How will Argentina's Development be Affected by the new Presidency?

Methods

Summary

The initial stages of the project will involve desk based literature review work. This will be relatively minimal in the context of (a) the recent nature of the events being studied and (b) the existing expertise of the researcher in this area of study. Engaging with a relevant epistemic community through the SLAS2017 Conference will help triangulate this research and finalise the preparation for conducting fieldwork. 

The fieldwork will consist of one month (late July to late August 2017) in the city of Buenos Aires. During this time, I will use existing networks to access key gatekeepers and stakeholders in order to generate a qualitatively based data-set on the form, function, and nature of the Presidency of Mauricio Macri - facilitating a robust understanding of contemporary Macrismo. These semi-structured elite interviews will be conducted by myself with a range of actors across the Argentine economy and society concerning a range of issues associated with the structure of Argentina's political economy. For example, Trade Unionists will be asked about industrial relations, domestic bourgeoisie will be asked about ease of doing business, Trans-National Corporations will be asked about the nature of the investment climate, bankers will be asked about finance, government officials will be asked about policy.  

Challenges

In a project of this kind the biggest challenge is access to relevant interviewees. Having lived, studied, and worked in Argentina and having completed a PhD on the Kirchner's, means that I am able to tap into an existing epistemic community that will mitigate and alleviate this potential risk. It also means that I will be able to conduct a critical mass of interviews in a relatively short space of time (one month).

Pre Analysis Plan

Collectively, these interviews will generate a rich empirical data set that, subsequently, can be triangulated with both quantitative data and the existing literature (desk based research). This will facilitate a robust understanding of Macrismo, which can be operationalised to induce deeper understandings and transferable lessons concerning emerging markets in the Global South.