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GUEST: Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research

Argentine president Nestor Kirchner recently had strong words of advice for International Monetary Fund Managing Director Rodrigo Rato in response to his criticisms of Argentina’s economic policies. During a campaign stop, President Kirchner told Rato, “Spend your time talking to others, because we’ve almost forgotten about you.” This month marks the fifth year of Argentina’s economic recovery and expansion since its 2001 economic collapse. President Kirchner has always placed responsibility on the IMF for the crisis. Prior to this past weekend’s annual spring meeting of the IMF and the World Bank in Washington D.C., Rato criticized Argentina’s inflation control policies and expenditures. The IMF’s annual world economic outlook report, released last Wednesday, predicted continued growth for Argentina’s economy, but also warned of rising inflation rates. A newly released retrospective report jointly published by the Center for Economic and Policy Research and the Political Economy Research Institute analyzes how government policies have fostered the successful recovery. Authored by two economists, Roberto Frenkel and Martin Rapetti, the report describes the Argentine experience as a viable strategy for other world economies in terms of promoting economic growth while containing inflation.

For more information, visit www.cepr.net.