Argentina's Economic Recovery: Policy Choices and Implications

Publication Date:

Publisher: Center for Economic and Policy Research

Author(s): Mark Weisbrot; Luis Sandoval

Research Area: Economics

Keywords: Foreign debt; Devaluation (peso); Construction industry

Type: Report

Coverage: Argentina

Abstract:

This paper examines Argentina's current economic expansion, which is now more than five and a half years old, and that far exceeded the expectations of most economists and the business media. There are a number of policy choices that seem to have contributed to the recovery, some of them unorthodox and controversial. Among these were the Central Bank’s targeting of a stable and competitive exchange rate; Argentina’s break with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and its policy prescriptions; and the default on its debt and maintenance of a hard line with its international creditors. The paper suggests that Argentina’s experience could have important implications for other developing countries.