TY - JOUR

T1 - Limits of linkage-based development

T2 - an assessment of the oil and gas sector in North Patagonia, Argentina

AU - Scholvin, Sören

N1 - Funding Information: The field research carried out for this article was financed by the German Research Foundation [project number: 275355279]. The author is grateful to Ra?l Vila for his support during the field research, and to Javier Diez and Felipe Irarr?zaval for feedback on a first draft of this paper.

PY - 2020/11/12

Y1 - 2020/11/12

N2 - The research note assesses the prospects of development through extractive industries in north Patagonia (Argentina), a region that holds considerably large unconventional oil and gas deposits. The author applies the linkage approach from the literature on global value chains, paying particular attention to backward and forward production linkages because they may trigger a structural transformation of the regional economy. He finds that north Patagonian firms have managed to plug into the upstream sector. There are efforts to facilitate an unconventional hydrocarbon cluster and even hopes of local firms venturing into markets abroad, which would enable them to become specialized suppliers. However, their present role is largely limited to the provision of generic products and services, and it appears unlikely that this will change due to financial and other constraints. Even though north Patagonia benefits from linkages, the disillusioning findings lead the author to call for a less optimistic understanding of linkage-based development in global value chains: resource peripheries may be stuck at a level of generic, low value-added activities.

AB - The research note assesses the prospects of development through extractive industries in north Patagonia (Argentina), a region that holds considerably large unconventional oil and gas deposits. The author applies the linkage approach from the literature on global value chains, paying particular attention to backward and forward production linkages because they may trigger a structural transformation of the regional economy. He finds that north Patagonian firms have managed to plug into the upstream sector. There are efforts to facilitate an unconventional hydrocarbon cluster and even hopes of local firms venturing into markets abroad, which would enable them to become specialized suppliers. However, their present role is largely limited to the provision of generic products and services, and it appears unlikely that this will change due to financial and other constraints. Even though north Patagonia benefits from linkages, the disillusioning findings lead the author to call for a less optimistic understanding of linkage-based development in global value chains: resource peripheries may be stuck at a level of generic, low value-added activities.

KW - Global value chain

KW - linkage

KW - oil and gas

KW - regional development

KW - Vaca Muerta

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85096090093&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/00167223.2020.1847154

DO - 10.1080/00167223.2020.1847154

M3 - Comment/debate

AN - SCOPUS:85096090093

VL - 121

SP - 72

EP - 78

JO - Geografisk Tidsskrift - Danish Journal of Geography

JF - Geografisk Tidsskrift - Danish Journal of Geography

SN - 0016-7223

IS - 1

ER -