Argentina Property Investment, Economic Potential and Government Mismanagement

The Argentine government has said the economy grew by 2,7% in March, meanwhile the International Monetary Fund is still predicting a 1.5% contraction in the Argentine economy this year.

That said, if the Argentine economy does shrink this year it will be as much the fault of government mismanagement as any outside influences.

Argentina is among the top 5 largest exporters of food in the world. It has the fifth largest stock of cattle in the world yet is the fourth largest exporter of meat. Biofuel production is also a rapid growth sector within the Argentine economy and the Information technology sector had accelerated to 22% growth per year up to 2008.

All in all Argentina has comparable potential for economic growth to Belize or Panama, both of which are expected to grow by 3% this year. Thus, the Argentine government's mismanagement of the economy must take some responsibility for the fact that Argentina isn't.

In the words of the CIA Fact-book Argentina suffered during most of the 20th century from recurring economic crises, persistent fiscal and current account deficits, high inflation, mounting external debt, and capital flight.

The crises culminated in 2001 when the economy bottomed before growing massively until 2006. Mistakes were made during this period, mainly with the government's failure to keep a handle on inflation. This led to the most recent administration(s) frantically trying to curtail inflation by limiting the price growth companies could achieve, which left Argentina in bad shape when the global economy began to contract.

Thus, people considering investing in Argentinean property, which is potentially very lucrative, would be well advised to watch the government's economic policies as anything else. That said, over the long-term Argentina property values will grow hugely.