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April 29, 1986, Las Vertientes, near Santiago, Chile
Top Questions
Who was RaĂșl Prebisch?
RaĂșl Prebisch was an Argentine economist and statesman who became a leading figure in Latin American structuralism. He served in Argentine government, academia, and banking before taking prominent roles in international organizations, including the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Prebisch advised developing countries to build up domestic manufacturing so they would rely less on imports and industrialized nations. He also supported Latin American economic integration and land reform to reduce income inequality and strengthen domestic markets.
What was RaĂșl Prebischâs core-periphery model?
RaĂșl Prebischâs core-periphery model described the global economy as one connected system divided into âcoreâ and âperipheryâ countries. The core consisted of industrialized economies, while the periphery was made up largely of countries dependent on agriculture and resource extraction. He argued that agricultural and mineral commodity prices tended to fall over time compared with prices for manufactured goods. Therefore, he believed developing countries should promote local manufacturing instead of mainly exporting raw materials.
What role did RaĂșl Prebisch have at ECLAC?
RaĂșl Prebisch prepared ECLACâs first economic survey of Latin America in 1949. This report, titled The Economic Development of Latin America and Its Principal Problems, became known as the âECLAC Manifestoâ and helped establish ideas linked to Latin American structuralism. He then served as ECLACâs executive secretary from 1950 to 1963. During that time, ECLAC became an important center for economic research and development policy in Latin America.
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RaĂșl Prebisch, a leading figure in Latin American structuralism and development economics in the 20th century.
RaĂșl Prebisch was an Argentine economist and statesman and a leading figure in Latin American structuralism. He served in various positions in Argentine government and academia and advised developing countries to stimulate domestic manufacturing to reduce their reliance on imports and thus their dependence on industrialized nations. He also advocated the economic integration of Latin America to achieve economies of scale and land reform to reduce the income inequalities that impeded the growth of the domestic market.
Early life and career in Argentina
Prebisch was born on April 17, 1901, in San Miguel de TucumĂĄn, Argentina. He moved to Buenos Aires in 1918 to study economics at the University of Buenos Aires and began teaching political economy there in 1923. He remained a professor until 1948 while also building a career in the Argentine government and banking system. During the 1920s and 1930s, he held positions in Argentinaâs Department of Statistics, Banco de la NaciĂłn, and Ministry of Finance.
Although his early economic training emphasized free trade and the gold standard, his experience during the Great Depression changed his thinking. He came to support a stronger role for government in promoting economic development. In 1935 Prebisch helped establish the Central Bank of Argentina and became one of its first leaders. His work in government also gave him experience with efforts to promote greater economic integration among Latin American countries.
ECLAC and structuralism
After leaving the Central Bank of Argentina, Prebisch worked as an economic adviser in several Latin American countries. In 1949 the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) hired him to prepare its first economic survey of Latin America. His report, The Economic Development of Latin America and Its Principal Problems, became known as the âECLAC Manifestoâ and helped establish the ideas that became associated with Latin American structuralism.
Prebisch argued that the global economy must be understood as a single, integrated system, with wealthier and poorer countries viewed in relation to one another. He divided countries into two categories, âcoreâ and âperiphery,â with the core consisting of industrialized economies and the periphery consisting largely of economies dominated by agriculture and resource extraction. He also argued that prices for agricultural and mineral commodities tended to decline over time relative to the prices of manufactured goods, concluding that developing countries should actively promote local manufacturing rather than remain primarily exporters of raw materials. This point of view became closely associated with import substitution industrialization (ISI).
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Economist Dr. RaĂșl Prebisch at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), April 28, 1966.
Prebisch served as executive secretary of ECLAC from 1950 to 1963. During his tenure, ECLAC became an important center for economic research and development policy in Latin America. His work also helped lay the groundwork for dependency theory, which examined how poorer countriesâ economic dependence on wealthier countries could limit their development.
UNCTAD and later work
In 1964 Prebisch became the first secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), bringing his ideas about unequal trade relationships to a broader international stage. During his five years at UNCTAD, he advocated changes in international trade and development policy intended to give developing countries a larger role in the global economy.
Prebisch remained involved in economic research and development policy after leaving UNCTAD in 1969 and returned to Argentina in 1984 to advise its newly restored democratic government. He died in Santiago, Chile, on April 29, 1986, at age 85.
