New Paper Examines Argentina’s Economic Success

“Argentina has had the fastest growth in the Western Hemisphere over the past nine years, and among the highest growth rates in world.”

WASHINGTON - October 21 - As Argentines prepare to go to the polls this weekend in new presidential elections, a new paper from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) finds that the Argentine economy and social indicators have done remarkably well since the country defaulted on its debt almost nine years ago. The paper notes that Argentina’s dramatic recovery from its severe 1998-2002 recession has significant policy implications for other countries, most notably Greece and some of the other weaker eurozone economies burdened by unsustainable debt.

“Since its recovery began, shortly after its debt default in 2002, Argentina has had the fastest growth in the Western Hemisphere over the past nine years, and among the highest real growth rates in the world,” CEPR Co-Director, and lead author of the paper, Mark Weisbrot noted. For the years 2002-2011, including the IMF projections for the end of this year, Argentina’s real GDP has grown by 94 percent.