Competitiveness and State in the Argentine automobile industry from the analysis of tariff protection (1965-1983)

Abstract

We analyze the effective tariff protection for auto parts and automotive sectors in the large stage of industry consolidation and subsequent crisis (1965-1983). Our original idea was to study the form of state intervention to sustain the capital accumulation. The research itself opened additional lines of study: The economic relationship between auto parts and international assembly firms, or conditions that allowed local production of components or encourage the importation there of. With this approach, we analyze one aspect of state intervention in industry and provide elements to evaluate the performance of the automotive industry in terms of competitiveness and relationships within the value chain.