Industrial promotion in Chaco: scope and shortcomings
Abstract
This article focuses on the industrial promotion policy of the Province of Chaco in Argentina as an instrument of economic and territorial development, examining its regulatory evolution, its outcomes, and its adequacy in light of recent transformations in the productive structure. Resorting to a methodological strategy that combines documentary analysis of the current legal framework with empirical evidence on beneficiaries, investment, and em ployment, the study assesses the regime’s effectiveness in attracting investment, promoting productive diversifica tion, and generating formal employment. The findings reveal a strong sectoral and territorial concentration of benefits, with a predominance of traditional activities and a marked localization in the metropolitan area of Greater Resistencia. The analysis also identifies limitations as sociated with the absence of long-term planning, the per sistence of discretionary criteria in the allocation of incen tives, and weak coordination with territorial development and infrastructure policies. Against this background, the article argues that the current regime displays a growing gap between its original design and the present condi tions of provincial development. Based on this diagnosis, it proposes reform guidelines aimed at improving the eco nomic efficiency, territorial equity, and institutional sus tainability of industrial promotion policy by incorporating evaluation criteria, better-targeted incentives, and stronger governance mechanisms.
