Development Models, Agricultural Policies and Agricultural Growth: Peru, 1950–2010

Abstract

Throughout its history, Peru, as a small open economy, has undergone cycles of crisis and recovery, usually linked to fluctuations in the international market. The Peruvian economy has always been an exporter of primary products and an importer of manufactured goods This paper has a two-fold aim: to identify the salient characteristics of the development models and policies affecting Peruvian agriculture since the mid-twentieth century, and to identify what effect they have had on agricultural production and productivity based on an estimation of total-factor productivity (TFP) for the 1950-2010 period.Development strategy models have ranged from the diversification of primary exports, to import-substitution industrialisation, and the promotion of non-traditional exports, which is the current model. These strategies have determined the outcome for agriculture.