Alejandro Werner gives a lecture on the economy of Argentina at CUNEF Universidad

On Tuesday, 7 October, he School of Business, Economics and Law organised a lecture on the economy of Argentina by Alejandro Werner, Founding Director of the Georgetown Americas Institute and former Director of the Western Hemisphere Department (WHD) at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). During the event, held in the Auditorium, Mr Werner shared some key insights with the students of CUNEF Universidad:

• One of the recurring problems in the economy of Argentina is the constant failure to determine how to finance public spending.
• Argentines are used to a middle-high income standard of living, because their country was very prosperous from 1900 to 1970, but currently that level is not sustainable.
• Citizens do not trust their local currency, and this translates into instability.
• The U.S. Treasury Secretary recently announced a $20 billion currency swap line. This is a very important achievement, but now Argentina has to use its limited resources strategically. In this sense, artificially sustaining a strong exchange rate is not the best option.

Likewise, Alejandro Werner went over the last century of Argentina’s economic history, reviewing key moments, like the hyperinflationary period in the 1970s and 80s, the law that fixed the exchange rate at one peso per dollar in the 90s, and the growth of the economy with the commodities boom in the 2000s. The event closed with a round of questions from the students.