Convergence, trade and industrial policy: Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay in the international economy, 1900–1980

Abstract

This paper discusses the economic performance of three Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay) from a comparative perspective, using as a benchmark a group of four developed countries (France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States). The focus is on the relative performance within the region and between the Latin American countries and the developed countries in the period 1900-1980. The paper argues that Argentina and Uruguay benefited from a privileged position in international markets at the beginning of the 20 th century and this allowed them to converge. However, they failed to adjust to the major long-run change in the pattern of world trade brought about by World War I and the Great Depression, which implied a persistent decline of their export markets. On the other hand, Brazil, after having been much less successful until 1930, grew at higher rates thereafter based on rapid structural change and the building up of LUIS BÉRTOLA -GABRIEL PORCILE 2 competitive advantages in new industrial sectors. The more vigorous Brazilian policy for industrialization and export diversification may explain why Brazil succeeded in changing its pattern of specialization, while Argentina and Uruguay were locked in to the old pattern. A typology of convergence regimes is suggested based on the growth experience of these countries.

Scholarly management knowledge in the periphery: Argentina and Brazil in comparative perspective (1970-2005)

“…By 2003, Brazil had clearly stretched its lead over Argentina in terms of size of the economy: Brazilian GDP amounted to 588,287 million constant dollars of 2004, almost tripling that of Argentina with 198,162 million dollars. The reasons for which the economic growth paths of both countries differ lie outside the scope of this study and continue to puzzle economists and sociologists, but it is clear that in the last forty years Brazil has managed to consolidate its position as the largest Latin American economy (Bértola & Porcile, 2006). With greater social inequality than Argentina, Brazil is a dual society, which some Brazilian economists (Bacha, 1974) describe as Belindia: a mix of a small country with a huge and poor one.…”

l comercio exterior del Ecuador, 1890-1950

“…Un resultado similar, en términos de diversidad, ocurrió durante la ISI, destacándose el desempeño de las economías brasileña y mexicana. En todo caso, una característica que resalta en los países de la región es la heterogeneidad de su patrón de desarrollo (Bértola y Ocampo, 2010;Bértola y Porcile, 2006;Bulmer-Thomas, 2014;Thorp, 1998).…”

Beta Convergence in the Export Volumes in EU Countries

“…Hakro and Fida (2009) showed that trade liberalization helps in achieving convergence respectively leads to acceleration of convergence. Bértola and Porcile (2006) identified main factors of convergence in selected states of Latin America. The factors are technological diffusion, openness, specialization and institutional arrangements at domestic and international levels.…”