Technological Entry Barriers and Economic Nationalism in Underdeveloped Countries: Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) and United Fruit Company in Colombia

Marcelo Bucheli
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Marcelo Bucheli: U of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Working Papers from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Business

Abstract: The US corporations United Fruit and Standard Oil (New Jersey) have been historically considered the purest representatives of American imperialism in Latin America, generating strong nationalist feelings and hostile actions from both working classes and local elites. By studying these two companies' operations in Colombia, this article analyzes how and why nationalism towards these multinationals differed from each other. I argue that the differences in the technological entry barriers between the banana and the oil industry strongly influenced nationalist policies at the government level. In the case of the low-entry banana sector, elite wanted limited government intervention because they were themselves active participants in this industry. The high costs of the oil industry, by contrast, encouraged elites to ally with the government to gain a foothold in this industry.

Date: 2006
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