We are pleased to confirm two special guest speakers participating in the 8th Bolivian Conference on Development Economics:
Invited Guest Speakers:
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Andrés Fernández (Ph.D. Rutgers University) is a Research Economist in the Research Department at the Inter-American Development Bank. His main research agenda focuses on building, calibrating and estimating dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models for emerging economies to study the sources of business cycles in emerging economies, the role of financial frictions and the dynamic patterns of labor markets in Latin American economies. You can learn more about Andrés’ work here.
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Juan Vargas (Ph.D. University of London) is a Research Economist at CAF-Development Bank of Latin America. Juan held various academic and scholar positions in the U.S., Europe and Latin America. His research focuses on the political economy of conflict and the economic determinants of crime and violence. You can learn more about Juan’s work here.
IDB Macro Report
Andrés will present IDB’s 2017 Latin American and Caribbean Macroeconomic Report: “Routes to Growth in a New Trade World” which considers recent developments in the global economy and how they may affect Latin America and the Caribbean. It reviews how countries are adapting to external conditions and how those policies may be improved. The report focuses particularly on deeper and smarter regional integration as an attractive route to boost productivity and growth.
CAF Economy and Development Report
Juan will present CAF’s 2017 Economy and Development Report (RED): “Urban Growth y Access to Opportunities: A Challenege for Latin America”. emphasizes the concept of accessibility in cities as a fundamental determinant of productivity and welfare for its inhabitants. An accessible city reduces real distances between people and firms, and bolsters the benefits of agglomeration. To achieve these gains urban planning, land zoning, infrastructure, traffic congestion, and housing policies need to be articulated at an efficient metropolitan level.