The article analysis the concept of Developmental State and its usefulness to comparatively think the cases of Brazil and Argentina. The research design is comparative and the empirical evidences are gathered from the extensive literature on the subject and interviews with policy-makers from both countries. The research revealed that political and state elites are very important for explaining the differences in the industrialization performance of Brazil and Argentina. The comparative research, based on a concept itself devised through comparative research, has contributed to a better delimitation of the non-economic causes of the development of both countries.
Developmental State; Brazil; Argentina; industrialization; 1930-1966