Paper #1061

Title:

Modern energy consumption and economic modernisation in Latin America and the Caribbean between 1890 and 1925

Authors:

M. del Mar Rubio Varas, César Yáñez, Mauricio Folchi and Albert Carreras

Date:

November 2007

Abstract:

In the absence of comparable macroeconomic indicators for most of the Latin American economies before the 1930s, the apparent consumption of energy is used in this paper as a proxy of the degree of modernisation of Latin America and the Caribbean. This paper presents an estimate of the apparent consumption per head of modern energies (coal, petroleum and hydroelectricity) for 30 countries of Latin American and the Caribbean for 1890 to 1925, multiplying the number of countries for which energy consumption estimates were previously available. As a result, the paper provides the basis for a quantitative comparative analysis of modernisation performance beyond the few countries for which historical national accounts are available in Latin America.

Keywords:

Energy consumption, economic modernisation, Latin America

JEL codes:

N160, N760, Q430, O130

Area of Research:

Economic and Business History

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