On Friday, February 21, 2025, Joseph Duty presented his paper on the “Unintended Consequences: How the Different Implementations of Colonial Property Systems by the Spanish Effect Latin American Economic Development Today” at the Issues in Political Economy Undergraduate research sessions at the Eastern Economic Association Meetings in New York City. Joseph’s paper classifies former American Spanish territories into four categories based on their colonial property rights systems:
- The Mita Group: the Incan territory which saw the Spanish use a property system based on Incan traditions,
- Hacienda Group: the agrarian Hacienda system implemented by the Spanish in Central America,
- The Repartimiento Group: the initial territory of New Spain, now modern-day Mexico, where debt patronage was a common,
- The US States Group: the former Spanish territory that was seized by the United States in the Mexican American War.
He then investigates the relationship between these property rights regimes and current measures of economic development, human flourishing, and inequality. He finds that the historical property rights regimes under colonial rule still play a role in the current economic conditions of each of these regions. Joseph’s presentation was well received, and he gain valuable feedback from his discussant and many audience members.