External dependence of Colombia as a resource-rich economy, an analysis from 2000 to 2021

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18041/1900-0642/criteriolibre.2025v23n42.11835

Keywords:

Investment in machinery and equipment, technological dependence, imports, capital goods

Abstract

This article presents evidence of the external constraints faced by Colombia as a developing economy, focusing on the behavior of investment, net exports, and the exchange rate from 2000-2021. Stylized facts of the Colombian economy and economic theory are used to present an outlook of its external dependence.  The analysis reveals that the export of primary goods is significantly influenced by international prices, while increases in investment raise imports and expert pressure on the exchange rate. These findings enhance our understanding of Colombia's foreign exchange constraints and its technological reliance in the twenty-first century.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Barro, R. J. (1996). Determinants of Economic Growth: A Cross-Country Empirical Study (Working Paper 5698; Working Paper Series). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w5698

Bielschowsky, R. (2009). Sesenta años de la CEPAL: estructuralismo y neoestructuralismo [Sixty years of ECLAC: Structuralism and neo-structuralism]. Revista CEPAL. https://repositorio.cepal.org/bitstream/handle/11362/11278/097173194_es.pdf

Blomström, M., Kokko, A., & Sjöholm, F. (2002). Growth & Innovation Policies for a knowledge Economy. Experiences From Finland, Sweden & Singapore. EIJS Working Paper Series, Article 156. https://ideas.repec.org//p/hhs/eijswp/0156.html

Bradford de Long, J., & Summers, L. H. (1991). Equipment Investment and Economic Growth. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 106(2), 445–502. https://doi.org/10.2307/2937944

Bradford de Long, J., & Summers, L. H. (1992). Equipment Investment and Economic Growth: How Strong is the Nexus? Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 1992(2), 157–211. https://doi.org/10.2307/2534583

Brahmbhatt, M., Canuto, O., & Vostroknutova, E. (2010). Dealing with Dutch Disease. https://hdl.handle.net/10986/10174

Cárdenas, M. (2005). Crecimiento económico en Colombia: 1970–2005 [Economic growth in Colombia: 1970–2005]. Coyuntura Económica, 35 años, 49–59.

Chang, H.-J. (2007). State-Owned Enterprise Reform [Policy Notes]. United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs. https://econpapers.repec.org/paper/unepnotes/4.htm

Chang, H.-J. (2010). 23 Things They Don’t Tell You about Capitalism (First published). Penguin.

Decreto 444 de 1967. (1967). Por el cual se dictan normas sobre el régimen de cambios internacionales [Decree 444 of 1967]. Diario Oficial No. 32.143. https://www.suin-juriscol.gov.co/viewDocument.asp?id=1098286

Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística [DANE]. (2024). Cuentas nacionales [National accounts]. https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-por-tema/cuentas-nacionales

Documento CONPES 2494 (Decisiones sobre el programa de apertura económica). (1990). Departamento Nacional de Planeación. Gobierno de Colombia. Retrieved from https://colaboracion.dnp.gov.co/CDT/Conpes/Econ%C3%B3micos/2549.pdf

Domar, E. D. (1946). Capital Expansion, Rate of Growth, and Employment. Econometrica, 14(2), 137–147. https://doi.org/10.2307/1905364

Fagerberg, J. (1994). Technology and International Differences in Growth Rates. Journal of Economic Literature, 32(3), 1147–1175.

Fantom, N. (2016). The World Bank’s Classification of Countries by Income. World Bank. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/408581467988942234/pdf/WPS7528.pdf

Feenstra, R. C., Inklaar, R., & Timmer, M. P. (2015). The Next Generation of the Penn World Table. American Economic Review, 105(10), 3150–3182. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20130954

Garay, L. J., Quintero, L. F., Villamil, J. A., Fatat, A., Gómez, S., Restrepo, E., & Yemail, B. (1998). Colombia: Estructura industrial e internacionalización 1967–1996 [Colombia: Industrial structure and internationalization 1967–1996] (Vol. 29). Departamento Nacional de Planeación.

García-García, J., López-Valenzuela, D. C., & Montes-Uribe, E. (2020). Porqué Colombia no exporta más [Why Colombia does not export more] (Borradores de Economía No. 1139). Banco de la República de Colombia. https://doi.org/10.32468/be.1139

González, J. (2016). Contabilidad asimétrica de las reservas [Asymmetric accounting of reserves]. Innovar, 28(68), 85–100. https://doi.org/10.15446/innovar.v28n68.70468

GRECO (Grupo de Estudios del Crecimiento Económico Colombiano). (2004). El crecimiento económico colombiano en el siglo XX: aspectos globales [Economic growth in Colombia during the twentieth century: global aspects] (Borradores de Economía No. 134). Banco de la República de Colombia. https://www.banrep.gov.co/docum/ftp/borra134.pdf fce.unal.edu.co+7

Guerrón-Quintana, P. A. (2013). Common and idiosyncratic disturbances in developed small open economies. Journal of International Economics, 90(1), 33–49.

Harrod, R. F. (1939). An Essay in Dynamic Theory. The Economic Journal, 49(193), 14–33. https://doi.org/10.2307/2225181

Kagami, M. (1995). The role of industrial policy: Japan’s experience. Brazilian Journal of Political Economy, 15, 121–136. https://doi.org/10.1590/0101-31571994-0670

Kaldor, N. (1957). A Model of Economic Growth. The Economic Journal, 67(268), 591–624. https://doi.org/10.2307/2227704

Kaldor, N. (1961). Capital Accumulation and Economic Growth. In F. A. Lutz & D. C. Hague (Eds.), The Theory of Capital: Proceedings of a Conference held by the International Economic Association (pp. 177–222). Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-08452-4_10

Lall, S., & Teubal, M. (1998). “Market-stimulating” technology policies in developing countries: A framework with examples from East Asia. World Development, 26(8), 1369–1385. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305-750X(98)00071-0

Mahalanobis, P. C. (1953). Some Observations on the Process of Growth of National Income. Sankhyā: The Indian Journal of Statistics (1933-1960), 12(4), 307–312.

Martínez Ortíz, A., & Ocampo, J. A. (2011). Hacía una política industrial de nueva generación para Colombia. FEDEPALMA.

Ocampo, J. A. (2014). Latin American structuralism and production development strategies. In J. M. Salazar-Xirinachs, I. Nübler, & R. Kozul-Wright (Eds.), Transforming economies. Making industrial policy work for growth, jobs and development (pp. 41–63). UNCTAD. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Latin-American-structuralism-and-production-Ocampo/446e4dd9d30da527cb44bed4d53084e3e2d2832a

Ortiz, C. H., Uribe, J. I., & Vivas, H. (2009). Transformación industrial, autonomía tecnológica y crecimiento económico: Colombia, 1925–2005 [Industrial transformation, technological autonomy, and economic growth: Colombia, 1925–2005] (Archivos de Economía No. 5283). Departamento Nacional de Planeación. https://colaboracion.dnp.gov.co/CDT/Estudios%20Econmicos/352.pdf

Ortiz Quevedo, C. H., & Vásquez Castro, L. M. (2007). Aprendizaje manufacturero, dependencia tecnológica y crecimiento económico: El caso colombiano [Manufacturing learning, technological dependence, and economic growth: The Colombian case]. Sociedad y Economía, 12, Article 12.

Palma, J. G. (2019). Desindustrialización, desindustrialización “prematura” y “síndrome holandés” [Deindustrialization, “premature” deindustrialization, and the “Dutch disease”]. El Trimestre Económico, 86(344), Article 344. https://doi.org/10.20430/ete.v86i344.970

Poveda Ramos, G. (1997). Hacia una nueva industrialización [Toward a new industrialization]. Revista Institucional UPB. Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana. https://repositorio.accefyn.org.co/handle/001/1329

Prebisch, R. (1973). Problemas teóricos y prácticos del crecimiento económico [Theoretical and practical problems of economic growth]. Santiago de Chile: United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC/CEPAL).

Prebisch, R. (1988). Dependence, interdependence and development. Cepal Review, (36), 205–212.

Riveros, L. (1984). Structural elements of the industrial recession in Colombia. Cuadernos de Economía, 6(6), Article 6.

Smith, A. (2002). An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. In N. Woolsey Biggart (Ed.), Readings in Economic Sociology (pp. 6–17). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Smith, K. H. (2007). Innovation and growth in resource-based economies. Competing from Australia, 58. https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/journal_contribution/Innovation_and_growth_in_resource-based_economies/23202140/1

The Conference Board. (2023). Total Economy Database—Key Findings |. https://www.conference-board.org/data/economydatabase

Thirlwall, A. P. (1979). The Balance of Payments Constraint as an Explanation of International Growth Rate Differences. BNL Quarterly Review, 32(128), 45–53.

Thirlwall, A. P. (2012). Balance of Payments Constrained Growth Models: History and Overview. In E. Soukiazis & P. A. Cerqueira (Eds.), Models of Balance of Payments Constrained Growth: History, Theory and Empirical Evidence (pp. 11–49). Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137023957_2

Published

2025-09-02

Issue

Section

Artículos

Similar Articles

161-170 of 346

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.