Following the 2001-02 Argentinian crisis, the Province of Córdoba experienced sustained economic growth and widespread improvements in the standard of living of its citizens. However, the provincial economy is currently at a pivotal point due to its high reliance on a few trading partners and products, as well as the economic downturn following the 2008-09 financial crisis and the fall in commodity prices. To some extent, Córdoba is still holding on to a map that served its economy well in the past but no longer shows a promising direction. Its challenges and opportunities are the same as those found in many OECD regions, and a renewed approach to regional development is needed.

On 7 January 2016, the government of Argentina declared a state of emergency in the national statistical system. The Decree 55/2016 states that the National Institute for Statistics and Census (INDEC) suffers an anomalous situation in its internal organisation that hinders the production of sufficient and reliable statistical information related to consumer prices, gross domestic product, and trade, amongst others. As a result, INDEC temporarily suspended the publication of certain official statistics under its responsibility, pending re-organisation, which is still undergoing at the time of writing this report. INDEC started to publish inflation rates again in June 2016, labour market indicators in August 2016 as well as poverty data in September 2016. In light of this statistical context, caution is needed in the use of macroeconomic indicators.

The report assesses the regional development policy of the province of Córdoba, Argentina and suggests recommendations to boost productivity, to strengthen competitiveness and to upgrade in global value chains (GVCs). It is the result of a yearlong policy dialogue with 100+ provincial stakeholders from public, private and nonprofit sectors; a process which also provided a bridge between two provincial administrations after the 2015 elections. The resulting Action Plan seeks to support the design and implementation of robust territorial policies, building on recent positive macroeconomic and political developments such as the return of Argentina to international financial markets and the removal of some barriers to exports.

The Province of Córdoba is at a difficult junction and pivotal point in its development path. Following the 2001-2002 Argentinian crisis, the province has experienced sustained economic growth and widespread improvements in the standard of living but it has not fully reaped the economic, social and environmental benefits of regional competitiveness and productivity. Córdoba has a productive matrix (agriculture and food industry, car manufacturing, ICTs and tourism) that served its economy well in the past but that does not show promise for the future if nothing changes. It relies on commodities and traditional manufacturing exports that are faced with ever-shrinking markets. This report argues that a regional development strategy is needed to set a medium- to long-term vision for Córdoba to diversify the provincial economy, upgrade in Global Value Chains (GVCs) and sustain regional well-being. Investments in skills, research and innovation are essential to allow the province to participate in higher value-added segments of value chains by embedding advanced services into traditional production or by increasing technological intensity. At the same time, its sectoral approach needs to shift towards an integrated, activity-focused strategic plan, in which the entire territory (cities and regions) becomes a platform for innovation. The following sections detail the assessment and recommendations from the report for strengthening the enabling policies and governance frameworks that can boost Córdoba’s productivity and competitiveness over the short, medium and long term.

This chapter describes recent economic, social and environmental trends in the Province of Córdoba. After the 2001-02 Argentinian crisis, Córdoba experienced sustained economic growth and widespread improvements in the standard of living but it has not fully reaped the benefits of regional competitiveness and productivity. Its challenges and opportunities are the same as those found in many OECD regions: ageing population, relatively high wages, educated workforce, solid entrepreneurial and academic traditions, but high inequalities among people and across places. Moreover, despite provincial efforts to bridge data gaps in a context where national statistics have been unreliable, opaque and misleading, much remains to be done for credible territorial statistics to effectively guide decisions. The chapter proposes recommendations to support the modernisation and strengthening of the provincial statistical infrastructure while improving some traditional statistical methods and programmes, investing in nontraditional data collection and processing methods, and setting a Smart Córdoba open data agenda.

This chapter describes Córdoba’s economic profile, its strategic sectors for regional development and competitiveness and the contribution of the province to Global Value Chains (GVCs). Building on modern perspectives of regional development, the chapter analyses the four policy areas with a regional/provincial dimension that present bottlenecks to provincial competitiveness and productivity, namely: i) the potential of infrastructure to reduce production costs and increase the attractiveness of the province as well as promote social inclusion to reduce regional inequalities; ii) the private sector activity and the role of SMEs; iii) education policies to strengthen human capital and promote inclusion and meet the private and public sector skills-demand; and iv) how innovation can upgrade and diversify economic activities. The chapter concludes by suggesting policy recommendations to boost Córdoba’s competitiveness.

This chapter aims to provide insights on how the provincial government could strengthen multi-level governance, including its accountability and transparency to citizens. It focuses particularly on governance dimensions that can boost productivity, competitiveness, and citizen well-being in a sustainable and inclusive manner. The analysis begins with a brief overview of the institutions and frameworks relevant to territorial development in Córdoba. The discussion then explores specific success factors – such as strategic planning, territorial management, and citizen engagement practices – that can impact territorial development and which are, or could become, challenging for public authorities. The chapter concludes with a series of recommendations intended to support Córdoba’s government in successfully designing and implementing place-based policies.

This chapter proposes a tailored action plan laying down some concrete steps that the provincial authorities and stakeholders could follow to implement the policy recommendations suggested in the different chapters of this Review. These actions are conceived as a shared responsibility across public, private and non-profit players over the short, medium and long term. The Action Plan takes account of the restrictions or bottlenecks analysed throughout the report, as well as windows of opportunity stemming from recent political changes and/or ongoing initiatives by the current administration. For each suggested action, a list of champion institutions is proposed, as well as potential indicators to track progress in implementation and relevant international experience.