The World Bank’s work in the southern cone of Latin America includes operations in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. Axel van Trotsenburg directs the World Bank’s work in this region.
The World Bank’s operations in South America focus on developing sustainable growth and reducing poverty. Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay were all damaged by the fall out of the Argentinean economic crisis five years ago. While the four countries do share certain similarities, the strategy in each is directed to their specific conditions. “The World Bank supports the Government’s efforts to create the conditions for Chile’s transition into a knowledge-based economy”, Axel said; whereas operations in Uruguay, which was more directly damaged by the Argentinean crisis, focus is on protecting basic social services. “We are supporting the new government’s policies in education, health and social protection in order to increase access and efficiency of social services within a framework of fiscal sustainability. Uruguay’s social programs were successful in maintaining core social indicators like infant mortality and school attendance, despite the economic shock of the crisis”.
The collapse of the Argentinean economy had negative fallout for surrounding countries, but most severely effected Argentina itself. World Bank support to this country has included social “safety-net” programs. “The Heads of Household workfare program was a crucial element in Argentina’s response to the economic and social crisis of 2001-2002,” said Axel van Trotsenburg. “It played a key role in addressing the expansion of poverty and alleviating social tension in the wake of the largest economic collapse in the country’s history”.
Axel joined the World Bank in 1988 through the Young Professionals Program. He has held various positions within the World Bank, including Manager of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Implementation Unit, Senior Country Economist for Cote d’Ivoire, and as Country Economist for Guatemala. Axel holds a Masters in Economics from the University of Graz and a PhD in Economics from the University of Vienna, Austria. He also studied international affairs at the Johns Hopkins University in Bologna, Italy, and Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. He holds both Dutch and Austrian nationality.
In the future, the World Bank will continue its support in adjusting the development focus from economic recovery to sustainable growth and institutional strengthening to make the economies of the region stable. “We will continue to support the efforts of the government to reduce poverty, sustained economic growth, promote social inclusion and increase transparency and accountability”. Said Axel. “We are encouraged to support investment operations that benefit the rural poor and the improvement of provincial governments”.
