This edited collection examines the evolution of regional inequality in Latin America in the long run. The authors support the hypothesis that the current regional disparities are principally the result of a long and complex process in which historical, geographical, economic, institutional, and political factors have all worked together. Lessons from the past can aid current debates on regional inequalities, territorial cohesion, and public policies in developing and also developed countries.
In contrast with European countries, Latin American economies largely specialized in commodity exports, showed high levels of urbanization and high transports costs (both domestic and international). This new research provides a new perspective on the economic history of Latin American regions and offers new insights on how such forces interact in peripheral countries. In that sense, natural resources, differences in climatic conditions, industrial backwardness and low population density areas leads us to a new set of questions and tentative answers.
This book brings together a group of leading American and European economic historians in order to build a new set of data on historical regional GDPs for nine Latin American countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. This transnational perspective on Latin American economic development process is of interest to researchers, students and policy makers.
Author(s): Daniel A. Tirado-Fabregat, Marc Badia-Miró, Henry Willebald
Series: Palgrave Studies in Economic History
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 407
City: Cham
Acknowledgements
Contents
Notes on Contributors
List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Maps
Chapter 1: Introduction: Time, Space and Economics in the History of Latin America
1 Motivation
2 Contents
3 Highlights, Stylized Facts and a Brief Discussion
References
Chapter 2: Comparing Different Estimation Methodologies of Regional GDPs in Latin American Countries
1 Introduction
2 A Brief Overview of Latin American Official Estimates
3 The Historical Reconstitution of Subnational GDP: Methods and Sources
3.1 Bottom-Up or Direct Approach
3.1.1 Direct Estimates Based on Production
3.1.2 Direct Approach Based on Income
3.1.3 Direct Approach Based on Expenditure
3.2 Top-Down or Indirect Approach
3.2.1 Top-Down Non-Parametric Approaches
3.2.2 Top-Down Parametric Approach
4 Concluding Remarks
References
Chapter 3: Productive and Regional Development Policies in Latin America Since 1890
1 Introduction
2 The Big Long-Run Picture
3 Latin America: One and Many
4 State Policies During the First Globalization Boom and Their Impact on Regional Development
5 State-Led Growth: Strategies and Policies and Their Impact on Regional Development
6 Structural Reforms and the Reactions Against Them: Recent Regional Development Policies
7 Concluding Remarks
References
Chapter 4: Growth and Convergence Among Argentine Provinces Since 1895
1 Introduction
2 The Economic Evolution of Argentina Since 1895
3 New Data: Methodology and Descriptive Analysis
4 Long-Term Patterns of Regional Inequality
5 Conclusions: Forces Behind Regional Inequality
References
Chapter 5: From West to East: Bolivian Regional GDPs since the 1950s. A Story of Natural Resources and Infrastructure
1 Introduction
2 Regional Growth in Bolivia Since Independence
3 The Estimation of Bolivian Regional GDPs
4 The Relative Importance of Bolivian Regions, 1950–2017
5 Conclusions
References
Chapter 6: The Evolution of Regional Income Inequality in Brazil, 1872–2015
1 Introduction
2 Historical Background
3 Data Sources and Methodology
4 Regional Income Inequality in the Long Run
5 Discussion and Conclusion
Appendix: Correspondence Between Present-Day States and Historical Regional Units
References
Chapter 7: Spatial Inequality in Chile in the Long Run: A Paradox of Extreme Concentration in the Absence of Agglomeration Forces (1890–2017)
1 Introduction
2 From Nitrate Cycle to the Commodity Boom in the Early Twenty-First Century
3 Estimation of the Chilean Provincial GDP for the Period 1890–1973
4 Regional GDP Evolution in Chile in the Long Run: 1890–2010
5 Conclusions
References
Chapter 8: Regional Economic Inequality in Colombia, 1926–2018
1 Introduction
2 Historical Background
3 New Data: Descriptive Analysis
4 Stylized Facts and Analysis
5 Conclusions
References
Chapter 9: Regional GDP in Mexico, 1895–2010
1 Introduction
2 Data and Sources
3 Regional Growth in Mexico
4 Conclusions
References
Chapter 10: Peruvian Regional Inequality: 1847–2017
1 Introduction
2 Historical Background
3 Long-Term Patterns of Regional Income Inequality: Sources and Methods
4 Long-Term Patterns of Regional Income Inequality: New Data and Stylized Facts
4.1 Regional Inequality
4.2 Regional Convergence
5 The Forces Behind Regional Inequality in Peru
6 Conclusions
References
Chapter 11: Patterns of Regional Income Distribution in Uruguay (1872–2012): A Story of Agglomeration, Natural Resources and Public Policies
1 Introduction
2 Historical Background
3 GDP Estimates at the Province Level: Sources and Methods
4 Results: Stylized Facts of Regional Income Distribution in Uruguay
4.1 Montevideo: A Suction Pump?
4.2 Regional Inequality: A Convergence Story?
4.3 Persistence, Mobility, Reversals of Fortune and Other Stories
4.4 The Changing Economic Geography of Uruguay
5 What Explains the Evolution of Regional Inequality over Time?
References
Chapter 12: Was the Oil Sown Evenly? Long-Term Patterns of Regional Inequality in Venezuela (1881–2011)
1 Introduction
2 Historical Background
3 Long-Term Patterns of Regional Income Inequality: Sources and Methods
4 Long-Term Patterns of Regional Income Inequality: New Data and Stylized Facts
5 The Forces Behind Regional Inequality in Venezuela
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Chapter 13: Spatial Inequality in Latin America (1895–2010): Convergence and Clusters in a Long-Run Approach
1 Introduction
2 Regional Inequality in Latin America: A Long-Run Approach
3 Convergence and Divergence of Latin American Regions
4 The Emergence of Regional Clubs in Latin America
5 Conclusions
References
Chapter 14: Regional Inequality in Latin America: Does It Mirror the European Pattern?
1 Introduction
2 Long-Term Patterns of Regional Inequality in Europe and Latin America: The Data Set
3 Long-Term Patterns of Regional Inequality in Europe and Latin America: Descriptive Evidence
4 The Relationship Between Regional Inequality and Economic Growth: Econometric Analysis
5 Discussion
References
Index
