The labor market in the agro-export model in Argentina: The role of immigration

Abstract

In the second half of the 19th century, Argentina’s economy was fully incorporated to the world market as a supplier of raw materials of agricultural origin achieving high economic growth rates. This expansion was accompanied by an increase in the demand for labor, which was centrally covered through immigration. The aim of this work is to assess the consequences of the migration policy carried out between 1870 and 1930 on the local labor market, particularly on real wages. Based on the characterization of the labor market and the analysis of migrations, it is concluded that migratory flows at the beginning of the twentieth century led to an excess labor supply that lowered real wages, thus worsening in the income distribution.