RT Journal Article
T1 Unequal raw material exchange between and within countries: Galicia (NW Spain) as a core-periphery economy
A1 Piñero, Pablo
A1 Pérez Neira, David
A1 Infante Amate, Juan
A1 Chas Amil, María Luisa
A1 Doldán García, Xoán Ramón
K1 Unequal exchange
K1 Material footprint
K1 Material flow accounting
K1 Value added
K1 World system theory
K1 Multi- Regional Input-Output
AB A global multi-regional input-output model with sub-national resolution for Galicia, north-west Spain, was used to study physical and value added trade balances between Galicia, the rest of Spain and the world. Within the framework of Ecologically Unequal Exchange theory, we argue that a region, such as Galicia, can play a twofold role as core and periphery in the global division of extractive activities. We show that Galicia is a sink, i.e. net importer of natural resources from middle- and low-income economies, and that the lower the income of the trade partner, the more raw material intensive the imports (measured as upstream kg per USD imported value added). However, this physical deficit is less accentuated than for the rest of Spain and Galicia's material footprint is significantly lower (~14.2 compared with ~24.5 t/capita). Moreover, Galicia is a source, i.e. net exporter of raw materials compared with more thriving European Union economies and, even for some key trade partners, such as Germany, UK and the rest of Spain, it is a net importer of value added.
PB Elsevier
SN 0921-8009
YR 2020
FD 2020
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/43748
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/43748
LA eng
NO Piñero, P., Pérez-Neira, D., Infante-Amate, J., Chas-Amil, M. L., & Doldán-García, X. R. (2020). Unequal raw material exchange between and within countries: Galicia (NW Spain) as a core-periphery economy. Ecological Economics, 172, 106621.https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ECOLECON.2020.106621
NO This is the manuscript of an article that has been accepted for publication
NO PP thanks the University of Oulu Graduate School for support during his PhD studies. MLCA and XRDG acknowledge financial support from the Xunta de Galicia (2018-PU012). The authors thank Professor Óscar Rodil Marzábal at the University of Santiago de Compostela for early suggestions regarding this research.
DS Minerva
RD 20 may 2026