Export Pioneers in Latin America

by Sabel, Charles; Fernandez-Arias, Eduardo; Hausmann, Ricardo; Rodriguez-Clare, Andres; Stein, Ernesto

• ISBN13: 9781597821414
• ISBN10: 1597821411
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-06-11
• Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr

Summary

Why do some new export activities succeed while others do not? Why are some not even attempted? In this book, distinguished research teams analyze eleven cases of new export endeavors in six Latin American countries to learn how export pioneers are born and jump-start a virtuous process leading to economic transformation. The case studies range from blueberries in Argentina and fresh cut flowers in Colombia to aircraft in Brazil and software in Uruguay. They put to the test two conjectures: that costly burdens to entrepreneurial self-discovery due to imitation by competitors deter would-be pioneers (the low appropriation hypothesis advanced by Harvard's Hausmann and Rodrik) and that new export activities are a complex enterprise that only reach fruition when the innovative contributions of many actors are somehow provided jointly (the failure of coordination hypothesis). These case studies offer many examples in which cooperation proved absolutely vital to export success, while problems of appropriation appeared less critical. Interestingly, in solving coordination problems, innovators frequently mitigated problems of appropriation. Coordination is difficult, however, and, as the tales of these export pioneers suggest, industrial policy has an important role to play in facilitating it.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Preface	p. ix
Self-Discovery as a Coordination Problem	p. 1
The Emergence of Blueberry Exports in Argentina	p. 47
The Emergence of Fresh Cut-Flower Exports in Colombia	p. 69
The Rise and Fall of Furniture Exports in São Bento do Sul, Brazil	p. 101
The Emergence and Consolidation of the Chilean Wine Industry	p. 119
Market Failures and Free Trade: Hass Avocados in Mexico	p. 147
Soybeans in the Savannahs of Brazil	p. 177
Pork in Brazil	p. 195
The Aircraft Industry in Brazil (Embraer)	p. 217
Software Discovery in Uruguay: Public-Private Solutions to Coordination Failures	p. 239
Animal Vaccines in Uruguay: A Truncated Discovery Process	p. 271
TV Formats in Argentina	p. 295
Contributors	p. 313
Boxes
Operation of a JLSV (Local Plant Health Board)	p. 166
Figures
Hectares of Blueberries Planted, Argentina, 1996-2006	p. 52
Blueberry Exports and FOB Prices, Argentina, 1993-2008	p. 58
Raspberry Exports, Argentina, 1993-2008	p. 63
Flower Exports, Colombia, 1962-2009	p. 70
Ecuadorian Flower Exports, 1963-2008	p. 96
The Diffusion Process of Exporting in the São Bento do Sul Furniture Cluster	p. 111
Evolution of the Exchange Rate, December 2004-June 2010	p. 113
Wine Exports in Chile, 1990-2009	p. 137
Volume of Wine Exports by Major Category, Chile, 1990-2009	p. 137
Prices for Chilean Wines in 2005 U.S. Dollars, 1990-2005	p. 138
Chilean and Argentine Wine Exports, 1990-2009	p. 140
Wine Prices, Chile and Argentina, 1990-2009	p. 140
Value Added at Each Stage of Production and Export of Mexican Avocados	p. 151
Vega's Purépecha Group, 1971-2006	p. 152
Cooperative Socopaum and Its Imitators, 1980-2006	p. 154
Exports of Soybean Products, Brazil, 1989-2009	p. 178
Geographical Distribution of Soybean Production in Brazil, 1960-2006	p. 180
Evolution of Soybean Production in Brazil by State of the Federation	p. 184
Uruguay's Software Exports and Total Exports, 1998-2008	p. 240
The GeneXus Community	p. 245
Enrollment and Graduation of Students in Informatics Studies, 2001-07	p. 257
Uruguay's Animal Vaccine Exports, 1981-2009	p. 273
Uruguay's Animal Vaccine Exports by Firm, 1981-2009	p. 274
Cable TV Viewers in Latin America, 2001	p. 297
Exports of Personal, Cultural, and Recreational Services, Argentina, 1992-2007	p. 299
The Value Chain of Television Programs, Argentina	p. 300
Tables
Initial Off-Season FOB Prices for Blueberries	p. 51
Blueberry Production by Firm, Argentina, 1998-2005	p. 57
Flower Exports by Destination	p. 72
The Performance of the Brazilian Furniture Industry, 2000-08	p. 102
Adopters of Pine Wood Furniture Exporting in the 1980s, in the São Bento do Sul Cluster	p. 108
Adopters of Pine Wood Furniture Exporting in the Early 1990s, in the São Bento do Sul Cluster	p. 108
Revamping of Manufacturing Facilities, 1996-97	p. 109
Late Adopters of Pine Wood Furniture Exporting, in the São Bento do Sul Cluster	p. 110
Strategies and Actions Adopted by São Bento do Sul Furniture Manufacturers to Face the 2006-10 Crisis	p. 115
Chile's Main Export Products, 1990-2007	p. 122
Sector-Specific Public and Semi-Public Goods Provided by Government or Business Associations	p. 134
Output and Productivity in Pork Production, Brazil, 1990, 2000, and 2005	p. 196
SADIA: Sales of Pork in Domestic and Foreign Markets and Total, 2001-05	p. 199
Changes in SADIA's Pork Productivity, 1975 and 2005	p. 201
Average Unit Values of Pork Meat Exports, 1996-2006 (November)	p. 208
SADIA's Share of Exports, HS Class 0203-29, 1990-2003 (First Half)	p. 209
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