Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Four Financial Crises in Argentina: a comparative study into the causes

Kronfelt, Anders LU (2015) EKH480 20142
Department of Economic History
Abstract
This study is concerned with exploring the causes for four financial crises in Argentina’s history stretching from 1890 to 2002 and with comparing the causes in order to find recurring problems. I will argue that the crisis in 1929-1932 is the one differing from the other three on several aspects: its prime causes were external; the public deficits were modest; there was no sudden stop in inflow of foreign capital; it was better managed; and it was not preceded by financial deregulation. All this meant that Argentina in the 1930s managed to avoid debt default and a major bank crash, which could not be averted in the other crises. Further, I will claim that there is support for the explanation that deregulation of the financial sector can,... (More)
This study is concerned with exploring the causes for four financial crises in Argentina’s history stretching from 1890 to 2002 and with comparing the causes in order to find recurring problems. I will argue that the crisis in 1929-1932 is the one differing from the other three on several aspects: its prime causes were external; the public deficits were modest; there was no sudden stop in inflow of foreign capital; it was better managed; and it was not preceded by financial deregulation. All this meant that Argentina in the 1930s managed to avoid debt default and a major bank crash, which could not be averted in the other crises. Further, I will claim that there is support for the explanation that deregulation of the financial sector can, if badly managed, contribute to financial crisis. Then, I find that an appreciating real exchange rate was a problem in all four periods, and that a rigid currency policy was a central problem in two crises. In all four crises, political turmoil aggravated the economic development by creating uncertainty. Finally, large public deficits in combination with large external capital inflows led to the build-up of debts to unmanageable levels in three of the four crises. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Kronfelt, Anders LU
supervisor
organization
course
EKH480 20142
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
keywords
Argentina, financial crises, external shocks, capital flows, domestic savings, deregulation, fiscal policies, exchange-rate regime, political shocks, crisis management
language
English
id
7370056
date added to LUP
2015-06-25 08:51:44
date last changed
2015-06-25 08:51:44
@misc{7370056,
  abstract     = {{This study is concerned with exploring the causes for four financial crises in Argentina’s history stretching from 1890 to 2002 and with comparing the causes in order to find recurring problems. I will argue that the crisis in 1929-1932 is the one differing from the other three on several aspects: its prime causes were external; the public deficits were modest; there was no sudden stop in inflow of foreign capital; it was better managed; and it was not preceded by financial deregulation. All this meant that Argentina in the 1930s managed to avoid debt default and a major bank crash, which could not be averted in the other crises. Further, I will claim that there is support for the explanation that deregulation of the financial sector can, if badly managed, contribute to financial crisis. Then, I find that an appreciating real exchange rate was a problem in all four periods, and that a rigid currency policy was a central problem in two crises. In all four crises, political turmoil aggravated the economic development by creating uncertainty. Finally, large public deficits in combination with large external capital inflows led to the build-up of debts to unmanageable levels in three of the four crises.}},
  author       = {{Kronfelt, Anders}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Four Financial Crises in Argentina: a comparative study into the causes}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}