Debate begins on the paths to follow to guarantee growth and welfare in Latin America

(Lima, June 14, 2007). There is a need for the countries of the region to propose policy strategies based on promotion of new activities, creation and development of clusters, attraction of quality foreign direct investment and other actions oriented to the productive transformation of Latin America with aim of guaranteeing growth and welfare for the region.

This is the main conclusion of the conference "Path to productive transformation in Latin America" organized today by the Andean Development Corporation where the Report on Economy and Development RED 2006 was presented. The objective of the CAF publication is to reflect the path that our countries should follow to guarantee increased development.

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

With productive transformation, the countries of the region could increase their participation in global markets and achieve economic growth that generates quality employment and systematically reduces poverty, Castilla added.

Participants also heard from prestigious experts such as Ernesto Stein, professor and researcher from Harvard University. The academic said that CAF was contributing to the discussion on the role of diversification in development. It is necessary to think about ways of organizing public policymaking processes in these areas which lead to adoption of specific policies that attack the market failures faced by our countries, he added.

Jeffrey M. Puryear, co-director of the Program to Promote Educational Reform in Latin America and the Caribbean (PREAL), emphasized the relation between education and competitiveness. After reviewing the current state of education, the expert proposed education policies to promote competitiveness, reinforcing the idea that the key is the quality of teaching.

Pablo Secada, economist from the Peruvian Economics Institute, agreed that the CAF effort was of great value in defining the paths that the region should follow in the future to guarantee increased growth and welfare.

With this study, CAF aims to create incentives for analysis, reflection and dialogue between academia, business and the State on the need to create a favorable environment for discovering new activities and stimulating innovation in an effort to generate the sustainable development of the region.

The activity - which was held in the Lima Swiss hotel - 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.

Vice Minister of Economy Juan Miguel Cayo Mata, and CAF director representative in Peru Germán Jaramillo closed the event, which was attended by national and international authorities and specialists who offered a range of approaches on how to move growth models toward a productive transformation with high participation in global markets, which generates quality employment and systematically reduces poverty.