Contents
Raúl Prebisch
Shaping Latin American development economics and challenging the advantages of commodity-led trade.
Latin American development report · Towards a Dynamic Development Policy
- Born
- 17 April 1901
- Birthplace
- Tucumán, Argentina
- Died
- 29 April 1986
More people
Raúl Prebisch
Raúl Prebisch was an Argentine economist who argued that the world economy treated industrial centres and commodity-exporting countries differently. He led ECLAC and became UNCTAD’s founding secretary-general.
Early life
Tucumán upbringing
Grew up in northern Argentina; his brother Alberto became an architect.
Economic training
Studied economics at the University of Buenos Aires from 1918 to 1922 and later taught there.
Career
- 1935–1943
Central banking
Helped establish Argentina’s central bank and served as its first general manager.
- 1950–1963
ECLAC leadership
Led the UN’s regional economic commission and developed its influential approach to industrialisation.
- 1960s
UNCTAD leadership
Became the trade body’s first secretary-general, advocating better terms for developing economies.
Selected work
Latin American development report
Set out the centre–periphery analysis in a report later published in English in 1950.
Towards a Dynamic Development Policy
Examined the reforms needed to support Latin American growth.
Towards a New Trade Policy for Development
Presented proposals for international trade rules that better served developing countries.
Beyond work
Changing his mind
The Great Depression led him to question the free-trade assumptions he had embraced as a young economist.
Return to public service
Advised Argentina’s restored democratic government in 1984.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Institutional biography and research ↗Photo: Unknown Unknown. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.