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Contract enforcement, capital accumulation, and Argentina's long-run decline

Author

Listed:
  • Leandro Prados de la Escosura

    (Historia Economica e Instituciones and Instituto Figuerola, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Calle Madrid, 126, Getafe, 28903 Madrid, Spain.)

  • Isabel Sanz-Villarroya

    (Estructura Economica, Economia Publica e Historia Economica,Universidad de Zaragoza, Gran Via 2, Zaragoza, Spain.)

Abstract

Argentina has slipped from being among the ten world’s richest countries by the eve of World War I to its current position close to mid-range developing countries. Why did Argentina fall behind? We employ a structural model to investigate the extent to which the enforceability of contracts and the security of property rights, as measured by Clague et al.’s “contract intensive money” (CIM), conditioned broad capital accumulation and, subsequently, economic performance in Argentina. Our results suggest that poor contract enforcement played a significant role at the origins of Argentina’s unique experience of long-run decline.

Suggested Citation

  • Leandro Prados de la Escosura & Isabel Sanz-Villarroya, 2009. "Contract enforcement, capital accumulation, and Argentina's long-run decline," Cliometrica, Journal of Historical Economics and Econometric History, Association Française de Cliométrie (AFC), vol. 3(1), pages 1-26, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:afc:cliome:v:3:y:2009:i:1:p:1-26
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Nauro F. Campos & Menelaos G. Karanasos & Bin Tan, 2016. "From Riches to Rags, and Back? Institutional Change, Financial Development and Economic Growth in Argentina since 1890," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(2), pages 206-223, February.
    2. Nauro F. Campos & Menelaos G. Karanasos & Michail Karoglou & Panagiotis Koutroumpis & Constantin Zopounidis & Apostolos Christopoulos, 2022. "Apocalypse now, apocalypse when? Economic growth and structural breaks in Argentina (1886–2003)," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(1), pages 3-32, January.
    3. Aboal, Diego & Noya, Nelson & Rius, Andrés, 2014. "Contract Enforcement and Investment: A Systematic Review of the Evidence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 322-338.
    4. Campos, Nauro F. & Karanasos, Menelaos G. & Tan, Bin, 2012. "Two to tangle: Financial development, political instability and economic growth in Argentina," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 290-304.
    5. Jorge Niosi, 2014. "The construction of national systems of innovation: a comparative analysis of Argentina and Canada," Chapters, in: Gabriela Dutrénit & Judith Sutz (ed.), National Innovation Systems, Social Inclusion and Development, chapter 12, pages 349-379, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Gerard Russo & Jaclyn R.K. Lindo & Sang-Hyop Lee & Rui Wang & Thamana Lekprichakul & Abdul Jabbar, 2012. "The Impact of State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Expansion on Health Insurance Coverage in Hawaii," Working Papers 201208, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.
    7. Prados de la Escosura, Leandro & Rosés, Joan R. & ,, 2010. "Stabilization and Growth under Dictatorship: The Experience of Franco's Spain," CEPR Discussion Papers 7731, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    8. Rok Spruk, 2019. "The rise and fall of Argentina," Latin American Economic Review, Springer;Centro de Investigaciòn y Docencia Económica (CIDE), vol. 28(1), pages 1-40, December.
    9. Muro, Sergio & Chehtman, Alejandro, 2020. "Law or strategic calculus? Abstention in the Argentine Supreme Court," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    10. David Greasley & Les Oxley, 2010. "Cliometrics And Time Series Econometrics: Some Theory And Applications," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(5), pages 970-1042, December.
    11. González, Germán & Viego, Valentina, 2009. "Argentina-Canada from 1870: Explaining the dynamics of divergence," MPRA Paper 18394, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Mariia Blikhar & Mariana Golynska & Bogdana Shandra & Oksana Matviienko & Viktoriia Svyshcho, 2021. "Rule of Low as Factor of Investments in Ukraine," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(1), pages 199-210.
    13. Maximiliano Marzetti & Rok Spruk, 2023. "Long-Term Economic Effects of Populist Legal Reforms: Evidence from Argentina," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 65(1), pages 60-95, March.
    14. Ryan A. Compton & Daniel C. Giedeman & Noel D. Johnson, 2010. "Investing In Institutions," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(3), pages 419-445, November.
    15. Alfredo M. Leone & Jorge I. Canales Kriljenko & Rodolfo Maino, 2023. "The Long and Widening Gap: Analyzing Structural Breaks in Argentina’s Economic Decline," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 29(4), pages 243-259, November.
    16. Campos, Luciano & Casas, Agustín, 2020. "Populism and income redistribution," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    17. Henry Willebald, 2014. "Land-abundance, frontier expansion and the hypothesis of appropriability revisited from an historical perspective: settler economies during the First Globalization," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 14-14, Instituto de Economía - IECON.
    18. Raquel Fernández González & María Elena Arce Fariña & María Dolores Garza Gil, 2019. "Resolving Conflict between Parties and Consequences for Foreign Direct Investment: The Repsol-YPF Case in Argentina," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-16, October.
    19. Sebastián Fleitas & Andrés Rius & Carolina Román & Henry Willebald, 2013. "Contract enforcement, investment and growth in Uruguay since 1870," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 13-01, Instituto de Economía - IECON.
    20. Emilio Ocampo, 2015. "Commodity Price Booms and Populist Cycles. An Explanation of Argentina’s Decline in the 20th Century," CEMA Working Papers: Serie Documentos de Trabajo. 562, Universidad del CEMA.
    21. Alan Dye & Sumner La Croix, 2012. "The Political Economy of Land Privatization in Argentina and Australia, 1810-1850," Working Papers 201207, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Contract intensive money; Economic decline; Argentina;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • N16 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Latin America; Caribbean
    • N26 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - Latin America; Caribbean
    • N46 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Latin America; Caribbean
    • O43 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Institutions and Growth

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