Fragmented State in a Neo-Developmental Experience: Examining Limits in Argentine Industrial Policy

Abstract

At the beginning of this new century, the “pink tide” of neo-developmental reactions to neoliberalism repositioned the state in development processes in Latin America. However, state leadership in countries like Argentina showed clear limitations to implement a consistent industrialization policy that contributes to structural change. An important limitation and insufficiently studied is the institutional-organizational dimension of state-building relative to the phenomenon of state fragmentation, which reduces state capacity and coherence amid wicked problems such as the structural change. Focused on the recent Argentine experience, the work shows that without a real hierarchy and decision-making capacity of the organizations involved in industrial policy, strategic planning processes become incapable to face the logic of state fragmentation. Official documents were analyzed, and interviews were conducted with national officials of the Ministry of Industry (2009–2015) and the implementation of the 2020 Industrial Strategic Plan.