The Political Economy of Industrialization in the Dominican Republic

Industrialization in the Dominican Republic, like in many other developing countries, did not gather momentum until after the Second World War. The considerable rise in the value of primary exports at the end of the nineteenth century and during the first decades of the twentieth century failed to generate industrialization. The single most important factor for the spurt of industrialization in the lase 1940s and early 1950s was the dictator Rafael Trujillo. Behind a protective barrier from foreign competition, Trujillo used resources that he had been able to accumulate thanks to his control of the st~te, tv start and run his own industrial plants. Industrialization was then given new impetus at the end of the 1960s when the country was under the firm rule of Joaquin Balaguer. In the essay some aspects of industrialization in the Dominican Republic will be discussed. In particular we will be concerned with the role played by the state in the promotion of industry.