Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T15:29:34.206Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The «Argentine failure» from a comparative perspective: the role of total factor productivity*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2011

Germán H. González*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Economía, Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur (IIESS, CONICET-UNS), Universidad Nacional del Sur. 12 de Octubre 1198, 7° piso. D8000CTX Bahía Blanca, Argentina. [email protected]; [email protected]
Valentina N. Viego*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Economía, Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur (IIESS, CONICET-UNS), Universidad Nacional del Sur. 12 de Octubre 1198, 7° piso. D8000CTX Bahía Blanca, Argentina. [email protected]; [email protected]

Abstract

The paper proposes an interpretation of the «Argentine failure» based on development accounting and econometrical approaches frequently used in the current cross-country income differentials literature. The main results are as follows: the development process of Canada — in term of per capita GDP –– moved away from that of Argentina around 1918, but there was a structural change in the determinants of aggregate productivity around 1935 that led Argentina to take a diverging path. Recovery — thanks to improved aggregate productivity –– was not possible after 1940. The results support the idea that Argentina fell into a «staple trap», while Canada embarked on a successful path due to the adjacency and political proximity with a larger and complementary economy.

Resumen

El artículo ofrece una interpretación al «Fracaso Argentino» basado en el enfoque de contabilidad del desarrollo y la econometría, frecuentemente utilizados en la literatura actual que explica los diferenciales en el ingreso per capita. El proceso de desarrollo canadiense se alejó del argentino alrededor de 1918. Sin embargo, estas economías experimentaron un cambio estructural en los determinantes de la productividad agregada alrededor de 1935 que llevó a que también sean divergentes en términos tecnológicos. A partir de 1940, la recuperación argentina no fue posible. Se ofrece soporte técnico a la idea que sostiene que Argentina cayó en una «staple trap», mientras Canadá ingresó en un sendero exitoso debido a su adyacencia y proximidad política con una economía mayor y complementaria.

Type
Articles/Artículos
Copyright
Copyright © Instituto Figuerola de Historia y Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Acemoglu, D. (2008): Introduction to Modern Economic Growth. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Altman, M. (2003): «Staple Theory and Export-Led Growth: Constructing Differential Growth». Australian Economic History Review, 43 (3), pp. 230-255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Asencio, M. (1995): Argentina y los otros. Historia económica del fracaso y el éxito. Buenos Aires: Ediciones Corregidor.Google Scholar
Blyde, J.Fernández-Arias, E. (2005): «Why Latin America is Falling Behind», in E. Fernández-Arias, R. Manuelli, and J. Blyde (eds), Sources of Growth in Latin America. Washington, D.C.: Inter-American Development Bank, pp. 3-54.Google Scholar
Caselli, F. (2005): «Accounting for Cross-Country Income Differences», in P. Aghion, and S. Durlauf (eds), Handbook of Economic Growth, vol. 1A, New York: Elsevier, pp. 679-742.Google Scholar
Della Paolera, G.Taylor, A. (2003): A New Economic History of Argentina. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Engerman, S.Sokoloff, K. (2003): «Institutional and Non-Institutional Explanations of Economic Differences», NBER Working Paper Series no. 9989.Google Scholar
Esposto, A.Tohmé, F. (2009): Drifting Apart: The Divergent Development Paths of Argentina and Australia. Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag Dr. Müller Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG.Google Scholar
Ferreres, O. (2005): Dos siglos de economía argentina (1810-2004). Historia argentina en cifras. Buenos Aires: Fundación Norte y Sur.Google Scholar
Galor, O. (1996): «Convergence? Inferences from Theoretical Models». Economic Journal, 106, pp. 1056-1069.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerchunoff, P.Fajgelbaum, P. (2006): ¿Por qué Argentina no fue Australia? Una hipótesis sobre un cambio de rumbo. Buenos Aires: Siglo XXI.Google Scholar
Gollin, D. (2002): «Getting Income Shares Right». Journal of Political Economy, 110 (2), pp. 458-474.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
González, G. (2010): «Effects of Adjacency and Political Proximity with United States of America on the Canadian, Australian and Argentine Economic Performances», unpublished, Bahía Blanca: Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales.Google Scholar
González, G.Constantin, S. (2009): «Efectos de la apertura sobre el crecimiento cuando se tiene en cuenta el contexto». Revista de Ciencias Económicas, XXVII (2), pp. 11-20.Google Scholar
González, G.Viego, V. (2008): «Deep Determinants of Relative Per-Capita GDPs, Argentina-Canada from 1870». Anales de la Asociación Argentina de Economía Política, XLIII Reunión Anual.Google Scholar
González, G.; Dabús, C.Monterubbianesi, P. (2011): «Phases of Convergence in Latin America: The Technological Drivers». Journal of International Development. doi:10.1002/jid.1803.Google Scholar
Hall, R.Jones, C. (1997): «What Have We learned from Recent Empirical Growth Research? Levels of Economic Activity Across Countries». American Economic Review, 87 (2, Papers and Proceedings of the Hundred and Fourth Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association, pp. 173-177.Google Scholar
Hall, R.Jones, C. (1999): «Why Do Some Countries Produce So Much More Output Per Worker than Others?». Quarterly Journal of Economics, 114 (1), pp. 83-116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hopenhayn, H.Neumeyer, P. (2004): «Latin America in XXth Century: Stagnation, Then Collapse», in E. Fernandez-Arias, R. Manuelli, and J. Blyde (eds), Sources of growth in Latin America. What is missing? Appendix B. Washington, D.C.: Inter-American Development Bank.Google Scholar
Hsieh, C.Klenow, P. (2010): «Development Accounting». American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, 2 (1), pp. 207-223.Google Scholar
Katz, S.; Lanteri, L.Vargas, S. (2007): «Un vínculo sutil y no siempre comprendido en medio siglo: una nota sobre la tasa de inversión y el crecimiento económico». Ensayos Económicos, 47, pp. 7-62.Google Scholar
King, R.Levine, R. (1994): «Capital Fundamentalism, Economic Development, and Economic Growth». Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, 40 (June), pp. 259-292.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klenow, P.Rodriguez-Claire, A. (1997): «The Neoclassical Revival in Growth Economics: Has It Gone Too Far?», in B. Bernanke, and J. Rotemberg (eds), NBER Macroeconomics Annual, vol. 12. Cambridge: MIT Press, pp. 73-102.Google Scholar
Kneller, R. (2005): «Frontier Technology, Absorptive Capacity and Distance». Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 67 (1), pp. 1-23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lucchini, C. (2006): Estrategias de desarrollo, industria y estado en Canadá 1919-1939. Buenos Aires: Siglo XXI.Google Scholar
Maddison, A. (2006): The World Economy, Development Centre Studies. Paris: OECD Publishing.Google Scholar
Mankiw, N. G.; Romer, D.Weil, D. (1992): «A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic Growth». Quarterly Journal of Economics, 107 (2), pp. 407-437.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manuelli, R. (2005): «Growth in Latin America: Empirical Findings and Some Simple Theoretical Explanations», in E. Fernandez-Arias, R. Manuelli, and J. Blyde (eds), Sources of Growth in Latin America. What is Missing?. Washington, D.C.: Inter-American Development Bank.Google Scholar
Miguez, E. (2005): «‘El fracaso argentino’. Interpretando la evolución económica en el ‘corto siglo XX’». Desarrollo Económico, 44 (176), pp. 483-514.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, S.Upadhyay, M. (2000): «The Effects of Openness, Trade Orientation, and Human Capital on Total Factor Productivity». Journal of Development Economics, 63, pp. 399-423.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pomfret, R. (2000): «Trade Policy in Canada and Australia in the Twentieth Century». Australian Economic History, 40 (2), pp. 114-126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prados de la Escosura, L.Sanz-Villarroya, I. (2009): «Contract Enforcement, Capital Accumulation, and Argentina's Long-Run Decline». Cliometrica, 3, pp. 1-26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rapoport, M. (1994): «La inserción internacional de Argentina y Canadá: Un análisis histórico comparado», in M. Rapoport (ed.), Globalización, Integración e Identidad Nacional. Análisis comparado Argentina-Canadá. Buenos Aires: Grupo Editor Latinoamericano, pp. 175-209.Google Scholar
Rodriguez, F. (2005): «The Political Economy of Latin American Economic Growth», in E. Fernandez-Arias et al. (eds), Sources of growth in Latin America. What is missing? Appendix C. Washington, D.C.: Inter-American Development Bank.Google Scholar
Rodríguez, F.Rodrik, D. (2000): «Trade Policy and Economic Growth: A Skeptic's Guide to the Cross-National Evidence», in B. Bernanke, and K. Rogoff (eds), NBER Macroeconomics Annuals 2000. Cambridge: MIT Press, pp. 261-338.Google Scholar
Rodrik, D. (2003): «What Do We Learn from Country Narratives?», in Rodrik, D. (ed.), In search of Prosperity, Analytic Narratives on Economic Growth. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, Chapter 1, pp. 1-19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanz-Villarroya, I. (2005): «The Convergence Process of Argentina with Australia and Canada: 1875-2000». Explorations in Economic History, 42 (3), pp. 439-458.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sen, A. (2003): «On Unit Root Tests When the Alternative Is A Trend Break Stationary Process». Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, 21, pp. 174-184.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Véganzonès, M.Winograd, C. (1998): «Human Capital, Trade Openness and Growth in Argentina in the 20th Century». Labour, 12 (2), pp. 305-352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watkins, M. (1963): «A Staple Theory of Economy Growth». Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science, XXIX (2), pp. 141-158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zivot, E.Andrews, D. (1992): «Further Evidence on the Great Crash, the Oil-Price Shock and the Unit-Root Hypothesis». Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, 10 (3), pp. 251-270.CrossRefGoogle Scholar