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Argentina

43.7 Early Autumn #113 of 217 · ARG · Latin America & Caribbean · Upper middle income · Data: 7/7
What's Driving the Score
Base CCI (7 indicators weighted) 34.4
Hidden extraction (shadow economy, employer burden) +5.8
Resource masking (depletable resource dependency) +0.6
Development adj (spending below expected for income level) +2.9
Total CCI 43.7
Development Context
GDP per capita: $13,970
Actual spending: 21% GDP
Expected (Wagner): 30.7% GDP
Gap: 9.7% below expected
Indicator Breakdown
Each indicator is normalized to 0-100. Higher = more late-cycle pressure. The composite CCI is a weighted average plus adjustments.
Spending
21% GDP 22.0 2023
Debt
78.8% GDP 39.4 2024
Growth
4.5% 36.7 2024
Migration
0.08/1000 49.8 2024
Governance
-0.16 53.1 2024
Fiscal Pressure
8.5% of revenue 16.9 2024
Demographic
Fert: 1.5 | Dep: 18.8% 22.2 2024
Spending (18% weight) - Total general government expenditure as % of GDP. Source: IMF WEO. Range: 10% (lean) to 60% (heavy state). Higher spending = further in the cycle.
Debt (14%) - Gross government debt as % of GDP. Source: IMF WEO. Range: 0-200%. Debt accumulation is how states finance extraction beyond revenue.
Growth (15%) - Average real GDP per capita growth over 5 years. Source: IMF WEO / World Bank. Inverted: low or negative growth signals extraction is suffocating the productive economy.
Migration (10%) - Net migration rate per 1000 population. Source: UN Population Division via World Bank. Inverted: people leaving is the most honest indicator - they vote with their feet.
Governance (18%) - Composite of control of corruption, government effectiveness, rule of law, and regulatory quality. Source: World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators. Inverted: poor governance = extraction without accountability.
Fiscal Pressure (13%) - Interest payments as % of government revenue. Source: World Bank WDI. When interest consumes revenue, the state must tax more, borrow more, or print - the death spiral mechanism.
Demographic (12%) - Composite of fertility rate (below replacement = future worker shortage) and old-age dependency ratio (more retirees per worker = more fiscal pressure). Trajectory signal - affects the cycle in 20-30 years.
Hidden Extraction
Shadow Economy -
Social Contributions 30% rev
Self-Employment 25.6%
Spending-Revenue Gap 10.6% GDP
Total Hidden Adjustment +5.8 pts
Official spending data understates real extraction. These proxies estimate what's hidden:
Shadow Economy - % of GDP operating outside formal taxation. Source: IMF WP 18/17 (Medina-Schneider). Brazil at 35% means a third of the economy is escaping formal taxation - but citizens still pay through embedded costs.
Social Contributions - Employer payroll burden as % of government revenue. Hidden from workers' payslips. A 22% figure means significant extraction happens before workers see their salary.
Self-Employment - High rates signal people fleeing formal employment because the extraction burden makes it unprofitable. Informal/self-employed workers still pay consumption taxes.
Spending-Revenue Gap - Difference between what the state spends and what it collects as formal tax. The gap is funded by hidden channels: forced savings (e.g. FGTS in Brazil), state enterprises, parastatal organizations, or money printing.
Resource Revenue +0.6 pts masking adjustment
2.7% of GDP
Oil 1.5% GDP (depletable)
Gas 0.4% GDP (depletable)
Minerals 0.6% GDP (long-runway)
Non-resource 97.3% GDP
Depletable resources (oil, gas, coal) mask the real CCI by funding the state without citizen taxation. When the resource depletes or demand shifts, the state must suddenly extract from citizens. This country's CCI is adjusted +0.6 points to account for this masking effect.
CCI Trajectory (2000-2026) -11.2 pts over 26 years
Spring E.Sum M.Sum L.Sum E.Aut M.Aut L.Aut E.Win 0 20 40 60 80 100 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 2026 54.9 34.8 40.6 58.1 34.3 43.7 data 7/7 0/7
Historical CCI computed from available indicators per year (spending, growth, governance, fiscal pressure, demographics). Not all 7 indicators are available for every year - early data points use fewer indicators. The trend direction matters more than absolute values.
Nearest Countries by CCI Score
# Country CCI Season Delta Data
114 Costa Rica 43.7 Early Autumn +0.0 7/7
111 Bulgaria 43.8 Early Autumn +0.1 7/7
112 Korea, Rep. 43.8 Early Autumn +0.1 7/7
115 Faroe Islands 43.6 Early Autumn -0.1 3/7
116 Montenegro 43.5 Early Autumn -0.2 5/7