ABSTRACT
The hyperinflation in Argentina at the time of the change in government from Raul Alfonsin to Carlos Menem marked the beginning of the sharpest shift in Argentina's economic policy and its relationship with the world since the end of the Second World War. Until 1988, Menem was typical of the populist political leaders of the traditional parties in Argentina. This chapter describes Argentina's economy as 'capitalism without markets and socialism without plans'. It argues that in order for help to be effective, the USA needed to support the change in the rules of the game that we proposed using mechanisms similar to those applied to rebuilding Japan and Western Europe in the aftermath of the Second World War. It also argues that, just like in the post-war period, the benefits would spread from our countries to the global economy.
