Desindustrialização prematura na América Latina

Abstract

The industry has always played a prominent role in the economic development debate of Latin American countries. However, since the 1980s, the industry has been demonstrating signs that it may be losing space as inducer of this process, indicating a possible movement in the opposite direction. This research verifies the hypothesis of premature deindustrialization in Latin America, considering as a starting point the Coutts & Rowthorn article, which analyzed the same phenomenon in developed countries. This study begins by reviewing the economic literature on the subject, pointing out the major discussions on the theme, along with theoretical aspects related to this topic. An econometric model using panel data of 8 selected Latin American countries was considered, covering the period between 1986 and 2005, to verify the possible existence of this phenomenon. If it is confirmed, we will analyze their causes and conditions. To do so, in the model we will test variables different from those used in the reference work, to capture the peculiarities of the studied region, without losing the robustness and explanatory power of the original study. With this analysis, we intend to contribute in identifying alternatives to overcome the obstacles that still disrupts the Latin American countries from moving forward on the economic development path