Historical outline of the export in Costa Rica 1821-1980

Abstract

Export, its forms and consequences, is currently one of the touchstones of Costa Rica's institutional life v concern for the future of export as a factor of economic improvement concerns virtually every social researcher.
Based on the premise that it is not possible to understand a social phenomenon without studying its historical sources, we believe that proper understanding of the characteristics of export today requires an analysis of the reasons that motivate its current form; only by understanding the past can we move into the future.
We do not seek an in-depth analysis of the historical problem of the Costa Rican economy, which forms an intricate network of relations that overflows the limit of our work; we try, however, to raise an outline of the origin, development and consequences of Costa Rica's economic conditions from the moment of its political independence, especially with a view to laying the groundwork for the reader to draw conclusions on the future of the country's economic landscape.
Two parts form this analysis: the first sets out the general historical forms that mark Costa Rica's economic life; the second focuses on export patterns. We focus our work on export due to the dependent nature of the Costa Rican economy, inextricably linked to the international market, based on the idea that the form and application of export in Costa Rica is the result of its subjection to that market; in other words, the conditions of the international market organize Costa Rica's economic development, forcing it to adapt to costa Rica's guidelines and needs, rather than to its own condition of self-sufficient development.