ANÁLISIS DE LAS IMPORTACIONES DE BIENES DEL ECUADOR SEGÚN SU USO O DESTINO ECONÓMICO: PERIODO 2000-2017

Abstract

This paper analyzes the imports of goods in Ecuador according to their use or destination throughout the post-dollarization period, 2000 - 2017. The imports’ growth was explained according to what happened each year together with the most important shocks and its causes, including the beginning of dollarization, the international crisis of 2008-2009 and the protectionist measures implemented in March 2015 and withdrawn in mid-2017. During the studied period, imports grew at an annual average of 12.11% and the years of greatest growth in 2001 and 2010, while those with the greatest decrease in 2015 and 2016. The goods with the largest share in imports are raw materials and capital goods. It also gives guidelines for the start of a study on the relationship between imports and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), where it is shown that the periods of greatest decrease in imports were also those with the greatest decrease in GDP, showing that the restrictions on imports, although they sought to protect the domestic industry, they caused difficulties to the economy.