The 1984 Input-Output Matrix of the Argentine Republic: digitization and historical context

Abstract

During the second half of the 1980s, a group of economists working in the Planning Secretariat of the Ministry of Economy set out to develop an updated input-output matrix based on the 1973 National Economic Census. This article reconstructs this process, which resulted in the Input-Product Matrix Argentina 1984 (MIPar 1984). Its most remarkable feature is the application of a novel methodological strategy: The Emblocking algorithm by Edgardo Lifschitz. To better contextualize the experience of the MIPar 1984, a historical review of the record of input-output analysis in our country is carried out. In addition, the effective and potential uses of the MIPar 1984 and the emblocking algorithm are explored. Finally, a digitization of the latest version of the matrix, which could be identified in the catalogs of the documentation and information center of the National Ministry of Economy, is presented.