Unlike many finance ministers in industrialised countries, Patricio Rivera does not believe in orthodox market economy policies. In the more than five years since Ecuador’s president, Rafael Correa, was elected, the country "has pursued unconventional economic policies, and they have worked”, he says. Thus far, the figures appear to back up these claims.
For example, Ecuador’s oil exports, which represent half of the country’s total export earnings and remittances, collapsed during the recent global economic recession. The government’s capacity to respond to this was limited as, following the adoption of the US dollar as the national currency in 2000, Ecuador’s central bank can no longer print money or be a lender of last resort. Yet, rather than experience a deep, protracted recession, Ecuador's gross domestic product (GDP) fell by just 1.3% in the final three quarters of 2009.
