Course Materials

Latin America's Economic Development: Contemporary and Historical

February 14 - Main Lecture by Jesús Fernández-Villaverde (Slides)

February 16 - Plenary Lecture by Adriana Arreaza (Slides)

• The Patterns and Trajectories of Latin America's Economies

• Poverty and Inequality

• Relevance of Economic History

Pre-Columbian America: Political Organization and Economy

February 21 - Main Lecture by Fernando Arteaga (Slides)

February 23 - Plenary Lecture by Michael Smith (Slides)

• The Geographical Determinants

• The Migration to Americas

• The Neolithic Transition

• Technological Innovations of the Past

• Production, Exchange, and Consumption of the Past

The Colonial Economy

February 28 - Main Lecture by Fernando Arteaga (Slides)

March 2 - Plenary Lecture by Carlos Marichal (Slides)

• Spanish and Portuguese Institutions

• Merchant Guilds and Polycentric Governance

• Silver, dyes, and other exports

• Bourbon  Reforms 

Independence and State Building

March 7 - Main Lecture by Angel Alvarado (Slides)

March 9 - Plenary Lecture by Thales Zamberlan Pereira (Slides)

• The Economic Consequences of Independence

• The Colonial Legacies

• The Regional Conflicts

• The new trading opportunities

Export-Led Growth Model

March 14 - Main Lecture by Iván Luzardo (Slides)

March 16 - Plenary Lecture by Catalina Vizcarra (Slides)

• The Export-oriented Economies

• Resource Curse and Opportunities

• Mass Migration 

• New Infrastructure

Import-Substitution Policies and Deglobalization

March 21 - Main Lecture by Iván Luzardo  (Slides)

March 23 - Plenary Lecture by Gustavo Ventura  (Slides)

• The World Wars

• The Great Depression

• Inward Looking Models

• Regional Integration

Revolutions and the Cold War

March 28 - Main Lecture by Jesús Fernández-Villaverde (Slides)

March 30 - Plenary Lecture by Felipe González (Slides)

• The Cuban Revolution

• Nationalism and Populism

• Agrarian Reforms

• State-Owned Enterprises

• The Rise of Oil Industry

Debt Crises and Hyperinflation

April 11 - Main Lecture by Iván Luzardo (Slides)

April 13 - Panel discussion by Enrique Mendoza, Jesús Fernández-Villaverde, &         Carlos A. Vegh.

• Democratization

• Debt Crises

• External adjustments, inflation, and exchange rate problems

Commodity Booms, Reforms, and Populism

April 18 - Main Lecture by Angel Alvarado (Slides)

April 20 - Plenary Lecture by Francisco Rodriguez (Slides)

• Economic Reforms and the Washington Consensus

• Commodity Cycles

• Missed opportunities and return to populism

Roots of Underdevelopment

April 25 - Main Lecture by Felipe Valencia  (Slides Inequalty, Slides Underdevelopment)

April 27 - Plenary Lecture by Juan Galán & James Robinson (Slides)

• Economic Persistence in the Long Run

• Perspectives towards the future

• Origins of Economic Inequality