Abstract

PACHECO FLOREZ, Melisa  and  SALDARRIAGA ISAZA, Adrián. Non-Renewable Resources, Diversification and Economic Activity in the Departments of Colombia. Ens. Econ. [online]. 2019, vol.29, n.54, pp.29-52. ISSN 0121-117X.  https://doi.org/10.15446/ede.v29n54.79184.

In this paper we discuss whether economic diversification is desirable for the economic performance of Colombian departments for the period 1985-2013. Economic theory is ambiguous regarding the causality between these variables. In order to shed some light on this causality, we analyze the available data under two different theories: structuralism and the neoclassical approach. The evidence shows that a high concentration in the extraction of minerals and hydrocarbons is positively related to the growth rate of GDP per capita, what coincides with a reduction in other productive and extractive activities. Due to the high correlation between both variables, any econometric analysis shows significant results, no matter the theoretical framework used in the analysis. We briefly discuss the implications of these results for economic policy, and a future research agenda.

JEL: O13; O54; Q32; Q38.

Keywords : nonrenewable resources; economic growth; diversification.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )