Abstract
The Belle-Époque (1870–1914) was a period of great prosperity for those economies which incorporated steam technology into their national economies. The main way in which steam enhanced progress at that time was through the railways, which allowed the consolidation of an export-led economic growth model.
In this period, Colombia missed a golden opportunity for its economic take-off. Unlike Argentina, Colombia’s real GDP per capita remained stagnant throughout the late nineteenth century. The former country was able to build an extensive railway network, while the latter increased its kilometres of railways very slowly, which determined its poor export growth. Colombia’s incapability to build railways was due to the fact that it could not attract foreign investors, as the government’s lack of commitment in honouring the external debt.
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Notes
- 1.
Poor’s Manual of Railways.
- 2.
Poor’s Manual of Railways.
- 3.
Poor’s Manual of Railways.
- 4.
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce (1924). The Trade Information Bulletin No. 223. Department of Commerce of the United States.
- 5.
The number comes from the reports of Colombian Railways Company. Compañia Nacional del Ferrocarril del Norte (1875). Informes sobre el Ferrocarril del Norte. Ministerio de Hacienda y Crédito Público.
- 6.
Memoria del Secretario de Hacienda 1875 Nicolas Esguerra (Pages XLVII).
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Luzardo-Luna, I. (2019). The Price of the Regeneration: How Colombia Missed the Belle-Époque, 1870–1914. In: Colombia’s Slow Economic Growth. Palgrave Studies in Economic History. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25755-2_2
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