Sillypott --
The good news is that there are reams of comparative economic
information available about both countries, so it's more a matter of
sorting out what you'd like to concentrate on. Lots has been written
about both countries' economic progress and dozens of studies have
been done on the single issue of Mexico and the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
INTRODUCTION
-----------------------
A good place to start for an overview is in the economic section of
the CIA Factbook, which gives a broad outline of 20th Century issues
for each country:
Central Intelligence Agency
CIA Factbook -- Argentina (Dec. 18, 2003)
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
The CIA factbook makes note of the Peronist history of the country,
which was critical in shaping the government's strong economic control
of business and unions. Then a
military junta took power in 1976, leading to the Falkland War with
England. Following it, democracy returned in 1983.
The overall issues of external debt and recent inflation are also
treated -- and it provides recent economic grow and per capita GNP
numbers.
Central Intelligence Agency
CIA Factbook -- Mexico (Dec. 18, 2003)
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
The CIA almanac does the same thing for Mexico, noting the importance
of the victory of former Coca-Cola executive Vicente Fox in 2000.
Free trade agreements with North American and Central American
neighbors have been important in the country's growth. It has a per
capita GNP about 10% lower than that of Argentina.
MORE DETAILS
-----------------------
In 1995, three economists -- with the support of an international
group of economic think tanks including the Fraser Institute in Canada
and the Cato Institute in the U.S. -- published the first volume of
"Economic Freedom of the World."
It covered the periods 1975-1995 and has subsequently been updated.
It looks for measurable components of an economy in the areas of
personal choice, protection of private property and freedom of
exchange. It's highly recommended, as it notes that "no country with
a persistently high economic freedom rating during the two decades
failed to achieve a high level of income."
Fraser Institute
"Economic Freedom of the World, 1975-1995" (Gwartney, Lawson, Block)
http://oldfraser.lexi.net/publications/books/econ_free95/
The 1995 report in its paper form notes the following on the two
countries. The online version seems to be missing these comments.
Note that it may be worth getting the printed reports, if you have
access to a complete business library or even a good public library:
ARGENTINA:
The country moved more rapidly than any other country except New
Zealand towards a free economy in the period 1975-1985, though it's
still ranked as a 6.3 in the 1993-1995 period, placing it #26 among
103 countries for which there's data. However, in 1975 and 1985 the
county was in the bottom 10 due to trade restrictions, hyperinflation,
taxes and government regulation.
In the late 1980s exchange rate controls were eliminated and the peso
anchored to the U.S. dollar as the country tried to emulate the
economic success shown by Chicago school economists in neighboring
Chile. As an example, tax rates dropped from 62% in 1985 to 30% in
1994. And inflation dropped from 2000% in 1990 to 25% in 1992, then
to 4% in 1994.
One important factor for all South American countries (including
Argentina) was the 1994 Mexican monetary crisis, which tightened
credit terms and raised interest rates. A complete description of the
event and the Clinton Administration response is here:
North-South Center
"As Mexico Imploded: Action and Inaction in the United States"
(Weintraub, July, 1997)
http://www.miami.edu/nsc/publications/pub-ap-pdf/28AP.pdf
MEXICO:
The Gwartney, Lawson, Block analysis of Mexico in 1995 places Mexican
per capital GDP at $6,260 vs. $6,025 for Argentina (1994 numbers).
The country was ranked 45th, with a 1993-1995 score of 5.8.
Written immediately after the 1994 peso crisis, they note that "Mexico
would do well to follow the path of Argentina and tie its currency
(and monetary policy) to the dollar or a basket of stable currencies.
Without this stable money, Mexico will fail to achieve its full
potential."
For more recent analyses, see:
Fraser Institute
Economic Freedom of the World, 2003 Report
http://www.freetheworld.com/release.html
And links to earlier reports:
http://www.freetheworld.com/book.html
There is an excellent bibliography for further research on pages 22-23:
http://www.freetheworld.com/2003/1EFW2003ch1.pdf
THE WORLD BANK
---------------------------
The World Bank is an excellent resource for detailed infrastructure
information and analyses on economies.
World Bank
Mexico
http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/external/lac/lac.nsf/d5c7ea5f4536e705852567d6006b50ff/45f0f54a7e98f5aa852567ed00478f47?OpenDocument
Argentina
http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/external/lac/lac.nsf/33340524da5477d5852567d6006ab9ba/ce7038ba5210af16852567dd005e597d?OpenDocument
UP-TO-DATE NEWS
-----------------------------
Both news and analyses can be gleaned using Google's News service. A
simple search strategy at http://news.google.com using the following
terms will give you lots of current material:
Argentina + economy
Mexico + economy
Google search strategy:
"CIA Factbook"
"Economic Freedom of the World"
"Mexican monetary crisis" + 1994
"World Bank"
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA |
Clarification of Answer by
omnivorous-ga
on
18 Mar 2004 17:58 PST
Sillypott --
Let me look for some comparative studies on Friday and report back.
The "Economic History of the World" numbers are a pretty good time
series, though for brevity they survey every 5 years (multiple reports
would give you every year). For a longer time series, I might suggest
Encyclopedia Britannica; for the 1990s a series of almanacs may be the
best way to get each year. The almanacs will use data from one of
three sources:
* The World Bank (also known as the International Bank for
Reconstruction & Development)
* CIA
* Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD:
http://www.oecd.org/infobycountry/0,2646,en_2649_201185_1_70240_1_1_1,00.html
http://www.oecd.org/infobycountry/0,2646,en_2649_201185_1_70651_1_1_1,00.html
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA
|
Clarification of Answer by
omnivorous-ga
on
19 Mar 2004 08:40 PST
Sillypott --
Here are some comparative articles mentioning Mexico and Argentina
both. A number of them deal with the fallout of the 1994 peso
devaluation, which hit debt-laden Argentina quickly. Luckily it
provides some immediate contrast between the situations of the two
countries:
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
"The Mexican Economy Since the Tequila Crisis," (Gruben, November, 2000)
www.dallasfed.org/research/indepth/2000/id0010.pdf
American Farm Bureau
"Free Trade in the Americas" (Skorburg, November, 2002)
http://www.fb.com/issues/analysis/Econ_Analysis_FTA-2.pdf
This Indian article does some interesting comparisons and contrasts,
though there's little about Ghosh and Chandrasekhar to help establish
their credibility:
FreeIndiaMedia.com
"Neoliberalism, Investment and Growth in Latin America" (Ghosh and
Chandrasekhar, undated)
http://www.freeindiamedia.com/economy/12_jan_04_economy.htm
Also, I should have thought of The Economist, the British financial
weekly magazine, as an excellent resource for international reporting
earlier. Note that these pages have premium content, but that there
is SUBSTANTIAL news and analysis on the free pages:
The Economist
Argentina
http://www.economist.com/countries/Argentina/
Mexico
http://www.economist.com/countries/Mexico/
This article from The Banker is pessimistic but gives an up-to-date
analysis of the decisions facing the Argentine government:
Looksmart
"Americas: Argentina - Crumbling Away Behind A Facade Of Optimism,"
(The Banker, Jan. 1, 2004)
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m3259/2004_Jan_1/112209319/p1/article.jhtml
Finally, the OECD's "Frequently Requested Statistics" include annual
GDP and GDP per capital measures (among others) for the recent years.
While it may not be as complete as you'd like, the information is
up-to-date and generally covers the past 5 years:
OECD
"Frequently Requested Statistics"
http://www.oecd.org/document/15/0,2340,en_2649_201185_1873295_1_1_1_1,00.html
Google search strategy:
Mexico + Argentina + economy + comparisons
"contrast between" + Mexico + Argentina + economy
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA
|
