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Good for them for not being linked to Argentina anymore, if they where an Argentinean province they would be in default, with unemployment, and with high povert

by sbassi 6y ago

Good for them for not being linked to Argentina anymore, if they where an Argentinean province they would be in default, with unemployment, and with high poverty rate.

jxramos 6y ago
What's the backstory on Argentina being an economic drag that it would be detrimental to be connected with them?
- lmm 6y ago
  A combination of cost disease and the resource curse. Argentina was prosperous and its professional class gradually became an entrenched bureaucracy that skimmed off a lot of productivity (similar to e.g. Italy today); over decades its economy became more and more dependent on oil exports, even as its oil production became less and less efficient along with everything else in the country. As long as the oil price was high it didn't matter, but when the oil price dropped all their chickens came home to roost.
  - gus_massa 6y ago
    Oil? Our main export is grain (soy, corn and others). We have been importing oil even while the barrel was at $150.
  - diegof79 6y ago
    Wow, you must be confused with Venezuela. While Argentina has oil, its production is very low and it never was a driver of the economy. And about the comment of “its professional class gradually became an entrenched bureaucracy”, I don’t know where you get that conclusion, but is far from the historical facts. Argentina had a good economic situation at the beginning of the 20 century. But it also had a lot of inequality. That inequality created a lot of political instability. That instability led to violence: when the people that was “out” of the elite took the power, people at the elite did strike back... it continued for years in cycles of stability and violence, and a cruel dictatorship (google for Dirty War). Related to the Malvinas/Falklands war... that war was the last resort from the military dictatorship to gain popularity, but they were very stupid and blind... and sent many young unprepared soldiers to die. A good outcome from the war, was the debilitation of the dictatorship and the return of democracy in 82. So what this has to do with the economy? After these cycles the country ended with tons of debt. Also our economy relies a lot in the agricultural export. During the turmoil of the 60s/70s many industries (and scientific research) died and the recovery took years. Since the return of the democracy we went through two big crises (89 and 2001). Our economy still relies in agricultural exports. The professional and worker class pays the debt every day in the form of high inflation, high interest rates, and low credit availability.
mauriciolange 6y ago
A little biased and contrafactual comment, yours. Those islands ARE linked to Argentina. And, same as Tierra del Fuego e Islas del Antartico Sur, it could have an enviable economic status among other Argentinean provinces.

by sbassi 6y ago

Good for them for not being linked to Argentina anymore, if they where an Argentinean province they would be in default, with unemployment, and with high poverty rate.

jxramos 6y ago

What's the backstory on Argentina being an economic drag that it would be detrimental to be connected with them?

lmm 6y ago
A combination of cost disease and the resource curse. Argentina was prosperous and its professional class gradually became an entrenched bureaucracy that skimmed off a lot of productivity (similar to e.g. Italy today); over decades its economy became more and more dependent on oil exports, even as its oil production became less and less efficient along with everything else in the country. As long as the oil price was high it didn't matter, but when the oil price dropped all their chickens came home to roost.
- gus_massa 6y ago
  Oil? Our main export is grain (soy, corn and others). We have been importing oil even while the barrel was at $150.
- diegof79 6y ago
  Wow, you must be confused with Venezuela. While Argentina has oil, its production is very low and it never was a driver of the economy. And about the comment of “its professional class gradually became an entrenched bureaucracy”, I don’t know where you get that conclusion, but is far from the historical facts. Argentina had a good economic situation at the beginning of the 20 century. But it also had a lot of inequality. That inequality created a lot of political instability. That instability led to violence: when the people that was “out” of the elite took the power, people at the elite did strike back... it continued for years in cycles of stability and violence, and a cruel dictatorship (google for Dirty War). Related to the Malvinas/Falklands war... that war was the last resort from the military dictatorship to gain popularity, but they were very stupid and blind... and sent many young unprepared soldiers to die. A good outcome from the war, was the debilitation of the dictatorship and the return of democracy in 82. So what this has to do with the economy? After these cycles the country ended with tons of debt. Also our economy relies a lot in the agricultural export. During the turmoil of the 60s/70s many industries (and scientific research) died and the recovery took years. Since the return of the democracy we went through two big crises (89 and 2001). Our economy still relies in agricultural exports. The professional and worker class pays the debt every day in the form of high inflation, high interest rates, and low credit availability.

mauriciolange 6y ago

A little biased and contrafactual comment, yours. Those islands ARE linked to Argentina. And, same as Tierra del Fuego e Islas del Antartico Sur, it could have an enviable economic status among other Argentinean provinces.