 | This article may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject , potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral.(January 2019) |
Argentina has a longstanding relationship with the World Bank. Argentina has one of the biggest economies in Latin America and is rich in natural resources, which could play a large part in its future economic development. [1]
The World Bank is an international financial organisation. Its primary purpose is to offer loans to countries for capital projects. [2]
Argentina is an affluent country, but it also has high levels of poverty. [3] From 2004 to 2008, Argentina reduced poverty levels by promoting economic growth. Average income grew at a rate of 7.6%. The lowest 40% of incomes rose by 4.2% during this period. After 2008, income growth slowed down. [1]
In 2019 Argentina's economic freedom score was 52.2, ranking 148th globally. Its overall score decreased by 0.1 points, with plunging scores for fiscal health and government spending, outweighing improvements in monetary freedom [4] and property rights. Argentina ranked 26th among 32 countries in the Americas region, and its overall score remained below the regional and world average.
Since the 2015 presidential election, Argentina's economic policies prioritized unification of the exchange rate, reaching an agreement with international creditors, modernizing import policies, reducing inflation and reforming the national statistics system. Experts claimed these reforms would lower external tariffs, increase GDP and increase trade. [5]
In April 2017, after a long period of financial distress, President Mauricio Macri declared that "Argentina is in the middle of a cultural change" and that "Argentina is back in the world. Argentina wants to play a significant role in the global scenario." [6] Argentina did increase its international trade. Argentina is a member of the G20. The country is looking into the OECD to become an observer in the Pacific Alliance.
At the beginning of 2019, economic growth slowed, producing forecasts of a recession. In April 2018, the Argentine peso depreciated with its value decreasing by 50% against the dollar. This caused inflation to skyrocket in June. [1] Notwithstanding an ongoing crisis of confidence in the economy, President Macri is sticking with his government's politically risky austerity plan of budget cuts and tax increases to close the fiscal gap.
The World Bank has helped Argentina on multiple occasions. It offered new loans after the economic downturn of 2017.
Argentina became a member country of the world Bank group in 1956, [7] 10 years after the inception of the banking group. The country's first projects began 5 years later in 1961, [8] focusing primarily on infrastructure development projects. Between 1961 and 1979, all projects funded by the World Bank to Argentina focused on developing the nation's roads, highways, and agricultural production. [8] In the 1980s, the World Bank began to diversify its projects in Argentina, funding industrial credit program, coal and oil refineries, banking loans and public sector development credits. [8]
In the 1990s, the World Bank expanded its global mission to include programs aimed at good governance (which it measures with six indicators [9] ). It asserted that governance is "the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a country's economic and social resources for development [10] ". In 1983, Argentina underwent a regime change from a military dictatorship to a democracy after the election of Raul Alfonsin, and experienced issues with corruption and mismanagement throughout the 1980s and 1990s. [11] [12] The World Bank expanded projects in Argentina over the 1990s to include judicial reform, tax reform, and general public sector reform in efforts to improve Argentina's good governance indicators. [11] [8]
In 2017, the President of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim met with Argentinian officials in Buenos Aires. During his visit, Kim made a public speech focused on trade opportunities, knowledge sharing and cutting-edge technology. [13] Kim announced that the World Bank's two billion dollar investment in Argentina would be in sectors such as renewable energy, human development, agriculture, infrastructure, and in poverty reduction. [13]
The World Bank announced in November 2018 that the first 500 million dollars of the investment would target the overall finances of Argentina. Another $450 million would go to the Children and Youth Protection Program. According to the agreement, the 32.5 year work period would be extended an additional 7.5 years if the projects do not achieve results. [14]
As of 2019, The World Bank group has committed US$7.7 billion to 26 active projects. [15] The World Bank states that its investment goals in Argentina are developing health, environment, education, infrastructure, labor market and social protection. Beginning in the 1980s, Argentina has been one of the largest recipients of World Bank financial support, generally falling in the top 10 credit receiving countries. [12]
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an organization within the World Bank that specializes in investment, advisory, and asset management services and aims to promote private-sector development in developing countries. [16] Since 2000 the IFC has partnered with the Pan American Energy group, the second largest gas and oil organization in Argentina. [17]
IFC provided a $55 million loan to Banco Industrial in Argentina to give more to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Located in Buenos Aires Banco Industrial is a private bank that focuses on short-term and well-coordinated financial products. IFC promotes the idea that smaller businesses will create jobs and drive financial growth. SMEs are one mode of Argentina economic development, which Banco Industrial has focused on as a basis for digital banking. [18]
The economy of Cameroon was one of the most prosperous in Africa for a quarter of a century after independence. The drop in commodity prices for its principal exports – petroleum, cocoa, coffee, and cotton – in the mid-1980s, combined with an overvalued currency and economic mismanagement, led to a decade-long recession. Real per capita GDP fell by more than 60% from 1986 to 1994. The current account and fiscal deficits widened, and foreign debt grew. Yet because of its oil reserves and favorable agricultural conditions, Cameroon still has one of the best-endowed primary commodity economies in sub-Saharan Africa.
The economy of Djibouti is derived in large part from its strategic location on the Red Sea. Djibouti is mostly barren, with little development in the agricultural and industrial sectors. The country has a harsh climate, a largely unskilled labour force, and limited natural resources. The country's most important economic asset is its strategic location, connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. As such, Djibouti's economy is commanded by the services sector, providing services as both a transit port for the region and as an international transshipment and refueling centre.
The economy of the Republic of the Congo is a mixture of subsistence hunting and agriculture, an industrial sector based largely on petroleum extraction and support services. Government spending is characterized by budget problems and overstaffing. Petroleum has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the economy, providing a major share of government revenues and exports. Nowadays the Republic of the Congo is increasingly converting natural gas to electricity rather than burning it, greatly improving energy prospects.
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is an international financial institution, established in 1944 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, it is the lending arm of World Bank Group. The IBRD offers loans to middle-income developing countries.It is the first of five member institutions that compose the World Bank Group. The initial mission of the IBRD in 1944, was to finance the reconstruction of European nations devastated by World War II. The IBRD and its concessional lending arm, the International Development Association (IDA), are collectively known as the World Bank as they share the same leadership and staff.
The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Group. The bank is headquartered in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It provided around $98.83 billion in loans and assistance to "developing" and transition countries in the 2021 fiscal year. The bank's stated mission is to achieve the twin goals of ending extreme poverty and building shared prosperity. Total lending as of 2015 for the last 10 years through Development Policy Financing was approximately $117 billion. Its five organizations are the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The first two are sometimes collectively referred to as the World Bank.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an international financial institution that offers investment, advisory, and asset-management services to encourage private-sector development in less developed countries. The IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States.
The economy of Bolivia is the 95th-largest in the world in nominal terms and the 87th-largest in purchasing power parity. Bolivia is classified by the World Bank to be a lower middle income country. With a Human Development Index of 0.703, it is ranked 114th. Driven largely by its natural resources, Bolivia has become a region leader in measures of economic growth, fiscal stability and foreign reserves, although it remains a historically poor country. The Bolivian economy has had a historic single-commodity focus. From silver to tin to coca, Bolivia has enjoyed only occasional periods of economic diversification. Political instability and difficult topography have constrained efforts to modernize the agricultural sector. Similarly, relatively low population growth coupled with low life expectancy has kept the labor supply in flux and prevented industries from flourishing. Rampant inflation and corruption previously created development challenges, but in the early twenty-first century the fundamentals of its economy showed unexpected improvement, leading Moody's Investors Service to upgrade Bolivia's economic rating in 2010 from B2 to B1. The mining industry, especially the extraction of natural gas and zinc, currently dominates Bolivia's export economy.
The Inter-American Development Bank is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America, and serving as the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean. Established in 1959, the IDB supports Latin American and Caribbean economic development, social development and regional integration by lending to governments and government agencies, including State corporations.
Structural adjustment programs (SAPs) consist of loans provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) to countries that experience economic crises. Their stated purpose is to adjust the country's economic structure, improve international competitiveness, and restore its balance of payments.
The economy of Argentina is the second-largest national economy in South America, behind Brazil. Argentina is a developing country with a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base.
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and International Development Association (IDA), two of five international organizations owned by the World Bank Group. It was established along with the International Monetary Fund at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference. After a slow start, its first loan was to France in 1947. In the 1970s, it focused on loans to developing world countries, shifting away from that mission in the 1980s. For the last 30 years, it has included NGOs and environmental groups in its loan portfolio. Its loan strategy is influenced by the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, as well as environmental and social safeguards.
China originally joined the World Bank Group (WBG) on December 27, 1945. However, after the Chinese Civil War, the World Bank recognized the Republic of China as its member, until the relationship ended in 1980, when the membership was replaced by the People's Republic of China. The People's Republic of China (PRC) did not become involved with the World Bank group until 1980, when it first joined the World Bank in April due to the market reforms known as reform and opening-up. Prior to the economic reform and its relation with the World Bank, according to CRS, "China maintained policies that kept the economy very poor, stagnant, centrally controlled, vastly inefficient, and relatively isolated from the global economy". Since its entry into the World Bank, China has transformed into a market-based economy and has experienced rapid economic and social development. Currently, although China has become the world's second largest economy with 1.4 billion population, it still has a close relationship with the World Bank in areas such as poverty, environmental protection and new challenges from the reform.
Uruguay and the World Bank have been working together for a long time. This is because they both mutually benefit.
Vietnam joined the World Bank Group (WBG) on 21 September 1956. Before the mid-1980s, Vietnam was one of the world's least developed countries. A series of economic and political reforms launched in 1986, known as Đổi Mới, caused Vietnam to experience rapid economic growth and development, becoming a lower middle-income country. The World Bank (WB) has maintained a development partnership with Vietnam since 1993. As of 25 March 2019, it has committed a total of US$24 billion in loans, credits, and grants to Vietnam through 165 operations and projects, 44 of which are active as of 2019 and comprise US$9 billion. With an estimated extreme poverty rate below 3% and a GDP growth rate of 7.1% in 2018, Vietnam's economy continues to show fundamental strength and is supported by robust domestic demand and export-oriented manufacturing.
The World Bank Group (WBG) provides grants, credits and policy analysis to support economic development in Tanzania with a focus on infrastructure and private sector growth. As of 2018, WBG supports 25 active projects with funding of more than $3.95 billion. The WBG provides analytical and technical assistance in coordination with these projects. From 2007-2018 Tanzania maintained real GDP growth averaging 6.8% a year. Growth concentrated in the agricultural and transportation sectors. Complementing this growth, the poverty rate in Tanzania fell from 28.2% in 2012 to 26.9% in 2016. Debate exists over the validity of this growth as development may be unevenly dispersed among different geographic and income groups.
Croatia joined the World Bank in 1993, two years after declaring independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991. The World Bank's projects from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s primarily focused on infrastructural and environmental projects.
The World Bank Group is a family of five international organizations, which has continuously given leverage loans and financial assistance to developing nations like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, commonly known as the DRC. The country has received assistance from the World Bank in the form of social programs in order to induce and sustain economic development. This assistance has been directed toward conflict prevention, investments in education, and addressing environmental degradation.
Tajikistan did not join in the World Bank until 1993. Before the collapse of USSR in 1991, Tajikistan was experiencing planned economy which was dominated by Moscow. Right after the dissolution, different from other nations which experienced a relatively stable transition from planned economy to market economy, Tajikistan fell into a serious civil war. As a result, the first mission after Tajikistan became the official member of the World Bank, was to recover its economy from bullets and blood. In 1997. $10 million credit was grant for Post-Conflict Rehabilitation Project. The proposed credit was used to conduct necessary imports and to restore production. Under different time periods, the World Bank and Tajikistan worked together in response to various problems. Later on, the economic crisis of 2008 caused the inflation of food prices in Tajikistan. In response to the crisis, the World Bank issued $6.25 million for the Emergency Food Security and Seed Imports Project in order to help at least 28000 households to release the food price pressure. Coming into the 21st century, Tajikistan received financing from IDA and IBRD of the World Bank with respect to programs of healthcare, education, irrigation and agriculture. Over the past years, Tajikistan has received over 130 projects of which 17 are active and a total of over $1.4 billion from the World Bank. With the help of those projects, from 2000 to 2017, the poverty rate in Tajikistan had been decreased from 83% to 29.5%. Besides, current GDP growth rate in Tajikistan is around 7%. Nevertheless, with a stable GDP growth rate, Tajikistan is still one of the poorest countries in Central Asia.
Jamaica first joined The World Bank Group (WBG) on the 21st of February, 1963, when the island nation became a member of The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which lends to middle and low income nations. This occurred the same month as Jamaica joining the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and one year after declaring political independence. Since joining The World Bank, Jamaica has received in excess of $3 billion US Dollars in loans and grants. Jamaican Minister of Finance, Donald Sangster, led the Jamaican delegations to World Bank and International monetary Fund meetings between 1963 and 1966, while also serving as Governor of the World Bank and IMF. Sangster would go on to serve briefly as the Prime Minister of Jamaica.
Malaysia's independence in 1957 was a catalyst for growth. As the nation took charge of managing its own affairs, it continued to develop the goals and means necessary for a financial structure conducive to the economic growth observed today. Critical to the transition of Malaysia from a low-income country to one of high-income status has been the expansion of its economy. From a commodity and agricultural-based economy, the Southeast Asian nation is transitioning to a leading exporter of more complex goods. As the nation opens up to trade and investment, the World Bank and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and International Development Association (IDA) continue to assist with its development.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help){{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
