Raúl Prebisch and the beginnings of the Latin American school of economics: a rhetorical perspective

• DOI: 10.1080/13501789900000026
• Publication Date: 2007-07-07T13:20:16Z
• Authors: Ana Maria Bianchi; Cleofas Salviano
• Keywords: Argumentative; Industrialisation

Fifty years ago, the Argentinean economist Raúl Prebisch published a paper called Estúdio Económico de América Latina. The was one of first texts that set up what later termed ‘Prebisch-Singer thesis’ or, more widely, Latin American School Economics. According to this document, countries should undergo an industrialization program under direct supervision national state. rationale for thesis deterioration terms trade exporting primary commodities and importing manufactured goods. focus here is on argumentative structure which targets two different audiences, lay specialized one. Relying center-periphery metaphor, stresses shortcomings conventional economic theory when applied distinct historical circumstances, i.e., peculiar conditions experienced by peripheral countries. A rhetorical approach also shows it represents deliberate effort assemble large volume empirical data about America its foreign trade. This not widespread procedure at time. As usually case in well-built discourses, both inclusion omission certain sets look strategically contrived.