The Southern Common Market: after 31 years, is Mercosur guiding socioeconomic development and leading full members to convergence?

Abstract

The Treaty of Asuncion of 1991 gathered Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay in what was a huge step for regional and economic integration. With the motto “Our North Is the South,” the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) would not have achieved yet the status of a common market. This paper will analyse 68 socio-economic development indexes and conduct a cross-country analysis checking for correlation and calculating for a β-convergence, to assert whether or not Mercosur is leading socio-economic development in these Southern American countries and guiding its full members to convergence.