Argentina's Economy Essay

If you lived in Argentina, you would earn 66.77% less than you would in the United States (“Argentina”). You could have the exact same job, doing the exact same work, for the exact same hours, but because of the state of Argentina’s economy, you would not make nearly as much money as you would in the United States. Although Argentina’s economy has been struggling for quite some time, it has the potential to improve.

The root of the economic problems in Argentina trace back over 100 years. In 1913, Argentina had the highest income of any country in Latin America, but in the years since, the economy has declined drastically and become extremely unstable (Fernandez). At the beginning of the first World War, in 1914, Argentina began to have an economic decline (Fernandez). This began only one year after Argentina was amongst the strongest in the region. The problem

By the 1980’s, Argentina had the largest debt among Latin American countries (Powers). In 70 years, Argentina went from having the strongest economy in the region to the worst. As time went on, the economic problems only got worse. In 1989, Argentina’s hyperinflation rate reached a staggering 4,924% due largely to other countries divesting from Argentina (Powers). As its economy spiraled downward, other countries feared losing their money in Argentinian investments. All the divesting caused many Argentinian businesses to lose money. Although the economy in Argentina has fluctuated a lot since 1913, it has never come close to regaining the economic strength it had prior to WWI. Between 1974 and 1994, one-third of all jobs were lost, and wages dropped by an average of 40% (Fal). Not only did this decrease in wages result in less money for workers, but it also harmed business because their customers had less money to make purchases. However, as bad as the economic problem seemed, Argentina still worked to try to solve this financial