As part of the Vilfredo Pareto Research Seminar series, the International Economics Department at the Graduate Institute is pleased to invite you to a public talk given by Nuno Palma, Associate Professor at Department of Economics of University of Manchester.

He will present his work, joint with Adam Brzezinski, Yao Chen and Felix Ward, titled The Vagaries of the Sea: Evidence on the Real Effects of Money from Maritime Disasters in the Spanish Empire.

Abstract: Maritime disasters in the Spanish Empire (1531-1810) resulted in the loss of substantial amounts of silver money. We exploit this recurring natural experiment to estimate the effect that a change in money supply has on the real economy. A negative shock to Spain’s money supply caused a contraction in Spanish real output that was primarily transmitted through nominal rigidities and credit frictions. The output decline was especially large and persistent in textile manufacturing. This production decline took place against the backdrop of a credit crunch that impaired merchants’ ability to supply their manufacturers with input goods.

About the speaker

Nuno Palma is an a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) at the Department of Economics of the University of Manchester, a Research Fellow at ICS, University of Lisbon, and a Research Affiliate at CEPR, London. He was previously Assistant Professor at the Department of Economics, Econometrics, and Finance, University of Groningen, and a Max Weber Fellow at the European University Institute. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Lisbon and MSc and PhD degrees from the London School of Economics. He has been the recipient of several international awards, including the inaugural Stiglitz Award given by the International Economic Association. His research interests include economic history, development and growth, macroeconomics and monetary economics, and political economy.