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On September 24 and 25, 2018, the Research Department at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) together with the Becker Friedman Institute’s Macro Finance Research Program (MFR) at the University of Chicago hosted a conference on The Monetary and Fiscal History of Latin America. The conference took place at IDB’s headquarters in Washington D.C. The event brought together notable economists from academic and policy institutions to discuss comprehensive comparative studies on the fiscal and monetary history of seven Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay). These studies are the result of a project sponsored by MFR and organized by Lars Peter Hansen (University of Chicago), Fernando Alvarez (University of Chicago), Timothy Kehoe (University of Minnesota), Juan Pablo Nicolini (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis), and Thomas Sargent (New York University), in which country experts worked together to create a set of papers that narrate the economic history of eleven Latin American countries since 1960 using a common conceptual framework and comparable datasets. The main goal of this event was to discuss the findings from this research, helping enhance our understanding of economic crises in these regions, and offer lessons for economies around the world.

 

The conference consisted of separate sessions for each country, together with a presentation by Fernando Alvarez (University of Chicago) on the project, and a policy panel on the current fiscal and monetary challenges for Latin America. The panel had Andrew Powell (IDB) as moderator, and Joaquim Levy (World Bank), Lars Peter Hansen (University of Chicago), Carmen Reinhart (Harvard), and Alejandro Werner (International Monetary Fund) as panelists.

 

For more information, please contact Diana Petrova, MFR Associate Director, at dpetrova@uchicago.edu.

 

Agenda

Monday, September 24, 2018
2:30 pm - 2:35 pm
Welcoming Remarks and Introduction
Lars Peter Hansen, The David Rockefeller Distinguished Service Professor in Economics and Statistics, the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics and the Booth School of Business; Director of BFI's Macro Finance Research Program
Juan Pablo Nicolini, Senior Research Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Alejandro Izquierdo, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
2:35 pm - 3:00 pm
Presentation by Fernando Alvarez
Fernando Alvarez, Charles F. Grey Distinguished Service Professor, the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics
3:00 pm - 3:45 pm
The Case of Mexico

General Q&A (10 minutes)

Felipe Meza, Centro de Investigación Económica, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México
Discussant: Alejandro Werner
3:45 pm - 4:40 pm
The Case of Brazil
Joao Ayres, IDB
4:40 pm - 5:00 pm
Coffee Break
5:00 pm - 6:15 pm
Policy Discussion on Current Fiscal and Monetary Challenges for Latin America
Lars Peter Hansen, The David Rockefeller Distinguished Service Professor in Economics and Statistics, the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics and the Booth School of Business; Director of BFI's Macro Finance Research Program
Alejandro Werner, International Monetary Fund
Carmen Reinhart, Harvard Kennedy School
Joaquim Levy, World Bank Group
Moderator: Andrew Powell, IDB
6:30 pm
Reception
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
9:30 am - 9:45 am
Light Breakfast
9:45 am - 10:45 am
The Case of Peru

General Q&A (10 minutes)

Cesar Martinelli, ITAM
Discussant: Adrian Armas
Discussant: Miguel Castilla
10:45 am - 11:00 am
Coffee Break
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
The Case of Uruguay

General Q&A (10 minutes)

Gabriel Oddone, Universidad de la Republica
Discussant: Eduardo Fernandez-Arias
Discussant: Carlos Végh
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Lunch
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
The Case of Argentina

General Q&A (10 minutes)

Juan Pablo Nicolini, Senior Research Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Discussant: Eduardo Borensztein
Discussant: Andrew Powell
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
The Case of Colombia

General Q&A (10 Minutes)

David Perez Reyna, Universidad de los Andes
Discussant: Arturo Galindo
Discussant: Marta Ruiz-Arranz
3:30 pm - 3:45 pm
Coffee Break
3:45 pm - 4:45 pm
The Case of Chile

General Q&A (10 minutes)

Rodrigo Caputo, Central Bank of Chile
Discussant: Sebastian Edwards
4:45 pm - 5:00 pm
Final Remarks