Fifty years of Cesar’s economy: From cotton agroindustry to coal mining

Abstract

Cesar is one of the four departments in the Colombian Caribbean region that were created in the 1960’s. During the last five decades its economy has undergone important structural changes, such as going from an agricultural to a mining-dependent economy. This paper analyzes the economic history of the department based on three stages of its development. The first 12 years corresponded to the boom of the cotton agroindustry, where the main characteristic was a high economic and population growth, with one of the highest per capita incomes in the country. Then, the department went through a two-decade stagnation period mainly caused by a fall in cotton production, which also affected some other primary sector activities. On top of that, it was a period of increasing violence due to the terrorist actions of illegal armed groups. The last period of analysis covers the past 17 years, with the rise of coal mining, today the largest sector in Cesar’s gdp and an important source of income to the departmental and local governments.