Event Summary
In the aftermath of the most severe global crisis in recent times, Latin American and Caribbean nations have shown remarkable economic resilience, but it is time to take a closer look.
Event Information
When
Thursday, June 17, 2010
8:30 AM to 10:30 AM
Where
Saul/Zilkha Rooms
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC
Map
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On June 17, the Latin America Initiative at Brookings welcomed experts from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to examine the long-term outlook for the region in the context of the financial crisis, the recovery and challenges ahead. Two new reports spurred the discussion. Alejandro Izquierdo, principal economist of IDB’s research department, and Ernesto Talvi, executive director of the Center for the Study of Economic and Social Affairs, highlighted key findings from ”The Aftermath of the Crisis: Policy Lessons and Challenges Ahead for Latin America and the Caribbean.” Nicolás Eyzaguirre, director of the Western Hemisphere at the IMF, and Steve Phillips, chief of the Regional Studies Division at the IMF, discussed the IMF’s Regional Economic Outlook: “Taking Advantage of Tailwinds.”
Guillermo Calvo, professor of economics, international and public affairs at Columbia University; Nancy Lee, deputy assistant secretary for the Western Hemisphere, Office of International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Treasury; and Brookings Senior Fellow Mauricio Cárdenas, director of the Latin America Initiative, discussed the report’s findings based on regional perspectives. Brookings Senior Fellow Carol Graham moderated the discussion.
Transcript
MAURICIO CÁRDENAS: Welcome to Brookings. My name is Mauricio Cárdenas and I’m a senior fellow here and the director of the Latin America Initiative. We’re delighted to host today an event on the macroeconomic outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean. We are also very happy to have two of the leading reports on this topic to be discussed, one the report that is put together by the Inter-American Development Bank led by Ernesto Talvi and Alejandro Izquierdo; and the other, the report that is also biannual and put together by the IMF, the Regional Economic Outlook, led by Nicolás Eyzaguirre and Steve Phillips.
Today’s event will be moderated by Carol Graham. Carol is a senior fellow here at The Brookings Institution, very well known to many of you, a leading scholar on the topic of the economics of happiness. So I really hope that the news that we’re going to hear today are good news -- and they seem so anyway -- as Latin America is doing relatively well in the macroeconomic front. So without further ado, let me welcome Carol who is going to be moderating today’s event. Thank you very much.
CAROL GRAHAM: Thank you Mauricio, and indeed I have the happy pleasure of introducing both these reports and the speakers. And they are reports with good news where Latin America has better news than the United States so it’s a nice changing of the tides. In fact, we had another wonderful presentation here on Monday by Nora Lustig and another group of scholars telling also a positive story about Latin America about inequality declining somewhat. And so let’s keep the good news rolling here.
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Participants
Presenters
Alejandro Izquierdo
Principal Economist, Research Department
Inter-American Development Bank
Ernesto Talvi
Executive Director
Center for the Study of Economic and Social Affairs
Nicolás Eyzaguirre
Director, Western Hemisphere Department
International Monetary Fund
Steve Phillips
Chief of the Regional Studies Division
International Monetary Fund
Discussants
Guillermo Calvo
Professor of Economics, International and Public Affairs
Director of the Program in Economic Policy Management
Columbia University
Director, Latin America Initiative
Nancy Lee
Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Western Hemisphere, Office of International Affairs
U.S. Department of Treasury