Why did Argentina Become a Super-Exporter of Agricultural and Food Products during the Belle Époque (1880-1929)?

PINILLA, VICENTE; RAYES, AGUSTINA

Congreso; AGRICLIOMETRICS III Quantitative Approaches to Rural, Agricultural and Environmental History; 2017

The objective of this paper is to explain, from a cliometric perspective, the determinants of the growth of Argentina?s exports between 1880 and 1929. To do this, we have constructed a gravity model with the principal products exported each year by Argentina to its most important trading partners. In this way, we believe that this study constitutes a relevant and original contribution to the analysis of economic growth from a historical perspective and specifically in explaining the factors determining the export success of the settler countries during the first wave of globalisation. Our results show that Argentina?s export-led growth must be explained from both the supply and demand sides. We also find that the reduction in transatlantic transport costs boosted exports.