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This paper investigates whether related variety, among other types of spatial externalities, affected regional growth in Spain at the NUTS 3 level during the period 1995-2007. We found evidence that related variety matters for growth across regions, especially when using two new methods that measure revealed relatedness between industries. The first method is based on Porter's cluster classification while the second method uses the proximity index proposed by Hidalgo et al. Our analyses show that Spanish provinces with a wide range of related industries tend to show higher economic growth rates, once we control for other determinants of growth. Este artículo investiga si la variedad relacionada, entre otros tipos de externalidades espaciales, afectó el crecimiento regional en España a nivel NUTS 3 durante el periodo 1995-2007. Hallamos pruebas de que la variedad relacionada influye en el crecimiento entre regiones, especialmente al utilizar dos métodos nuevos que miden el grado de conexión manifiesto entre industrias. El primer método está basado en la clasificación de conglomerados de Porter, mientras que el segundo método utiliza el índice de proximidad propuesto por Hidalgo et al. Nuestros análisis muestran que las provincias españolas con un amplio rango de industrias relacionadas tienden a mostrar tasas de crecimiento económico más altas, una vez que se logra controlar otros factores determinantes del crecimiento. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colonial Mexico’s economy experienced a long phase of growth during the eighteenth century. Around 1800, silver exports and fiscal surplus remittances from the colony rose to unprecedented levels. We study the contribution of the Spanish imperial state’s policy to the expansion of silver production and the leading role of mining in economic growth and its fiscal implications. We find evidence to support a more favourable view of both the mining sector and the imperial state than that commonly presented in the literature. The interruption of colonial ‘mining-led growth’ helps to explain the ‘lost decades’ for the economic development of Mexico after independence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the Liaisons Entre Actions de Développement de l'Economie Rurale (LEADER) program of the European Union and the rise of rural development in Spain. The progress of LEADER has allegedly been refracted through the institutional conditions of the politico-administrative system. The program has been used as a political power tool by the various levels, leading to confrontations in order to gain control over the program. Awareness and acceptance of the deeper philosophy behind LEADER has been gaining ground so that it is increasingly acknowledged as a powerful tool for the promotion of rural development in general and for the animation of local, collective action. As measured by statistics, Spain has participated enthusiastically in the program. During LEADER I, a total of 52 lags were established in Spain, with an average area of 1,575 kilometer and a density of 22.6 inhabitants per kilometer. LEADER I accounted for 16 per cent of the territory and 5 per cent of the population of Spain. During LEADER II, the number of lags rose to 132 groups, the average surface area to 1,700 kilometer and the average density to 23 inhabitants per kilometer. LEADER II areas account for 45 per cent of the Spanish territory and some 13 per cent of its population.