The Catalan commercial integration with early modern Europe, 1630–1778

Abstract

[eng] Purpose: This study aims to analyze whether the Barcelona markets integrated with Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses the unit root tests with multiple structural breaks under both the null and alternative hypotheses proposed by Carrion-i-Silvestre, et al. (2009) and Harvey (2013). These tests are robust to multiple unknown breaks in the series. Findings: The results suggest that the Barcelona wheat markets integrated with some European cities during the 18th century. Originality/value: The results are important because they highlight the importance of considering nonlinearities and structural breaks in the series to study market integration with historical perspective. Contrary to the results obtained using conventional unit root tests, when this study applies unit root tests robust to structural breaks in the series, it finds that the law of one price holds in some cases.