Economics for Dummies
Just when you think world economic policy might be moving in a more sensible direction, along comes Latin America. This month's lesson in how not to create prosperity comes from Argentina, which has decided that the way to whip inflation is to throw out inconvenient statistics.
Recently the Peronist government of President Nestór Kirchner sacked an official at its National Statistics and Census Institute for refusing to agree to alter the "methodology" used to calculate inflation in January. Armed guards then escorted a political appointee to replace her.
As his government heads into the season of negotiating labor contracts, Mr. Kirchner has an incentive to underestimate inflation. And sure enough, five days after this dismissal, the government released its January inflation number of 1.1%, well below the 1.5% to 2% expected by non-government economists. These private economists say that, to reach the lower number, the new director agreed to modify increases in the cost of fruits and vegetables and understate soaring health insurance premiums and higher prices in tourism.
Employees of the Statistics Institute protested outside their offices and issued a statement accusing the government of "tampering" with the inflation index. International markets did not react well either. Inflation-linked Argentine peso bonds sold off almost 4%. Mr. Kirchner has responded by referring to the protesters as "mafiosas." Mark it down as one more reason Argentina can't shake its reputation as an economic banana republic.
economics for dummies
ReplyDeleteor
ECONOMICS BY DUMMIES
Si bien no hemos llegado a esos extremos, la falsificación de las estadísticas ha sido una constante en los países bajo el "socialismo real". Michael Voslensky ("La Nomenklatura), que algo sabía sobre los procedimientos de la burocracia soviética porque había sido un connotado integrante de ella, escribió: "…la falsificación de las estadísticas continúa bajo Kruschev; él mismo las denuncia durante el pleno del Comité central realizado en enero de 1961; sin embargo, las falsificaciones siguen hoy a la orden del día" ("La Nomenklatura, pág. 146)"...la Nomenklatura se sirve de las falsificaciones estadísticas para paliar la tendencia a la reducción de las fuerzas productivas. Contra esta reducción, de la que hemos visto que se trata de una consecuencia de la planificación, no existe más que un remedio: inventar cifras imaginarias" (pág. 146).
ReplyDelete