Apocalypse now, apocalypse when? Economic growth and structural breaks in Argentina (1886–2003)Apocalypse now, apocalypse when? Economic growth and structural breaks in Argentina (1886–2003) Peer-Reviewed Journal Publication Δημοσίευση σε Περιοδικό με Κριτές 2022-09-272022enArgentina is the only country in the world that was developed in 1900 and developing in 2000. Although there is widespread consensus on the occurrence and uniqueness of this decline, an intense debate remains on its timing and underlying causes. This paper provides a first systematic investigation of the timing of the Argentine debacle. It uses an array of econometric tests for structural breaks and a range of GDP growth series covering 1886–2003. The main conclusion is the dating of two key structural breaks (in 1918 and 1948), which we argue support explanations for the debacle that highlight the slowdown of domestic financial development and trade protectionism (after 1918) and of institutional development (after 1948).http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Economics of Transition and Institutional Change3013-32 Campos Nauro F. Karanasos, Menelaos Karoglou Michail Koutroumpis, Panagiotis, 1986- Zopounidis Konstantinos Ζοπουνιδης Κωνσταντινος Christopoulos Apostolos Wiley Argentina Economic growth Structural breaks