Economic history of Argentina assumed power, inflation was equivalent to an annual rate of 5000%, and output had declined sharply. In 1976, the era of import substitution was ended, and the government lowered import barriers, liberalized restrictions on foreign borrowing, and supported the peso against foreign currencies. That exposed the fact that domestic firms could not compete with foreign imports because of the overvalued currency and long-term structural problems. A financial reform was implemented that aimed both to liberalize capital markets and to link Argentina more effectively with the world capital market. After the relatively stable years of 1976 to 1978, fiscal deficits started
Currency mostly paper, but Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation developed the world's first polymer currency in the 1980s that went into circulation on the nation's bicentenary in 1988. Now used in some 22 countries (over 40 if counting commemorative issues), polymer currency dramatically improves the life span of banknotes and prevents counterfeiting. Currency use is based on the concept of lex monetae; that a sovereign state decides which currency it shall use. Currently, the International Organization for Standardization has introduced a three-letter system of codes (ISO 4217) to define currency (as opposed to simple names or currency signs), in