How the Financial Statements of Argentine Firms Reflected Stabilization and Reform Attempts during 1976-81

摘要

In 1976 Argentine policymakers launched a major program to remove controls on prices, interest rates, and international transactions. Simultaneously, they attempted to rid the economy of inflation. By 1981 these reforms had been abandoned, and the economy had returned to hyperinflation. The paper documents the reactions of firms to the major changes in the environment between 1976 and 1981, and provides new evidence on why the reforms failed. The analysis is based upon the financial statements of 155 publicly traded industrial corporations. These statements are corrected for inflation and used to construct a time series of financial performance indicators for each firm. Values of these indicators are then compared over time for three major firm types: exportable goods producers, importable goods producers, and nontradeable goods producers. (Copyright (c) 1984, The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.)