ABSTRACT

This chapter describes definitions of financialisation used in centre countries. It analyses financialisation in Argentina, focusing specifically on three aspects: the financialisation of commodity markets, Argentina’s main exports; the accumulation of international reserves by central banks since the 1990s; and the cycles of growing public indebtedness and crises. The chapter discusses the impact of commodity market financialisation and its impact on reserve accumulation and public debt cycles, focusing specifically on the case of Argentina. In Argentina, commodity financialisation has impacted primarily through the fluctuation of prices of its main exports: soybean, soybean oil, wheat and maize. For Argentina, commodity market financialisation in the centre has resulted in increased price volatility of its main exports: soybean, soybean oil, maize and wheat. In sum, financialisation’s multiple effects, together with the globalisation of production and finance, impose strong restrictions on the periphery’s development possibilities.