Diferencias regionales en el costo de vida en Argentina a comienzos del siglo XX

The analysis of the living standards in Argentina in the late 19th and early 20th century is hindered by the lack of a consistent comparison of prices across regions. In this article we calculate price indexes of food for several cities in several years between 1903 and 1912 using data from the Bulletins of the National Labor Department. Although local price indices follow a pattern with common characteristics, both the price levels and the inflation rates are quite specific of each province. Cities in the central region of the country and with a relatively large population (Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Cordoba) have lower price levels than the cities in the peripheral areas of the country and with a smaller size (San Juan, Posadas, Jujuy). Moreover, those areas with larger sectors of livestock and wheat production tend to have lower prices of meat and bread and, consequently, lower price levels. KEY Classification-JEL: E31. N36. N96