Venezuela: Winners announced of CAF Research Program on Development Issues

The Andean Development Corporation (CAF) today announced the winners of its Research Program on Development Issues. The fourth edition of the program received 54 applications entries from the countries of the Andean Community, Argentina, Australia, Spain, United States, France, India and Mexico.

The program, which CAF has been promoting since 2002, invites researchers to submit their works on topics of interest to CAF. During the process, the Corporation provides financial support for the selected entries. The final works are presented in a local seminar and given wide distribution.

The program is mainly aimed, although not exclusively, at researchers associated with universities, research institutes and other public and private institutions in Latin America, as well as assistant professors, researchers or graduate students of CAF shareholder countries in institutions in the United states or Europe whose work focuses on topics related to Latin America.

This year the program focused on the theme: “Promoting productivity and diversification in Latin America,” from which emerged subjects such as export diversification and improvements in productivity in Latin America; the role that natural resources play in strategies based on export diversification and increasing productivity; and clusters as viable alternatives for export diversification in Latin America.

Seven winners were selected from the 54 entries received. The members of the examining jury were Magnus Bloomstrom (Stockholm University), Francesco Caselli (London School of Economics), L. Miguel Castilla (CAF), Juan Carlos Hallak (University of Michigan), Osmel Manzano (CAF), José Pineda (CAF), Joseph Ramos (University of Chile), Germán Ríos (CAF), and Stefania Scandizzo (CAF)

The winning entries were:

"The Transfer of Knowledge and Corporate Resources in Highly Volatile Environments: the case of corporate cooperative ventures in Latin America" Eduardo Pablo (Venezuelan, Tecnológico de Monterrey and IESA)

"Fixed Costs and Learning in Exporting Activities: Evidence from Venezuelan Manufacturing" Maurice Kugler (Colombian, University of Southampton)

"Productivity Growth and the Reallocation of Activity in Latin America" Marcela Eslava (Colombian, University of the Andes)

"Privatization, Liberalization and the Innovative Country: The impacts of economic reforms on Latin American research and innovation systems in the 1990s and the outlook for the future" Sunil Tankha (Indian, Getulio Vargas Foundation)

"Trade Openness and Productivity: Micro level evidence from Ecuador 1997-2003" Sara Wong (Ecuadorian, Litoral Advanced Polytechnic School) and Randy Hall (United States, University of Massachusetts)

"What makes a difference in achieving higher labor productivity: the case of low income countries in Latin America" Osvaldo Nina (Bolivian, Grupo Integral)

"Fostering Productivity and Diversification in Latin America" Ricardo Bebczuk and Daniel Berrettoni (Argentineans, La Plata National University)

The seminars will begin in September 2005. Some of the selected works may be presented at the round table to be sponsored by CAF at the next annual meeting of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association (LACEA).