How Far Have Commercial Policy Reforms of the 90s in Argentina Gone?

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to assess the extent to which changes in commercial policies in Argentina during the 90s have contributed to expand the country’s volume of trade compared to those of the 80s. The estimates indicate that the commercial policies of the late 90s resulted in a reduction in the taxation of international trade from 80 percent in the second half of the 80s to 20 percent. This reduction in the taxation of the volume of trade is estimated to account for 68 percent of the total increase in the volume of imports of the period 1995-99 over that of the second half of the 80s. On the other hand, increases in aggregate demand and in real output, and more favorable external terms of trade account for the remaining 32 percent of the increase in imports.