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New Structuralism and the balance-ofpayments constraint

Author

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  • Gabriel Porcile

    (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Santiago, Chile and Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR), Curitiba, Brazil)

  • Giuliano Toshiro Yajima

    (University of Rome, 'La Sapienza,' Italy)

Abstract

Structuralists and Post-Keynesians share the perspective that in the long run economic growth is shaped by the income elasticity of exports and imports, and that such elasticities are a positive function of the degree of diversification and technological intensity of the pattern of specialization. Since the mid 1970s, New Structuralists began to stress the role of two sets of variables in driving the pattern of specialization: a stable and competitive real exchange rate, and the relative intensity of innovation and diffusion of technology in the center and periphery. In this paper we modify the balance-of-payments-constrained growth model to include these two sets of variables. The model provides a mechanism that ensures the validity of the original Thirlwall perspective, namely that adjustment to the balance-of-payments-constrained equilibrium takes place through changes in the rate of growth of aggregate demand rather than through changes in relative prices. In addition, it shows that a macroeconomic policy aimed at sustaining a competitive real exchange rate is a necessary complement to an active industrial policy for fostering international convergence.

Suggested Citation

  • Gabriel Porcile & Giuliano Toshiro Yajima, 2019. "New Structuralism and the balance-ofpayments constraint," Review of Keynesian Economics, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 7(4), pages 517-536, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:elg:rokejn:v:7:y:2019:i:4:p517-536
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    2. Sasaki, Hiroaki & Sonoda, Ryunosuke, 2022. "International competition, income distribution, and North-South uneven development under the balance of payments constraint," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 9-23.
    3. Danilo Spinola, 2021. "The La Marca model revisited: Structuralist goodwin cycles with evolutionary supply side and balance of payments constraints," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(1), pages 189-212, February.
    4. Luìs, Galindo & Giulio, Guarini & Gabriel, Porcile, 2020. "Environmental innovations, income distribution, international competitiveness and environmental policies: a Kaleckian growth model with a balance of payments constraint," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 16-25.
    5. Spinola, Danilo, 2020. "Uneven development and the balance of payments constrained model: Terms of trade, economic cycles, and productivity catching-up," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 220-232.
    6. Robert A. Blecker, 2022. "New advances and controversies in the framework of balance‐of‐payments‐constrained growth," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(2), pages 429-467, April.
    7. Hiroaki Sasaki, 2021. "Thirlwall’s law, uneven development, and income distribution," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(3), pages 592-611, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    balance-of-payments-constrained growth models; technological innovation; structural change;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F43 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - Economic Growth of Open Economies
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General
    • O41 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - One, Two, and Multisector Growth Models

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