Staple Products, Linkages, and Development: Evidence from Argentina

59 Pages Posted: 1 Jul 2019 Last revised: 8 Jan 2023

See all articles by Federico Droller

Federico Droller

Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Facultad de Administración y Economía

Martin Fiszbein

Boston University - Department of Economics

Date Written: June 2019

Abstract

We investigate how historical patterns of primary production influenced development across local economies in Argentina. Our identification strategy exploits exogenous variation in the composition of primary production induced by climatic features. We find that locations specializing in ranching had weaker linkages with other activities, higher concentration in land ownership, lower population density, and less immigration than cereal-producing areas. Over time, ranching localities continued to exhibit lower population density and they experienced relatively sluggish industrialization. Ultimately, ranching specialization had large negative effects on long-run levels of income per capita and human capital.

Suggested Citation

Droller, Federico and Fiszbein, Martin, Staple Products, Linkages, and Development: Evidence from Argentina (June 2019). NBER Working Paper No. w25992, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3411384

Federico Droller (Contact Author)

Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Facultad de Administración y Economía ( email )

Avenida Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins nº 3363
Estación central
Santiago, Región Metropolitana 9170022
Chile
227180841 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://sites.google.com/site/fdroller/

Martin Fiszbein

Boston University - Department of Economics ( email )

270 Bay State Road
Boston, MA 02215
United States

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