Evolution of Argentina's development gaps between 2010 and 2019: a new lost decade?

Abstract

 Measuring, quantifying, and analyzing a country's level of development from a multidimensional perspective is a complex task, as there are no universal definitions, tools, or criteria for doing so. This paper builds on the legacy of previous studies on development gaps (from the 2000s) to diagnose Argentina's situation and evolution during the 2010–2019 period. For this purpose, an extensive international database is constructed, covering fourteen dimensions of development and three reference years (circa 2010, 2015, and 2019), providing an updated and dynamic assessment of Argentina's development gaps. This period of analysis allows not only for an examination of the evolution of these gaps between the beginning and the end of the decade but also for an exploration of two sub-periods under different national governments and political orientations, reflected in pendulum-like dynamics across various areas of development. The results show that, just as one can speak of a new lost decade in macroeconomic terms, it also represents a wasted decade in the erratic path of Argentina's development.