Introduction

The causes and historical determinants of development and economic growth or, conversely, the causes of backwardness and poverty, constitute one of the main problems that deserve serious attention in the field of economics and economic history. Not in vain the book that for many is the cornerstone of modern economics was entitled An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Through the centuries many ideas and schools of though have developed, some of whom can be defined according to the typology of explanations they formulate with respect to this particular problem.

This paper is about the Prebisch-Singer (P-S) hypothesis on international trade, which was formulated in the mid-twentieth century, and which we interpret as an attempt to create an analytical framework to explain the growing gap in welfare and develop levels among different regions in the world from its trade relations. In this sense we can say that the P-S hypothesis belongs to the fields of both economics and economic history. This hypothesis, besides being a significant challenge to the hegemony maintained by the neoclassical theory of trade, was the theoretical base for trade policies of many countries in the periphery during the middle decades of the twentieth century and, even though its influence in economic policy has been undermined in the last three decades, remains fervently debated in economics and economic history literature.