logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2022
27m 13s

Argentina: Life with hyperinflation

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Inflation in Argentina is racing towards 100%. In a country where prices are constantly on the move, it’s hard to navigate daily life as salaries slump and the cost-of-living soars. But, after decades of lurching from one economic crisis to another, Argentines have developed their own techniques for dealing with soaring inflation. In this week’s Assignment, Jane Chambers travels to the capital Buenos Aires to find out how people from all walks of life are coping. People in places like Diego Maradona’s hometown have to queue for food parcels to get by. The dollar is increasingly being used as the alternative economy and an outspoken Presidential Candidate has come up with a strategy to deal with the billions of dollars owed to the International Monetary Fund. Presenter/Producer Jane Chambers with help from Buenos Aires based journalists Lucinda Elliott and Isobel McGrigor Studio Manager: Neil Churchill & Rod Farquhar Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman and Iona Hammond Editor: Penny Murphy

Photo Credit: Lucinda Elliot

Up next
Today
Ark of the dry lands
Researchers in Morocco are developing dry-land agriculture at ICARDA (the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas). It is home to a gene bank, in which around 150,000 different seed-types are kept in perfectly calibrated cold vaults, and duplicated to prot ... Show More
26m 29s
Yesterday
Bonus. World of Secrets: The Killing Call
Sidhu Moose Wala explodes onto the Canadian music scene. His sound is a fusion of two worlds - hip-hop with the poetic language of rural Punjab, where he is from. After years of struggle he is making it. But with the spotlight comes a dark side. As his fame grows, so do the threa ... Show More
35m 54s
Jul 8
Re-homing France’s immigrant workers
France’s last foyers – housing for immigrant workers – are set for demolition. But some current residents are worried about what they’ll lose. Hundreds of “foyers” - housing units especially for immigrant workers – were built after World War II. The economy was booming and France ... Show More
27m 11s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2023
A black market, a currency crisis, and a tango competition in Argentina
The Nobel-prize winning economist Simon Kuznets once analyzed the world's economies this way — he said there are four kinds of countries: developed, underdeveloped, Japan... and Argentina. If you want to understand what happens when inflation really goes off the rails, go to Arge ... Show More
23m 57s
Dec 2023
Dollarizing Argentina
Argentina has been on a decades-long search for economic stability, but it always seems to be out of reach. High inflation has been plaguing the country and just surpassed 160% a year. Over the past couple of years, the local currency has collapsed. One U.S. dollar used to be wor ... Show More
24m 12s
Dec 2023
Can an ‘Anarcho-Capitalist’ President Save Argentina’s Economy?
Warning: this episode contains strong language.With Argentina again in the midst of an economic crisis, Argentine voters turned to Javier Milei, a far-right libertarian who has drawn comparisons to Donald J. Trump.Jack Nicas, who covers South America for The New York Times, discu ... Show More
21m 12s
Jun 2023
Argentina's Economic Nightmare
Argentina is currently grappling with an economic crisis that has seen inflation rates skyrocket to over 100%. This has placed Argentina among the countries with the highest inflation rates globally, surpassed only by Zimbabwe and Venezuela. Skip Montreux and Dez Morgan delve int ... Show More
25m 17s
Feb 2022
Argentina’s latest IMF crisis
Argentina’s government and the International Monetary Fund have been renegotiating the terms of a 2018 loan issued to the country – the largest in IMF history. The Fund’s own internal analysis of that deal was scathing. The 2018 package had been vaunted for its commitment to prot ... Show More
17m 54s
Oct 2022
Devon Zuegel on Inflation, Argentina, and Crypto
Devon Zuegel talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the crazy world of money and finance in Argentina. When inflation is often high and unpredictable, people look for unusual ways to hold their savings. And when banks are unreliable because of public policy, people look for ... Show More
1h 3m
Apr 2024
Extreme Inflation From A to Z: Argentina
P.M. Edition for April 5. We begin our series on inflation, starting with Argentina. Young people are getting “delulu” with their spending, buying more now since their pesos will get them less later. What’s Argentina doing about it? Producer Anthony Bansie reports. Plus, U.S. emp ... Show More
16m 14s
Mar 2024
Suffering Like Hell: Argentina's Milei Mayhem
This week, we turn our attention to Argentina, a nation grappling with political turmoil and economic distress. With rising polarization and economic instability, President Milei's controversial policies roll back social programs and consolidate power, exacerbating social in ... Show More
46m 50s
May 2018
Money talks: Don’t bank with me Argentina
As Argentina starts talks with the IMF, we ask why Argentina’s currency crisis is causing financial wobbles in other emerging markets.? Simon Long explores whether digital technology can reach people who don’t have access to bank accounts. And, Philip Coggan transforms into Dr Wh ... Show More
18m 18s