Abstract

DIEZ, José Ignacio. Economic development in Bahia Blanca: an analysis from the local productive systems approach. Rev. Univ. geogr. [online]. 2008, vol.17, n.1, pp. 125-163. ISSN 1852-4265.

This article analyses the structural conditions limiting the possibilities of development in Bahia Blanca through the perspective of local productive systems. This paper shows an interpretation of why this territory cannot currently produce the main conditions needed to perform an economic take off. The article is organized in three parts. At first, there is a brief reference of the main theoretical aspects used in the research. Second, the performance of firms is analysed, with special emphasis on small and medium size enterprises. Third, the dynamics of the institutional atmosphere is studied, taking different aspects into consideration. Finally, the article shows the economic performance of Bahia Blanca is conditioned by the absence of institutional thickness and by the presence of a dual industrial structure in the territory.

Keywords : Economic Development; Local Productive Systems; Institutional Atmosphere; Small and Medium Size Enterprises.