Political Forecasting? The IMF's Flawed Growth Projections for Argentina and Venezuela

Abstract

This report examines the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) projections for economic growth for Argentina and Venezuela in recent years. It shows that the IMF consistently made large errors in overestimating Argentina's GDP growth for the years 2000, 2001 and 2002, during the country's 1998-2002 depression, and large underestimates for the years 2003-2006, as Argentina's economy grew rapidly. The paper also notes the IMF's repeated large errors in underestimating Venezuela's GDP growth for the years since 2004.