Reliability in the Geographical Distribution of Argentine Exports, 1875-1913

Abstract

Latin American exports during First Globalisation have long been a central topic in the literature of the region. In recent years, debates have focused the statistical accuracy of Latin American trade data in order to know better exports growth, their composition and geographical distribution. In this paper, we propose to compare a new data set –corrected by Buenos Aires’ values and assigned with exports "for orders"– with main trade partners’ data between 1875 and 1913. Thus, we collate the accuracy of our corrected series compared to the official figures, which has been broadly used by historiography regardless its lack of accuracy.