New Delhi, Sept. 30 -- There is a famous quip attributed to economist Simon Kuznets that there are four types of countries: developed, underdeveloped, Japan and Argentina. Argentina got a special mention since it is unique as a country that was once way ahead in the development game but then went in the opposite direction after 1950. Japan-and subsequently many other Asian countries-managed to travel in the right direction over the same period.

Argentina is also known to suffer from periodic macroeconomic crises. There is one unfolding in Argentina right now. The US government has offered a swap line of $20 billion to help Argentina manage yet another run on its currency.

This decision has sparked a lot of snarky remarks about how Argen...