--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-33/argentina-was-not-the-productivity-and-economic-growth-champion-of-latin-america/" title: "Argentina Was Not the Productivity and Economic Growth Champion of Latin America" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T07:42:38+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T07:42:38+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2017" ipm_keyword: - "Argentina" - "ARKLEMS" - "commodities" - "economic growth" - "GDP" - "Kirchner" - "Latin America" - "productivity" - "statistical manipulation" - "TFP" ipm_research_theme: - "Productivity trends and comparisons" ipm_country_focus: - "Argentina" - "Latin America" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Argentina Was Not the Productivity and Economic Growth Champion of Latin America Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-33/argentina-was-not-the-productivity-and-economic-growth-champion-of-latin-america/ # Argentina Was Not the Productivity and Economic Growth Champion of Latin America [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-33-5-Coremberg.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Coremberg, Ariel. 2017. “Argentina Was Not the Productivity and Economic Growth Champion of Latin America.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 33 (Fall 2017): 77–90. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-33/argentina-was-not-the-productivity-and-economic-growth-champion-of-latin-america/ ## Author: - Ariel Coremberg UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean ## IPM Issue 33 Fall 2017 pp. 77–90 ## Related IPM articles [Is the SNA Still Useful? 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However, this article shows that Argentina’s GDP growth was underwhelming. Statistical estimates produced by the new Argentine government support the ARKLEMS project’s evidence that the Kirchner administration overstated growth. Distortions were large and discretionary and affected all industries, independent of the downward bias of the Consumer Price Index and the Wholesale Price Index. New stylized facts counter the claims of the Kirchner administration. First, real GDP growth in the 20022015 period was weaker than in the 1990-1998 period. Second, GDP only grew in the subperiod 2002-2007 because of the commodities boom. Third, GDP growth in Argentina was second lowest among ten Latin American countries in the 1998-2015 period. Fourth, GDP growth during the 2002-2015 period was extensive in nature, based on factor accumulation, not total factor productivity, so was not sustainable. L’administration Kirchner (2002-2015) affirmait qu’elle avait connu une croissance du PIB record sous sa direction. Cependant, cet article montre que la croissance du PIB en Argentine était décevante. Les estimations statistiques du nouveau gouvernement argentin corroborent les données du projet ARKLEMS selon lesquelles l’administration Kirchner a surestimé la croissance. Les distorsions étaient importantes et discrétionnaires et ont affecté toutes les industries, indépendamment du biais à la baisse de l’indice des prix à la consommation et de l’indice des prix de gros. De nouveaux faits stylisés contredisent les affirmations de l’administration Kirchner : la croissance réelle du PIB en 2002-2015 était plus faible que sur la période 1990-1998; le PIB n’a progressé que dans la sous-période 2002-2007 grâce au boom des matières premières; et la croissance du PIB en Argentine était la deuxième plus faible parmi dix pays d’Amérique latine sur la période 1998-2015. 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