The fast-diminishing gap between the GDP per capita of Argentina versus Brazil’s: a 1946-2002 analysis
Renato R. Machadoa

Abstract
The ratio of Argentina’s GDP per capita over Brazil’s same indicator has diminished by approximately 3.3 times throughout the period from 1946 to 2002. This impressive comparative drop is substantially higher when compared to the same ratios of relatively similar pairs of countries, such as United States-Canada, Mexico-Guatemala, and Australia-New Zealand, for the same period of analysis. This article attempts to bring some possible explanations for this relevant drop, attributed to some historical facts, mainly political ones, and related to the economic policies of both countries in the period. In the political realm, Argentina was more troubled than Brazil. The heavy influence of Juan Domingo Perón, alive during roughly half of the period of analysis but still indirectly influential in the second half, may explain it to a relevant extent. In the economic sphere, Argentina showed inconsistent and failing economic policies, and peronismo also played a role in the process.

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