Abstract

TOGNETTI1, Luis Alberto. Ferrocarril y especialización triguera del sureste cordobés a fines del siglo XIX. Un estudio de caso a través de la teoría del principal y el agente. Bol. Inst. Hist. Argent. Am. Dr. Emilio Ravignani [online]. 2021, n.55, pp.27-54. ISSN 0524-9767.  http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org//10.34096/bol.rav.n55.10359.

During the first globalization, the expansion of the railway network in Argentina contributed to agricultural development. However, the rate of expansion of cultivated lands was significantly lower than would have been expected given the growth of railway services. In this article, we propose that this phenomenon was due to the fact that railway companies, settlers and farmers took decisions separately, based on the information each group counted on. By applying the principal-agent theory, we studied the Union and Marcos Juarez districts (Cordoba) between 1885 and 1900. The evidence collected suggests that railway companies designed the tracks according to Government guidelines to ensure investment return; estate agents settled colonies according to their distance to the port and the railway tariffs; and farmers placed their wheat crops according to shipping costs. We can conclude that railway companies prioritised government subsidies given that these would cover, in part, operating costs and capital repayment. But the 1890 crisis led to the suspension of the warranty system. For this reason, tariffs could not be adjusted to suit the needs of the agricultural expansion.

Keywords : Railways; Settlers; Wheat.

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