Agricultural and Mining Labor Interactions in Peru: A Long-Run Perspective (1571-1812)

This essay evaluates the context and persistence of extractive colonial policies in Peru on contemporary development indicators and political attitudes. Using the 1571 Toledan Reforms—which implemented a system of draft labor and regularized tribute collection—as a point of departure, I build a unique dataset of annual tribute records for 160 districts in the Cuzco, Huamanga, Huancavelica, and Castrovirreyna regions of Peru over the years of 1571 to 1812. Pairing this source with detailed historic micro data on population, wages, and regional agricultural prices, I develop a historic model for the annual province-level output. The model’s key parameters determine the output elasticities of labor and capital and pre-tribute production. This approach allows for an conceptual understanding of the interaction between mita assignment and production factors over time. I then evaluate contemporary outcomes of agricultural production and political participation in the same Peruvian provinces, based on whether or not a province was assigned to the mita. I find that assigning districts to the mita lowers the average amount of land cultivated, per capita earnings, and trust in municipal government