Santiago del Estero's Economy throughout Kirchnerism

Abstract

Despite the existing assessment of the “Kirchnerista” period (2002-2015) at the national level, subnational studies have become a pending item within academia. This article aims to characterize and analyze the economy in the province of Santiago del Estero during the “Kirchnerista” period. To achieve this, secondary information from a variety of sources has been collected, processed, and analyzed utilizing quantitative methodology. On the one hand some virtuous elements similar to those observed for the rest of the country have been found, including strong product growth, and the reduction of both unemployment and extreme poverty to levels below two digits. On the other hand, the structural foundations of poverty and unregistered employment have been found to be unchanged. In addition, it was observed that the agricultural frontier has displayed a phenomenal advance with limited virtuous economic consequences, and industry has displayed advances yet with a profile conditioned by comparative static advantages. As such, the economy in Santiago del Estero does not change its historical place within the periphery of capitalism during the reviewed time period, and further maintains a dependent and imbalanced productive structure.