Movements · menem_convertibility_argentina_1991_2001 Menem Convertibility Plan + liberalisations ARG · 1991 – 2001· Peronist Justicialist Party under Menem with Domingo Cavallo as Economy Minister
Leaders: Carlos Menem (President) · Domingo Cavallo (Economy 1991-1996, 2001)
Doctrine — stated goals and content 1-to-1 peso-dollar currency board (Convertibility Law, Apr 1991) + large- scale privatisations + trade opening + labour-market liberalisation. Ended 1980s hyperinflation quickly + produced growth 1991-1998 + attracted capital inflows. Unsustainable real appreciation accumulated; rigid exchange rate left no adjustment tool for 1999 Brazil devaluation + 1999-2001 external shocks. Ended in 2001-2002 collapse: sovereign default, corralito banking freeze, exchange rate collapse to ~3 pesos/USD. Canonical case of a market-oriented programme that achieved short-run goals but failed from exchange-rate-regime rigidity.
Policy-content fingerprint — how the framework codes this movement on its axes ↑
central bank independence → monetary.central_bank_independence
De jure and de facto independence of the central bank from fiscal authority. Per D.1.5 scope, one of the framework's defensible monetary positions.
increased · strong
greater independence (legal, operational, personnel)
Currency board removes discretion.
↑
trade openness → regulatory.trade_openness
Trade policy openness — tariffs, non-tariff barriers, FTAs, industrial protection.
increased · strong
more open trade
↑
product market competition → regulatory.product_market_competition
Product-market regulation, entry barriers, licensing burdens, network-industry regulation, price controls.
increased · strong
more competition-friendly (lower entry barriers)
Extensive privatisation of utilities, YPF, telecom, transport.
↑
spending level → fiscal.spending_level
General government spending as share of GDP, excluding transfers already captured under fiscal.transfer_expansion to avoid double-counting.
increased · moderate
higher spending share
Provincial overspend + structural deficit grew despite privatisation revenue.
Policies enacted · argentina_convertibility_law_1991 · argentina_privatisations_1991_1999 · argentina_trade_opening_1991_1995 · argentina_convertibility_plan_1991 What the data says — linked outcome hypotheses The movement's outcome claims are tied to these hypotheses. Verdicts update as models run.
not yet written exchange_rate_regime_choice_and_crisis_vulnerability
Schools of thought aligned or opposed partial austrian Rule-based money appealing; rigidity failure case.
References Cavallo (2001), Convertibility: Lessons from Argentina Blustein (2005), And the Money Kept Rolling In (and Out) IESET — an empirically-grounded, adversarially-reviewed framework for contemporary economic policy questions. Every hypothesis pre-registered in git before the data is examined.