- 19 Dec 2023 11:31
#15298909
Argentina’s quarter century experiment with neoliberalism: from dictatorship to depression
The Failures of Neoliberalism in Argentina
wat0n wrote:Saying your points are wrong isn't being "deaf" to them
Even here, I would like to know how can neoliberalism be to blame for Argentina's addiction to IMF loans when this cycle began before neoliberal economists like Milton Friedman had any significant influence in policy-making circles.
Argentina’s quarter century experiment with neoliberalism: from dictatorship to depression
Argentina set a new historical mark in 2002, having experienced the largest debt default by any country ever. In order to understand how Argentina could go from one of the most developed countries of the Third World, to experiencing the crisis of 2001 and then enter a depression in 2002 with over half the population living in poverty, requires an evaluation of the last quarter century of economic policies in Argentina. The shift toward neoliberalism began during the dictatorship of 1976, deepened during the Menem administration, and was supported throughout by the IMF. This paper aims to identify why the crisis occurred when it did, but also to understand how the underlying shifts in the political economy of Argentina over more than two decades led to two waves of deindustrialization, an explosion of foreign debt and such a marked decline in the standard of living for the majority of Argentinians.
The Failures of Neoliberalism in Argentina
In the wake of the 1970 crisis, neoliberalism emerged as the dominant approach to economic development throughout the world. As a region faced with particularly difficult economic challenges, even Latin America has not been spared from the pervasiveness and dominance of neoliberal policy. Rooted in neoclassical theory, the arrival of neoliberalism displaced Latin American contributions for development that predominated during the postwar period, which highlighted the importance of the state in directing an industrialization strategy that allows peripheral economies to develop. In the case of Argentina, neoliberalism was supposed to overcome structural heterogeneity and economic unbalances inherited from state-led industrialization through policies oriented to liberalize the economy and downsize the state. However, contrary to these suppositions, neoliberalism tended to reinforce the peripheral positioning of Argentina in the global economy, as well as to deepen social and economic inequality.
“Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.”
― Frank Zappa
“Fault always lies in the same place: with him weak enough to lay blame.”
― Stephen King
― Frank Zappa
“Fault always lies in the same place: with him weak enough to lay blame.”
― Stephen King