Alfonso Herranz-Loncán () (Departament d’Història i Institucions Econòmiques, Universitat de Barcelona)
Abstract
This paper presents preliminary estimates of the contribution of the railway technology to GDP growth in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico before 1914, and compares them with the available figures for two European economies (Britain and Spain). The results of the estimation indicate that the growth contribution of railways was substantially higher in those three Latin American economies than in Britain or Spain, although in Argentina and Mexico that high contribution was disguised behind the fast growth of the aggregate economy. This result is interpreted as a sign of the central role that the railways performed in the export-led growth episode of those three economies.
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Find related papers by JEL classification: N76 - Economic History - - Economic History: Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, and Other Services - - - Latin America; Caribbean H54 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Infrastructures L92 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Railroads and Other Surface Transportation
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