Reflections on the economy and conflict in Colombia

With the participation of Nobel Economics Laureate Joseph Stiglitz, and recognized national and international speakers, the forum Toward a sustainable economy. Conflict and post-conflict in Colombia was held in Bogotá. The conference was organized by the Agenda Colombia Foundation, headed by former Colombian Minister Cecilia López, and the Caja de Compensación Familiar (Compensar). Other sponsors were CEPAL, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the CAF, the newspaper Portafolio, the Swedish Embassy, the Swedish Cooperation Agency (ASDI) and the Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD) program, directed by Stiglitz.

The forum was opened by the executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL), José Antonio Ocampo, and the CAF president, Enrique García. In his remarks, García recognized that the Latin American region was going through a difficult situation in which the greatest challenge was to find a balance between a healthy macroeconomy and sustainable and inclusive growth rates.

Besides Stiglitz, other invited speakers at the Forum were Dani Rodrik, director of the International Economic Development program of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and Paul Collier, director of the World Bank’s Development Research Group, who spoke on the economy of the armed conflict. The moderators and commentators on the presentations included Colombian Finance Minister Roberto Junguito; Colombian analyst Javier Fernández Riva, director of Prospectiva Económica y Financiera; and former minister Celia López.