Dels preus a la productivitat del treball a l’agricultura preindustrial. Un assaig a partir del cas d’Alcoi (1445-1807)

Abstract

This study is an approach to the analysis of agricultural labor productivity in the Valencian village of Alcoy. It is based on the rebuilding of cereal price series from the middle of the fifteenth century to the beginning of the nineteenth century. Regarding the problem of the non available sources, up to date studies about the subject are based on aggregated estimations. The option that I try to develop is set off in the assumption that prices show the value of the produced goods in terms of a precious metal in the long term. So prices basically depend on two elements: the value of this metal and the value of the goods themselves. Therefore, the variations of the prices in the medium and long terms respond to changes in labor productivity in the sector. This assumption is verified in a scenery of monetary stability and counting with no important changes in the production conditions of the metal in which the monetary system is based nor massive variations in the amount of cereal coming from abroad. From this analysis we can conclude that the changes in the agricultural sector in the village of Alcoy were important enough to feed a growing population without any increase in the prices that would threaten this growth. This fact was especially remarkable in the first phases of the singular industrialization process that began in Alcoy in the eighteenth century.