Real exchange rate and openness in emerging economies: Argentina in the long run

Abstract

Argentina's economic policies since the beginning of the century, give an interesting background to the study of Real Exchange Rate (RER) management in emerging countries. In this article, four types of RER overvaluation are identified. In the 1920s, Argentina provides a short example of overvaluation in a context of a fixed exchange rate policy. Moreover, the estimations show that import substitution regimes can lead to a misalignment of RER. Argentina illustrates also the difficult management of RER in a volatile environment. The results allow, in addition, to better understand the failure of the trade liberalization attempts of the country and remind that successfully integrating the world economy asks for an appropriate RER policy.