Título en español.

Abstract

Puerto Rico is a formidable exporter on a per-capita basis, but Puerto Rican capitalists are absent from the strategic export sectors. This paper examines the economic sectors in which Puerto Rico‘s principal firms operate, and finds that they are not represented in the manufacturing export sector. Secondly, it examines the historical origins of the lack of Puerto Rican capital formation in export sectors. Thirdly, it examines the impact of the ownership structure of the manufacturing exporting sectors on Puerto Rico's local income, and finds that the gap between the income generated in the island and the income which belongs to its residents is spectacular (35% of GDP) on account of total absentee ownership of the export sector. Finally, the paper examines the reduction of employment in the manufacturing sector during 1996- 2006, the period of elimination of the federal incentives which had hitherto attracted investors to the island.