Argentina has one of the most unique economies in the world, both with regard to its history as to its current state. Once one of the world’s richest economies, Argentina suffered a slow but steady decline and is now considered a frontier or emerging market at best. Cycles of inflation, public and private debt, state intervention and dependency on external factors have led to an economy that is a mecca for microeconomists, macroeconomists, historians and business researchers. Being able to observe what concrete effects substantial and long-lasting inflation has on all economic actors’ daily lives, how businesses cope with chronic capital shortages and ever-changing public policies, how major black, grey and regular markets subsist side by side, how bank runs unroll, etc. are all themes covered in standard textbooks, but that cannot be easily observed and empirically researched in most countries, today. Unless one comes to Argentina. Economic historians will appreciate the artefacts of the expansion and decay of the economic splendor of the Rio de la Plata region (Argentina, Uruguay) around the turn of the century (1900’s). Micro- and macroeconomists will be interested in the impact of recurring debt crises and government bailouts on economic actors and their expectations. Behavioral economists will be interested how different actors cope with the inherent instability of the economic system and/or take advantage of it. Business researchers note that Argentina has one of the highest rates of entrepreneurship worldwide, but mostly out of necessity. Subjects to be analyzed are obstacles to business creation, the labor market, access to capital, size of businesses and their mortality rates. Argentina has produced successful businesses even during periods of crises, with specific business models and strategies in the face of political risk and external shocks. Case studies of successful businesses are still limited.
POTENTIAL PROGRAMS
- The Risks of Doing Business in Emerging Markets: The Case of Argentina
- The Economic History of Argentina from Colonial Times to the present
- Effects of inflation: an empirical study of consumer and business behavior
- The informal economy in Argentina: reasons, functioning and costs
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