes to this ongoing debate by estimating the speed of convergence for a panel of 9 preindustrial European economies over a long period of time (14th-18th century). The analysis relies on a calibrated Malthusian model for England and β-convergence regressions. I find evidence of significant differences in the strength of the Malthusian trap between preindustrial European economies. The strongest estimated Malthusian trap is in Sweden, with a half-life of 20 years. The weakest estimated Malthusian trap is in England, with a half-life of about 230 years. This implies that some preindustrial economies were able to experience prolonged variations in their standards of living after a shock, while still being subject to Malthusian stagnation in the long run.<br><br><b>Guide for Replication:</b><br><br>There are two Stata do files:<br>"do_file_simulations". It contains the necessary code to generate all the simulated data used in the paper.<br>"do_file_empirical_analysis" . It contains the necessary code to replicate all the empirical analysis made in the paper and the figures (Figures 1, 2, 3 and Tables 3, 4, B-2, D-1, D-2 and D-3).<br>There are seven Stata data files:<br>"simulated_data". It contains the necessary data to replicate Figures 1, 2, and Table B-2. <br>"broadberry_pop_gdppc". It contains the necessary data from Broadberry et al. (2015) to generate the simulated data.<br>"beta_convergence". It contains the necessary data to replicate Figure 3 and Tables 3 and 4.<br>"robustness_beta_convergence_15yearswindow". It contains the necessary data to replicate columns 1 and 2 of Table D-1."robustness_beta_convergence_35yearswindow". It contains the necessary data to replicate columns 3 and 4 of Table D-1."robustness_beta_convergence_statehist". It contains the necessary data to replicate Table D-2."robustness_beta_convergence_lagerlof2019". It contains the necessary data to replicate Table D-3.<br>See the paper for further details on the sources, variables definition and methods.<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>