International trade as a driver of Venezuela’s economic growth

Abstract

With the richest oil reserves in the world, Venezuela’s rent economy is export-oriented and foreign trade plays a key role in its growth. However, due to severe economic and political crisis and tough pressure from the USA, its foreign trade plummeted in 2013-2019. To analyze country’s foreign trade, a balance model and a gravity model with qualitative variables were computed. The author concludes that it is essential to develop agriculture and multi-industry production, in order to diversify exports, but amid aggressive political confrontation and powerful economic sanctions it appears to be a highly difficult task.