CULTURE AND THE REGIONAL ECONOMY OF AMERICA

FACULTY OF ADMINISTRATIVE, ECONOMIC AND ACCOUNTING SCIENCES

INSTITUCION UNIVERSITARIA POLITECNICO GRANCOLOMBIANO

Paola Andrea Guzmán Cano

Jhordan Andrés Cortés Sánchez

Wilber Monsalve Avila

Johanna Marcela Pelaez Amorocho

Maria Claudia Santander Viancha

American Union

Tutor

Ignacio Mendivesol Bernal

2019
 INTRODUCTION

The world economy is currently going through a recession that increasingly negatively affects

economic development. For this reason, the goal of this project is to study possibilities for new

trading opportunities between countries of the Americas. Specifically, the study proposes to

evaluate various nations’ characteristics, including population, language, religion, economic

indicators, culture, and traditions, to identify synergies in business culture and determine whether

or not economic alliances may be viable.

The countries in this research are from South America such as Colombia, Argentina, Chile,

Ecuador and Peru.

 RESEARCH PROBLEM

The main idea of this project is to investigate about a group of South American countries

(Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru), their economy and culture and find a way to

integrate these countries with the United States so that it can help with their economy.
 HYPOTHESIS

We will find a group of countries with similar characteristics due to their geographical

location, for this reason we believe that the block will work focused on agriculture or mining.
 JUSTIFICATION

EcuRed. (2017). Chile EcuRed. Retrieved from https://www.ecured.cu/Chile

OEC. (2017). What does Chile export? OEC. Retrieved from

https://atlas.media.mit.edu/es/visualize/tree_map/hs92/import/chl/all/show/2017/

OEC. (2017). What does Chile import?. OEC. Recuperado de

https://atlas.media.mit.edu/es/visualize/tree_map/hs92/import/chl/all/show/2017/

World Bank. (2019). Chile World Bank. Retrieved from

https://datos.bancomundial.org/pais/chile

Expansion. (2018). Unemployment of chili. Macro data. Retrieved from

https://datosmacro.expansion.com/paro/chile

Santander (2019). Foreign trade figures in Chile. Santandertrade. Retrieved from

https://es.portal.santandertrade.com/analizar-mercados/chile/cifras-comercio-

exterior#classification_by_products
 GENERAL OBJECTIVE

Analyze the economy and culture of a group of South American countries (Colombia,

Ecuador, Chile, Peru and Argentina) and in this way create an integration with the United States.
 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

• Analyze several countries in the region to find similar characteristics in their trade, culture,

agriculture, etc.

• Define in which specific field the countries investigated join and, therefore, can create a block

with EE. UU

• Know the rules of commercial traffic that each country has and in this way prepare a possible

union with the United States.

• Create strategies to maintain the economic blockade.

 CHARACTERIZATION OF THE COUNTRIES

ARGENTINA

General Information

 The current population of Argentina is 45,008,676 as of Thursday, April 11, 2019, based

on the latest United Nations estimates.

 Its official language is Spanish.

 According to the last Latinobarómetro survey, as of 2017, 76% of the population of

Argentina is Christian, 66% belong to the Roman Catholic Church, 10% is Evangelical,

21% are unaffiliated and 3% belong to other religions.

 The country is widely known for the tango, elegant architecture, steak, wine, and soccer,

while some of the most legendary figures of the twentieth century came from Argentina,

including Eva Perón, Che Guevara, and Diego Armando Maradona.

Economy

 It is the 45th largest export economy in the world and the 50th most complex economy.

 The top exports of Argentina are:

- Soybean Meal

- Corn
 - Soybean Oil

- Delivery Trucks

- Soybeans

 The top imports are:

- Cars

- Vehicle Parts

- Telephones

- Petroleum Gas

- Refined Petroleum

 The top export destinations of Argentina are:

- Brazil

- USA

- China

- Chile

- Vietnam

 The top import origins are:

- Brazil

- China

- USA

- Germany
 - Mexico

 Argentina ships 17.6% worth of goods to Europe. Smaller percentages are sold to North

American nations at 6.8% compared to 7.1% for African importers.

 Argentina’s unemployment rate was 9% as of September 2018 compared to 8.3% one

year earlier, according to Trading Economics.

ECUADOR

 Ecuador is the 69th largest export economy in the world and the 102nd most complex

economy (Economic Complexity Index ECI).

 The top exports of Ecuador are:

- Crude Petroleum

- Bananas

- Crustaceans

- Processed Fish

- Cut Flowers

 The top imports of Ecuador are:

- Refined Petroleum

- Coal Tar Oil

 - Cars

- Packaged Medicaments

- Broadcasting Equipment

 The top export destinations of Ecuador are:

- The United States

- Vietnam

- Chile

- Panama

- Russia

 The top import origins are:

- The United States

- China

- Colombia

- Brazil

- Panama

 The top export destinations of Ecuador are the United States ($6.06B), Vietnam ($1.46B),

Chile($1.33B), Panama ($932M) and Russia ($912M).

 The top import origins are the United States($3.72B), China ($3.62B), Colombia

($1.51B), Brazil ($865M) and Panama ($848M).

CHILE

 It is a country located in the extreme southwest of South America. Its official name is

Republic of Chile and the capital is Santiago de Chile. It gained its independence on

September 8, 1810.

 The current president is Sebastián Piñera since March 11, 2018.

 PIB (US$ at current prices) 277.076 billion (2017), IPC 2.6%, unemployment rate 6.8%.

 This country is characterized by having one of the largest copper deposits which makes it

one of the main producers and largest export product, however, has more products that

distinguish it before the world as:

- Nitrates, iodine, sulfur and coal, gold, zinc, manganese, molybdenum, and silver,

the latter is considered the sixth largest producer in the world.

- Wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, corn, rice, tomatoes and oats. Within the fruits have

their exclusivity grapes, melons, apples, peaches, apricots, plums and cherries.

- Big wine producer.

- In the fishing industry has sardines, mackerel, hake, anchovies and lobsters.

- Wood extracted from laurel, and pine which are exploited and used in carpentry

and pulp manufacture.

  Its imports come from China, the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, etc., mainly

the following products enter the country:

- Passenger cars and other vehicles designed for the carriage of groups of persons.

- Petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals

- Crude petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals

- Radiotelephony emitting apparatus

- Vehicles and automobiles for the transport of goods, including chassis with

engines and cabs.

- Petroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbons.

- Automatic machines for data processing.

- Coal, briquettes, ovoids and solid fuels.

- Meat of bovine animals, fresh or chilled.

- Medicinal products consisting of mixed or unmixed products.

COLOMBIA

 The Republic of Colombia is located in the northwestern region of South America. It is

the only South American nation that has coasts in the Pacific Ocean and access to the

Atlantic through the Caribbean Sea.

 Colombia has an estimated population of 45.5 million inhabitants, Its main language is

Spanish, Religion in Colombia is divided into, Christian, is estimated at 92.5%, of which

89% are Catholic, 10.8% Protestant and 0.2% other Christian denominations.
 Colombia has a GDP (2018) of $ 327,978 million dollars, Colombia closed 2018 with an

inflation of 3.18%, for the month of March 2019, inflation is located at 3.01%. As for

unemployment figures, for the month of January 2019 the unemployment rate was

12.8%, which represented an increase of 1.0 percentage points over the same month of

2018 (11.8%). The overall participation rate was 63.5% and the occupancy rate was

55.3%.

 Colombia is the 55th largest export economy worldwide.

 The top exports of Colombia are:

- Crude Oil.

- Charcoal Briquettes.

- Refined Coffee.

- Palm Oil.

- Avocado.

 The top imports of Colombia are:

- Refined Petroleum

- Broadcasting Equipment

- Packaged Medicaments

- Cars
  The top export destinations Colombia are:

- The United States

- Panama

- China

- Netherlands.

- Mexico.

 The top import origins are:

- The United States

- China.

- Mexico.

- Brazil.

- Germany.

 Negotiating in Colombia can be just as easy or difficult as doing it with any other country

in the world. Colombians manage a very simple business culture characterized by

carrying out business relationships, through dialogue and knowledge of the market with

which they want to react.

PERU

 Peru is the 52nd largest export economy in the world and the 81st most complex

economy.
 Over the past decade and a half, Peru has become one of the fastest growing, most stable

and dynamic economies in Latin America, as a result of a consistent economic policy and

fiscal discipline, and by implementing a transparent legal framework to promote private

investment, carried out by several governments.

 Peru's stance in the global context goes well beyond the economic aspects. Enjoying a

strategic position on South America’s central western coast -linking to the Asia Pacific-

Peru has continued to reaffirm its leadership in regional integration with the

establishment, along with Colombia, Chile and Mexico, of the Pacific Alliance, the most

recent and arguably one of the most successful integration initiatives in the region.

 The top exports of Peru are:

- Copper Ore

- Gold

- Refined Petroleum

- Zine Ore

- Refined Copper

 The top imports are:

- Refined Petroleum

- Cars
 - Crude Petroleum

- Broadcasting Equipment

- Delivery Trucks

 The top export destinations of Argentina are:

- Switzerland

- USA

- China

- South Korea

- Spain

 The top import origins are:

- Brazil

- China

- USA

- Chile

- Mexico

 Peru shipped US$47.2 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2018. Peru’s exported

goods plus services represent 24% of total Peruvian economic output or Gross Domestic

Product. From a continental perspective, 46.2% of Peruvian exports by value was

delivered to Asian countries.

 Peru’s unemployment rate was 7.6% at February 2019, up from 7.3% in April 2018

according to Trading Economics.