For more than 60 years, the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign has worked to promote innovative research, specialist teaching, and public awareness of the Latin American and Caribbean region: its histories, challenges, and complex connections to the United States and other parts of the world. This conference seminar celebrates and builds upon the extraordinary contributions of Werner Baer and Geoffrey Hewings to the legacy of the Center. Through their inspiring, professional, and selfless work –with CLACS, with the Lemann Center for Brazilian Studies, and with the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory (REAL), Professors Baer and Hewing trained several generations of scholars with a deep and lasting impact on the Latin American and Caribbean region.. Through their research these scholars illuminate and help to address the local and regional challenges of the developing countries of Latin America and Caribbean. This seminar extends this academic legacy through discussions of a set of current and emerging social, environmental and macroeconomic challenges to the region.
Schedule
Session 1 Program
9:00 - 9:15 AM: Welcome
Remarks by CLACS Director Andrew Orta
9:15 - 10:45 AM: Panel 1 – Labor and Migration Issues in the Regions
- "Occupation portability and regional labor market flexibility in Brazil", Carlos Azzoni USP -Brazil)
- "Regional disparities in amenities and the life satisfaction of internal migrants". Grace Carolina Guevara Rosero (Ecuador), and co-authors Alexander Sarango-Iturralde and Andrés García-Suaza.
- "For-Profit Higher Education Wage Returns: Evidence from Brazil" Renato Vieira (USP, Brazil).
10:45 - 11:00 AM: Break
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM: Panel 2 – Environmental and Regional Issues
- “Economic Drivers of Deforestation in the Brazilian Legal Amazon”
Eduardo Haddad (USP, Brazil)
- “All That Glitters Is Not Gold? Approaching the Sub-National Impact of the Colombian Gold Rush on Deforestation”
Natalia Cantet (Augusta University)
- “Multidimensional Analysis of the Sea Economy: A Case Study for the Autonomous Region of Madeira, Portugal”
Felipe Santos (USP, Brazil)
- Moderator: Ricardo Bebczuk (UNLP, UIUC)
12:30 - 1:45 PM: Lunch
1:45pm -2:30pm Panel 3 – The Spatial Dimension of Political Economy Analysis
- “District Heterogeneity, Legislative Bargaining, and Trade Policy” – Santiago Pinto (Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond)
- “Identifying Gatekeepers in the Allocation of Public Funds: A Spatial Econometric Analysis” – Patricio Aroca (UAB, Chile)
2:30 - 3:15 PM: Panel 4 – CLACS and REAL: Building Networks and Capacities in LATAM
- “The Colombian Economy and Its Regional Structural Challenges: A Linkages Approach”
Jaime Bonet (Banco de la República, Colombia)
- “On the Legacy of Werner Baer and Geoff Hewing’s Many Contributions”
Ed Amman (Brazilian Studies, Leiden University)
3:15pm - 3:30pm: Break
3:30pm - 4:30pm: Feature Presentation – World Bank’s 2024 World Development Report by Roberto N. Fattal Jaef, Senior Economist in the Development Economics Vice-Presidency which examines the challenges of economic growth in middle-income countries.
4:30pm - 4:45pm: Discussion and remarks by Prof. Geoffrey Hewings (UIUC).
Panel Coordinators: Pedro Elosegi and Gisela Sin (Argentina)
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Session 2 Program
9:00 - 9:15 AM: Welcome
Remarks by Kasia Szremski, CLACS Associate Director
9:15 - 10:00 AM: Panel 5 – Productivity and Spatial Spillovers in LATAM
- “Urban Form and Productivity: What Shapes Are Latin-American Cities?”
Nancy Lozano (World Bank)
- “Spatial Spillovers and Productive Efficiency: A Spatial Stochastic Frontier Model for Panel Data”
André Chagas (USP)
- Moderator: Ramses Armendariz (UIUC)
10:00 - 10:15 AM: Break
10:15 AM - 12:30 PM: Panel 6 – LATAM Input-Output Subnational Tables: Moving Forward Linked Agenda
Prof. Hewings has been a pioneer in developing subnational/regional input-output tables with applications in several LATAM countries. This panel will showcase regional tables from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, and other LATAM countries and discuss how to advance from local subnational matrices to broader discussions on trade, environmental, macroeconomic, political, and social challenges in LATAM.
- A MRIO Table Under Limited Information for Argentina
Pedro Elosegui (Argentina)
- A MRIO Table in Brazil
Eduardo Haddad (USP, Brazil)
- A MRIO Table in Colombia
Jaime Bonnet (Banco de la República, Colombia)
- Input-Output Tables in Ecuador
Grace Carolina Guevara Rosero (Ecuador)
Panel Coordinator: Dr. Jose Duran (ECLAC)
12:30 - 1:45 PM: Lunch
