Macroeconomic Trends The Argentine economy is still not doing well. Poverty is increasing and there are multiple exchange rates with a 100 percent spread between the official and black market rates. Unemployment is large and public workers represent 27 percent of total employed people. The number and amount of government subsidies seem to be increasing monthly. Public accounts are deep in the red, so the government needs fresh dollars to avoid printing money and exacerbating inflation. Currently, the most pressing issue for the Argentine government is the inflation rate, particularly the food inflation rate. Food inflation has been trending higher at 4 percent for the last several months and is expected to continue rising in Februar...
Forecasting developments in production agriculture
On behalf of a private U.S. agricultural technology provider, WPI’s team generated an econometric model to forecast the movement of concentrated corn production north and west from the traditional U.S. Corn Belt. WPI’s model has subsequently provided quantitative support to a multi-million-dollar investment into short-season corn variety development. WPI’s methodology included a series of interviews with regional grain elevators and seed consultants. Emphasizing outreach and communication with stakeholders who possess intimate sectoral knowledge – on-the-ground insights – is a regular component of WPI’s methodologies, made possible by WPI’s ever-growing network of industry contacts.