In this article we compare the resource flows of Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru between 1980 and 2000. Our objective is to analyze the structure of social metabolism of extractive countries and the consequences of the neoliberal economic structural reforms on the use of natural resources. In two decades, the domestic extraction of materials increased considerably in the four countries, mainly due to the mining sector in Chile and Peru, biomass and oil in Ecuador, and construction minerals in Mexico. Imports and exports also increased, because of the increasingly deeper integration in international markets, prompted by liberalization policies implemented in the four countries between the late 1970s and the late 1990s. All four countries had a negative physical trade balance for most of the period analyzed, with exports exceeding imports in terms of weight. However, parallel growth of imports reduced the physical deficit in Chile, Mexico, and Peru. Ecuador's physical deficit was the highest and did not decrease during the last two decades. A diversification of exports away from bulk commodities could be observed in Chile and Mexico and to a lesser extent in Peru, whereas in Ecuador the export sector remained mainly based on oil and biomass. More research is needed to explore the environmental and social impacts of the neoliberal economic reforms. Also, the indirect flows associated with direct physical imports and exports deserve to be subjected to further analysis."> In this article we compare the resource flows of Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru between 1980 and 2000. Our objective is to analyze the structure of social metabolism of extractive countries and the consequences of the neoliberal economic structural reforms on the use of natural resources. In two decades, the domestic extraction of materials increased considerably in the four countries, mainly due to the mining sector in Chile and Peru, biomass and oil in Ecuador, and construction minerals in Mexico. Imports and exports also increased, because of the increasingly deeper integration in international markets, prompted by liberalization policies implemented in the four countries between the late 1970s and the late 1990s. All four countries had a negative physical trade balance for most of the period analyzed, with exports exceeding imports in terms of weight. However, parallel growth of imports reduced the physical deficit in Chile, Mexico, and Peru. Ecuador's physical deficit was the highest and did not decrease during the last two decades. A diversification of exports away from bulk commodities could be observed in Chile and Mexico and to a lesser extent in Peru, whereas in Ecuador the export sector remained mainly based on oil and biomass. More research is needed to explore the environmental and social impacts of the neoliberal economic reforms. Also, the indirect flows associated with direct physical imports and exports deserve to be subjected to further analysis."> In this article we compare the resource flows of Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru between 1980 and 2000. Our objective is to analyze the structure of so">
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Material Flows in Latin America

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  • Daniela Russi
  • Ana C. Gonzalez-Martinez
  • José Carlos Silva-Macher
  • Stefan Giljum
  • Joan Martínez-Alier
  • Maria Cristina Vallejo
Abstract
type="main" xml:lang="en"> In this article we compare the resource flows of Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru between 1980 and 2000. Our objective is to analyze the structure of social metabolism of extractive countries and the consequences of the neoliberal economic structural reforms on the use of natural resources. In two decades, the domestic extraction of materials increased considerably in the four countries, mainly due to the mining sector in Chile and Peru, biomass and oil in Ecuador, and construction minerals in Mexico. Imports and exports also increased, because of the increasingly deeper integration in international markets, prompted by liberalization policies implemented in the four countries between the late 1970s and the late 1990s. All four countries had a negative physical trade balance for most of the period analyzed, with exports exceeding imports in terms of weight. However, parallel growth of imports reduced the physical deficit in Chile, Mexico, and Peru. Ecuador's physical deficit was the highest and did not decrease during the last two decades. A diversification of exports away from bulk commodities could be observed in Chile and Mexico and to a lesser extent in Peru, whereas in Ecuador the export sector remained mainly based on oil and biomass. More research is needed to explore the environmental and social impacts of the neoliberal economic reforms. Also, the indirect flows associated with direct physical imports and exports deserve to be subjected to further analysis.

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  • Daniela Russi & Ana C. Gonzalez-Martinez & José Carlos Silva-Macher & Stefan Giljum & Joan Martínez-Alier & Maria Cristina Vallejo, 2008. "Material Flows in Latin America," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 12(5-6), pages 704-720, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:inecol:v:12:y:2008:i:5-6:p:704-720
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    1. Liurong Pan & Asad Amin & Nian Zhu & Abbas Ali Chandio & Eric Yaw Naminse & Aadil Hameed Shah, 2022. "Exploring the Asymmetrical Influence of Economic Growth, Oil Price, Consumer Price Index and Industrial Production on the Trade Deficit in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-22, November.
    2. Gonzalez-Martinez, Ana Citlalic & Schandl, Heinz, 2008. "The biophysical perspective of a middle income economy: Material flows in Mexico," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1-2), pages 317-327, December.
    3. Garmendia, Eneko & Urkidi, Leire & Arto, Iñaki & Barcena, Iñaki & Bermejo, Roberto & Hoyos, David & Lago, Rosa, 2016. "Tracing the impacts of a northern open economy on the global environment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 169-181.
    4. Aneta Masternak‐Janus, 2022. "Measuring the efficiency of materials management based on data envelopment analysis approach: the case of Polish regions," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 101(3), pages 603-618, June.
    5. Hanaček, Ksenija & Roy, Brototi & Avila, Sofia & Kallis, Giorgos, 2020. "Ecological economics and degrowth: Proposing a future research agenda from the margins," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    6. Savona, Maria & Ciarli, Tommaso, 2019. "Structural Changes and Sustainability. A Selected Review of the Empirical Evidence," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 244-260.
    7. Henckens, M.L.C.M. & van Ierland, E.C. & Driessen, P.P.J. & Worrell, E., 2016. "Mineral resources: Geological scarcity, market price trends, and future generations," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 102-111.
    8. Krausmann, Fridolin & Gingrich, Simone & Eisenmenger, Nina & Erb, Karl-Heinz & Haberl, Helmut & Fischer-Kowalski, Marina, 2009. "Growth in global materials use, GDP and population during the 20th century," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(10), pages 2696-2705, August.
    9. West, James & Schandl, Heinz, 2013. "Material use and material efficiency in Latin America and the Caribbean," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 19-27.
    10. Darcy Tetreault, 2022. "Two sides of the same coin: increasing material extraction rates and social environmental conflicts in Mexico," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(12), pages 14163-14183, December.
    11. Muñoz, Pablo & Strohmaier, Rita & Roca, Jordi, 2011. "On the North-South trade in the Americas and its ecological asymmetries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(11), pages 1981-1990, September.
    12. Fix, Blair, 2013. "Human Activity, Energy & Money in the Unlted States: Connecting the Biophysical Economy with its Pecuniary Image," EconStor Theses, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, number 203120, September.
    13. Jose-Luis Palacios & Guiomar Calvo & Alicia Valero & Antonio Valero, 2018. "Exergoecology Assessment of Mineral Exports from Latin America: Beyond a Tonnage Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-18, March.
    14. Vallejo, Maria Cristina, 2010. "Biophysical structure of the Ecuadorian economy, foreign trade, and policy implications," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(2), pages 159-169, December.
    15. Fix, Blair, 2019. "Human Activity, Energy & Money in the United States: Connecting the Biophysical Economy with its Pecuniary Image," Thesis Commons e74ng, Center for Open Science.
    16. Dittrich, Monika & Bringezu, Stefan, 2010. "The physical dimension of international trade: Part 1: Direct global flows between 1962 and 2005," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(9), pages 1838-1847, July.
    17. Jose Silva-Macher & Katharine Farrell, 2014. "The flow/fund model of Conga: exploring the anatomy of environmental conflicts at the Andes–Amazon commodity frontier," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 747-768, June.
    18. Piñero, Pablo & Pérez-Neira, David & Infante-Amate, Juan & Chas-Amil, María L. & Doldán-García, Xoán R., 2020. "Unequal raw material exchange between and within countries: Galicia (NW Spain) as a core-periphery economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    19. Venkatachalam ANBUMOZHI & Ponciano S. INTAL, Jr., 2015. "Can Thinking Green and Sustainability Be an Economic Opportunity for ASEAN?," Working Papers DP-2015-66, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
    20. Steinberger, Julia K. & Krausmann, Fridolin & Eisenmenger, Nina, 2010. "Global patterns of materials use: A socioeconomic and geophysical analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(5), pages 1148-1158, March.
    21. LaRota-Aguilera, María José & Delgadillo-Vargas, Olga Lucía & Tello, Enric, 2022. "Sociometabolic research in Latin America: A review on advances and knowledge gaps in agroecological trends and rural perspectives," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    22. Stefan Giljum & Monika Dittrich & Mirko Lieber & Stephan Lutter, 2014. "Global Patterns of Material Flows and their Socio-Economic and Environmental Implications: A MFA Study on All Countries World-Wide from 1980 to 2009," Resources, MDPI, vol. 3(1), pages 1-21, March.

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