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Migration and Trade during the Belle Époque in Argentina (1870-1913)

Author

Listed:
  • Giuseppe De Arcangelis

    (Department of Social Sciences and Economics, Sapienza University of Rome)

  • Rama Dasi Mariani

    (CEIS, University of Rome Tor Vergata; Department of Social Sciences and Economics, Sapienza University of Rome)

  • Federico Nastasi

    (Department of Social Sciences and Economics, Sapienza University of Rom)

Abstract

Between 1870 to 1914 the Argentine economy performed spectacularly with a yearly average real growth rate of 5.94 per cent. Increased resource endowment in both land and labor, via migration, and openness to trade have been considered the two main drivers of this success. In this paper we underline the central role of Argentine immigration in contributing not only to increase resource endowments, but also to lower trade costs boosting exports and imports. By considering Argentine bilateral trade and migration from eight European countries (Austro-Hungarian Empire, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and United Kingdom) we use a migration-augmented gravity model to estimate the contribution of the massive inflows of Europeans. In particular, we find that the main pro-trade effect was on imports: an increase of 10 per cent of migrants from one country could increase imports up to 8 per cent from the same trade partner. To overcome the typical endogeneity problem our study proposes migration to the US from the same countries as a instruments that could capture the same push (but not Argentine pull) factors triggering European out-migration.

Suggested Citation

  • Giuseppe De Arcangelis & Rama Dasi Mariani & Federico Nastasi, 2020. "Migration and Trade during the Belle Époque in Argentina (1870-1913)," Working Papers 11/20, Sapienza University of Rome, DISS.
    • Handle: RePEc:saq:wpaper:11/20
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gravity Model; Migration and Imports; China-shock based Instrumental Variable;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • N76 - Economic History - - Economic History: Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, and Other Services - - - Latin America; Caribbean

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