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Puerto Rico became an American colony in 1898, achieving self-rule after the Great Depression. The standard view is that Puerto Rican living standards stagnated before the policy changes of the New Deal and it has lost ground on the mainland since the early 1970s. I show these claims are mistaken. Using a new GDP index for 1900 to 1940, I show that income per capita grew at impressive rates during direct American rule and Puerto Rico escaped the worst ravages of the Great Depression. In addition, I find the recent growth slowdown is partly a statistical artifact.

We examine Cuban GDP over time and across space. We find that Cuba was once a prosperous middle-income economy. On the eve of the revolution, incomes were 50 to 60 percent of European levels. They were among the highest in Latin America at about 30 percent of the United States. In relative terms, Cuba was richer earlier on. Income per capita during the 1920s was in striking distance of Western Europe and the Southern United States. After the revolution, Cuba slipped down the world income distribution. Current levels of income per capita appear below their pre-revolutionary peaks.

In the September 2003 issue of this JOURNAL, we provided benchmark comparisons of U.K./U.S. income from 1870 to 1990. In contrast to long-span projections from Angus Maddison and others, our estimates show the United States leading from 1870 in terms of income per capita and output per worker. In a 12-page comment that accompanies our article, Professor Stephen Broadberry criticizes our work on three grounds. First, he charges our estimates are inconsistent with his U.K./U.S. sectoral productivity comparisons. Second, he chastises us on the grounds that our price benchmarks conflict with standard U.S. and U.K. price indices. Finally, he queries our nominal GDP estimates.

The authors estimate the effects of commercial policy and changes in the external terms of trade on the real exchange rate of four Latin American economies using data on internal relative prices. They find that the greater the elasticity of the non-traded price level with respect to the price of importables, the larger is the real exchange rate effect of import restriction, but the smaller is the real exchange rate effect of changes in the external terms of trade. (DSE/DÜI)