Keywords: Structural change; Consumption Patterns; Economic Complexity; Diversity
 

"Essays on the Structure of Supply and Demand"

This thesis investigates the characteristics of productive and demand structures in economies at varying stages of development. It shows that economic development is linked with producing goods in similar proportions to global demand, as opposed to specialization or seeking a balanced distribution of production activities.  This suggests that while certain nations may accumulate wealth through the sale of resources such as oil, development requires mastering a wide range of capabilities. To date, only industrialized economies have achieved this.

Regarding consumption patterns, it is shown that they have been converging since the 1980s. Interestingly, this convergence has occurred independently of the expected income convergence. This indicates that even if a country’s income was only a third of Switzerland’s four decades ago, and remains so today, the consumption of its population has become significantly more similar to those in Switzerland. This phenomenon attests to the expansion of the modes of production and lifestyles characteristic of capitalist societies. 

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