What’s in it for me? Understand what makes the world’s greatest economies tick

False economy
What’s in it for me? Understand what makes the world’s greatest economies tick.
Did you ever wonder why some countries prosper while others fail? Is this all due to climate, natural resources, and the different mentalities of the people in those nations? Or can it all be chalked up to choices made by their respective governments? Why is it that the United States and Argentina followed extremely different trajectories even though they started out with similar economic conditions?
These blinks will explore all these questions as you learn about the economic histories of several globally important nations.
In these blinks, you’ll also learn:

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  About parasitic cities;
  
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  Why there’s so much asparagus in Peru; and
  
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  How oil can make a society extremely volatile.
  

Important choices, not fate, determined the economic state of Argentina and the United States.

Have you ever wondered why a country like the United States is a giant in the world economy, while a country like Argentina has continually struggled? As we’ll see, this was not something that happened by chance.
As a matter of fact, Argentina and the United States started out in very similar situations.
The United States officially became an independent nation when its constitution came into effect in 1789. Argentina was particularly inspired by the American revolution, and in 1816 Argentinian rebels took control of their government to establish their own independence. And as these two countries started out, both nations had similar economic outlooks based on rich agricultural promise and plenty of fertile land.
But the two paths diverged when the countries made different choices on how to develop their land.
America chose to divide their land up between skilled individuals and families. Capable farmers from Europe arrived to make the most of the opportunity, and they helped expand and settle America’s western frontier.
Conversely, Argentina decided to divide its land among a select few rich and powerful landlords. As a result, its agricultural potential was stunted because the policy failed to attract skilled laborers and farmers to develop the land.
The two nation’s paths continued to diverge following twentieth-century industrialization.
While the United States embraced the manufacturing industries and the foreign trade possibilities they presented, Argentina shut itself off in an effort to become self-sufficient. Argentina rejected the interests of foreign investors and the risky business of globalization, preferring instead to protect its government monopolies.
So, as the US economy flourished in the twentieth century, Argentina continued to seal off its manufacturing businesses by keeping out imports and heavily taxing exports. In 2001, in its efforts to be self-reliant, Argentina was forced into one of the largest government bankruptcies in history.