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Capital Formation in Machinery in Latin America, 1890-1930

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 2009

Xavier Tafunell
Xavier Tafunell*
Affiliation:
Associate Professor, Department of Economic and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Ramon Trias Fargas, 25-27, 08005 Barcelona, Spain. E-mail: xavier.tafunell@upf.edu.
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Abstract

Investment in machinery is a key component in the analysis of long-term economic growth during the spread of industrialization. This article offers consistent annual series on the magnitude of machinery imports per capita into all Latin American countries for the period 1890-1930. Analysis of these series shows that machinery imports diverged across countries from 1890 through 1913. After 1913 a number of the more backward countries experienced rapid growth in machinery imports. These large differences in machinery investment contributed to unequal development across the Latin American countries.

Type
ARTICLES
Information
The Journal of Economic History , Volume 69 , Issue 4 , December 2009 , pp. 928 - 950
Copyright
Copyright © The Economic History Association 2009

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