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Transport Technology And Economic Expansion: The Growth Contribution Of Railways In Latin America Before 1914

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  • Herranz-Loncán, Alfonso

Abstract

This paper measures the direct contribution of railways to economic growth before 1914 in four Latin American economies with large railway systems (Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay) using growth accounting techniques. The outcomes of the analysis indicate that the growth contribution of railways in Uruguay was very low. By contrast, in Argentina and Mexico railways provided huge benefits, amounting to 20-25% of income per capita growth before 1914. Finally, in Brazil, the growth contribution of railways was even higher, although this was largely a consequence of the stagnation of the Brazilian economy. These results provide an example of a technology whose growth contribution was much higher in some peripheral economies than in the core countries where it was developed. En este artículo se estima, aplicando las técnicas de contabilidad del crecimiento, la contribución directa de los ferrocarriles al crecimiento económico, antes de 1914, de cuatro economías latinoamericanas con sistemas ferroviarios muy desarrollados (Argentina, Brasil, México y Uruguay). Los resultados del análisis indican que la contribución directa de los ferrocarriles al crecimiento económico uruguayo fue muy baja. En cambio, los ferrocarriles proporcionaron a Argentina y México unos beneficios directos de enorme magnitud, que representaron entre el 20% y el 25% del crecimiento de la renta per cápita de esos países antes de 1914. Finalmente, la contribución de los ferrocarriles brasileños al crecimiento económico fue todavía mayor, aunque ello fue en gran medida consecuencia del estancamiento de la economía brasileña. Estos resultados ofrecen un ejemplo de una tecnología cuya contribución al crecimiento fue mucho mayor en algunas economías periféricas que en los países industrializados en los que esa tecnología se desarrolló.

Suggested Citation

  • Herranz-Loncán, Alfonso, 2014. "Transport Technology And Economic Expansion: The Growth Contribution Of Railways In Latin America Before 1914," Revista de Historia Económica / Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 32(1), pages 13-45, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:cup:reveco:v:32:y:2014:i:01:p:13-45_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel Sánchez-Piñol Yulee, 2024. "Checkmate: What was a King's worth in nineteenth-century Latin America?," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 35(2), pages 174-199, June.
    2. Vincent Bignon & Rui Esteves & Alfonso Herranz-Loncán, 2015. "Big push or big grab? Railways, government activism, and export growth in Latin America, 1865–1913," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 68(4), pages 1277-1305, November.
    3. Andrea Forero & Francisco Gallego & Felipe González & Matías Tapia, 2020. "Railroads, specialization, and population growth in small open economies: Evidence from the First Globalization," Documentos de Trabajo 548, Instituto de Economia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile..
    4. Gerardo della Paolera & Xavier H. Duran Amorocho & Aldo Musacchio, 2018. "The Industrialization of South America Revisited: Evidence from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Colombia, 1890-2010," NBER Working Papers 24345, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Alfonso Herranz-Loncán & Johan Fourie, 2018. "“For the public benefit”? Railways in the British Cape Colony," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 22(1), pages 73-100.
    6. Andrés Forero & Francisco A. Gallego & Felipe González & Matías Tapia, 2021. "Railroads, specialization, and population growth: evidence from the first globalization," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(3), pages 1027-1072, July.

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