Re: Argentina (fwd)

[Diego Miranda <miranda@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> At 12:16 PM 9/18/97 -0500, you wrote:
> >Since we have a few Argentines on PKT, and some non-Argentine students of
> >the country, maybe someone knows the story behind the World Bank's
> >mysterious upgrading of Argentina's per capita GDP figures. In the 1987
> >World Development Report, Argentina's per capita GDP was given as $2,130,
> >just behind South Korea and just above Mexico. In 1992, Argentina's income
> >was $2,370, way behind Korea's $5,400 and about $100 below Mexico. In the
> >1997 WDR, Argentina clocks in at $8,030, more than twice Mexico's $3,320,
> >and not that far behind Korea's $9,700. Does this make any sense to anyone?
> >
> >Doug

In 1992 (or 1993) there was a sharp redefinition of the argentine GDP,
following IDB and WB guidelines.  In this new calculation (currently
covering the 1980-1997 period with 1986 price structure), more weight was
given to the services sector, thus attempting to correct for operations
previously hidden in the "second" economy. In the MECON www there is a
complete dataset of the new accounts, and an incredibly poor explanation
of the methodolical changes introduced.  I do not know of any publication
--officcial or not-- extensively analyzing the rationale or methodology
for this redefinition.  I think, however, that the new accounts are more
realistic than the previous ones (i think they used the 1970 price
structure), in that they are more likely to reflect the real economic
activity of the country (see an edited book called "the second economy of
Zaire" for a good [political more than economic] analysis of the effects
of underestimating GDP on the economic policy and performance of a
developing country--would't it be nice to have something similar to
that for the Argentine case?)

Diego