- 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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