ABSTRACT

Most analysis on bioeconomy is based on a comparison of strategy papers or scientific articles, mainly from the Global North. By focussing on the economic imaginary of the bioeconomy in Argentina, the key actors promoting the concept and the promises associated with it, this paper goes beyond these contributions. The article looks at a case from the Global South, analyses the actors involved and their role in the country’s political economy. Economic imaginaries help us understand how actors build a narrative structure to bridge economic activities within the ‘actually existing economy’ and contribute to drawing the attention of policymakers to certain issues. Argentina’s economic imaginary of the bioeconomy places a strong emphasis on value-adding and sees the bioeconomy as a tool for upgrading agroindustrial value chains and industrialising agriculture. Influential actors within the Argentinean agribusiness and biotechnology sectors actively promote the idea of the bioeconomy, and many of its exponents themselves have been conducting research on biotechnology and favour GMOs. Therefore, further research should explore whether a specific economic imaginary of the bioeconomy in agrarian export countries in the Global South is emerging, promoting industrial upgrading based on GMO agroindustrial products, and promising jobs and development.

摘要

大多数关于生物经济的分析都是基于对战略文件或主要来自全球北部的科学文章的比较。通过关注阿根廷生物经济的经济想象，促进这一概念的主要参与者以及与之相关的承诺，本文超出了这些贡献。本文着眼于一个来自南方南方的案例，分析了所涉及的参与者及其在该国政治经济中的作用。经济想象力有助于我们理解行为者如何建立叙事结构，以在“实际存在的经济”中架起经济活动，并有助于引起决策者对某些问题的关注。阿根廷对生物经济的经济想象非常强调增值，并将生物经济视为升级农用工业价值链和农业产业化的工具。阿根廷农业综合企业和生物技术领域的有影响力的参与者积极地推动了生物经济的构想，其许多指数本身也一直在进行生物技术研究并偏爱转基因生物。因此，应进行进一步的研究，探索是否正在出现全球南方农业出口国对生物经济的一种特定的经济构想，以转基因农业产品为基础的工业升级，以及有希望的工作和发展。而且它的许多指数本身也一直在进行生物技术研究并偏爱转基因生物。因此，应进行进一步的研究，探索是否正在出现全球南方农业出口国对生物经济的一种特定的经济构想，以转基因农业产品为基础的工业升级，以及有希望的工作和发展。而且它的许多指数本身也一直在进行生物技术研究并偏爱转基因生物。因此，应进行进一步的研究，探索是否正在出现全球南方农业出口国对生物经济的一种特定的经济构想，以转基因农业产品为基础的工业升级，以及有希望的工作和发展。