Productive Policies to Strengthen the International Insertion of SMEs: Export Consortia in Argentina

Given the high concentration of Argentine exports in the hands of a few large companies, the internationalization of SMEs now represents a major challenge to the Argentine economy in order to increase competitiveness and social inclusion -a challenge also facing Latin American economies as a whole. This paper analyzes the experience of export consortia in Argentina as an instrument that can play a central role in the process of SME internationalization. For this purpose, we present the main market failures that prevent SMEs from achieving internationalization, analyze Argentina's experience in recent years, and present the results of a survey of 36 of Argentine consortia. The study concludes that export consortia can be a highly useful tool for SMEs looking to launch or expand their exports. However, their impact at the global level is still limited due to the existence of a series of obstacles, and for this reason we put forward a set of public policies aimed at promoting their creation and consolidation.