CAF presents its annual Report on Economy and Development in the Region (RED 2006)

(Lima, June 14, 2007). The countries of the region need to propose policy strategies based on promotion of new activities, creation and development of clusters, attracting quality foreign direct investment, and other actions geared to the productive transformation of Latin America in order to ensure the growth and well-being of the region.

This is the main conclusion of the conference "Road to productive transformation in Latin America" organized by CAF where the Report on Economy and Development RED 2006 was presented today. The objective of the publication is to stimulate reflections on the direction our countries should follow to ensure greater development.

The study was presented by CAF director representative in Peru Germán Jaramillo, and the head of the CAF Office of Public Policy and Competitiveness, Luis Miguel Castilla, who said RED 2006 proposed the need for a productive transformation in the context of greater diversification with systematic gains in productivity.

Castilla said with a productive transformation, the countries of the region could increase their participation in global markets and achieve economic growth which generates quality employment and systematically reduces poverty.

The event also featured important experts including Ernesto Stein, professor and researcher at Harvard University, who said that CAF was stimulating discussion of the role of diversification in development. He argued that it was necessary to think of ways of organizing decision-making processes for public policy in these areas, which lead to adoption of specific policies to attack the market failures which are affecting countries.

Jeffrey M. Puryear, co-director of Partnership for Educational Revitalization in the Americas (PREAL) underscored the relationship between education and competitiveness. After presenting the state of education today, the expert proposed educational policies which motivate competitiveness, reinforcing the idea that the quality of education is the key.

Among local experts, José Chlimper, director of the Central Bank Reserve of Peru (BCR), and Paul Secada, economist of the Peruvian Institute of Economics, both agreed on the great value of CAF’s effort to propose the future paths to be followed by the region to ensure greater growth and well-being.

With this study, CAF is contributing to efforts to encourage analysis, reflection and dialogue between academia, business and State on the need to create a favorable climate for discovery of new activities and stimulus for innovation which generate sustainable development in the region.

The activity - which started at 8:30 am in Swissôtel Lima - was opened by CAF Vice President & Deputy CEO Luis Enrique Berrizbeitia, and the Dean of the Economics Faculty of the University of the Pacific, Carlos Amat y León.

Economy Minister Luis Carranza, and CAF director representative in Peru Germán Jaramillo, closed the event, which was attended by national and international authorities and specialists with different approaches on how to steer growth models toward a productive transformation with strong participation in global markets, which generate quality employment and systematic reduction of poverty.