Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Dedication
- Preface
- List of acronyms
- Table of official exchange rate parities to US dollar
- Map: Central America
- 1 A century of independence: foundations of export-led growth
- 2 Central America in the 1920s: reform and consolidation
- 3 The 1929 depression
- 4 Economic recovery and political reaction in the 1930s
- 5 Central America and the Second World War
- 6 Post-war economic recovery
- 7 The struggle for democracy, the Cold War and the Labour movement in the first post-war decade
- 8 The foundations of modern export-led growth, 1954–60
- 9 The illusion of a golden age, 1960–70
- 10 External shocks and the challenge to the social order, 1970–9
- 11 The descent into regional crisis
- 12 Conclusions
- Methodological Appendix
- Statistical Appendix
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
- CAMBRIDGE LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES
Methodological Appendix
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 February 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Dedication
- Preface
- List of acronyms
- Table of official exchange rate parities to US dollar
- Map: Central America
- 1 A century of independence: foundations of export-led growth
- 2 Central America in the 1920s: reform and consolidation
- 3 The 1929 depression
- 4 Economic recovery and political reaction in the 1930s
- 5 Central America and the Second World War
- 6 Post-war economic recovery
- 7 The struggle for democracy, the Cold War and the Labour movement in the first post-war decade
- 8 The foundations of modern export-led growth, 1954–60
- 9 The illusion of a golden age, 1960–70
- 10 External shocks and the challenge to the social order, 1970–9
- 11 The descent into regional crisis
- 12 Conclusions
- Methodological Appendix
- Statistical Appendix
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
- CAMBRIDGE LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES
Summary
The preparation of national accounts for the Central American republics since 1920 was a necessary prerequisite for the writing of this book. The purpose of this appendix is to explain the methodology underlying these national accounts estimates and to provide for the benefit of scholars working in this field the detailed statistics on which much of the book's analysis has been based.
First, however, some consideration needs to be given to the question of whether such an exercise is justified. Although all scholars are in broad agreement that it is desirable to have statistical series of good quality, it is worth remembering that an unreliable series can do more harm than good. The problem is not only lack of information in certain areas of economic activity, but also published figures in which the authorities themselves place little confidence. For example, the director of the Dirección General de Estadisticas y Censos in Costa Rica complained in 1930 that the statistics on agriculture and commerce were valueless because of ‘the anarchy that reigns in the reports sent to this office by the political authorities.’ The director then published a table on the area cultivated with various agricultural products with a note stating: ‘The object of the above table is to demonstrate the inefficiency of the data collection system in current use, in view of the differences in the figures from one year to the next.’ Similarly, a survey on Guatemalan statistics (published in 1946) had the following to say about agriculture: ‘Each year the Ministry of Agriculture sends questionnaires asking for information with regard to agricultural products, livestock and the number of acres planted and harvested.
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- The Political Economy of Central America since 1920 , pp. 295 - 306Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1987