Was it Uruguay or Coffee? The causes of the beef jerky industry’s decline in southern Brazil (1850 – 1889)

Zamberlan Pereira, Thales (2016) Was it Uruguay or Coffee? The causes of the beef jerky industry’s decline in southern Brazil (1850 – 1889). Nova Economia, 26 (1). ISSN 1980-5381

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What caused the decline of the beef jerky’s production in Brazil? The main sustenance for slaves, beef jerky was the most important industry in southern Brazil. Nevertheless, by 1850, producers were already worried that they could not compete with Uruguayan industry. Traditional interpretations impute the decline to labor markets differences in productivity, since Brazil used slaves while Uruguay had abolished slavery in 1842. Recent research also raises the possibility of a Brazilian “Dutch Disease”, resulting from the coffee exports boom. We test both hypothesis and argue that Brazilian production’s decline was associated with structural changes in demand for low quality meat. Trade protection policies created disincentives for Brazilian producers to increase productivity and diversify its cattle industry.

Item Type	Article
Keywords	beef jerky, Brazil, development, regional development
Subjects	History Human Rights & Development Studies Politics ?? LAS ??
Divisions	Institute of Latin American Studies
Date Deposited	03 Feb 2017 15:00
Last Modified	06 Aug 2024 05:13