Latin American researchers selected to contribute to regional development agenda

Seven Latin American researchers were selected by the Andean Development Corporation (CAF) to work on the design of a development agenda for the region.

The CAF vice president of development strategies, Fidel Jaramillo, said the researchers were selected from 70 high quality proposals received from 13 countries in response to the I Request for Proposals for the Program to Support Research into Development Issues.

The program had two parts: selection of guest researchers to develop their proposals in the CAF headquarters in Caracas; and a competition for works on issues of regional interest, to be developed outside the Corporation.

The two sets of proposals were evaluated by a panel of prominent researchers from prestigious academic and financial institutions in the region, with senior CAF directors. The panel took into consideration the relevance of the topics to the CAF agenda; the academic quality of the competitors; and relevance to the development policies being developed by the multilateral organization.

The guest researchers selected were Antonio Avalos of Mexico with a proposal on Labor Reforms, Labor Mobility and Integration entitled Wage Inequality in Latin America; Hoyt Bleakley of the United States, who chose International Financial Markets and its Impact in the Region with the topic The Role of Openness, Technology and Labor Supply; and Pablo Saavedra of Bolivia, who will work on Development of Pension Funds and their Effect on Local Capital Markets with the topic Pension Fund Reform and its Impact on Capital Markets: An Empirical Study in Latin American Countries.

In the Program on Research Topics, the winning candidates were Wilmar A. Ascárraga Sejas of Bolivia, who will work on the Effects of the FTAA on the Andean Community, with the topic Costs and Benefits of the Integration of the Western Hemisphere: Testing the Gravity Model on Panel Data, 1980-1999. For the proposal Mechanisms and Priorities for the Generation of Social Capital, the selection was Norma Madrid de Pieters of Venezuela, who will develop Mechanisms of Generation of Social Capital in Government Development Programs in Venezuela, and Fernando Aportela Rodríguez of Mexico, with Mechanisms and Priorities for the Development of Social Capital: Rural Savings and Financial Access. The fourth selection was Manuel Ruiz Muller of Peru, who will develop Biodiversity and Intellectual Property Rights with an Analysis of Andean Decision 486: the Legality and Application of its Requirements on Origin of Genetic Resources and Indigenous Knowledge.

The guest researchers will work on their topics for three months in the CAF headquarters in Caracas, while the winning candidates in the Program on Research Topics have to complete their work by next July.