August has been an exciting month for INESAD. We finally managed to fully convert the Institute into a Bolivian non-profit foundation, Fundación INESAD, with all the advantages (and a few disadvantages) that this implies. This was a requirement for receiving support from the Canadian Think Tank Initiative, but also a major stepping stone towards future institutional development.
We are proud to say that we have a lot to show for it already:
The Dream Team is back:
Several important people have returned to INESAD this month and we look forward to their invaluable contributions going forward:
- Dr. Lykke Andersen resigned as President of the Board of Directors of Fundación INESAD in order to join INESAD as a full time researcher and Director of the Center for Environmental-Economic Modeling and Analysis (CEEMA).
- The new President of the Board of Directors is Dr. Oscar Molina, Dean of the La Paz Campus of the Private University of Bolivia (UPB).
- Dr. Luis Carlos Jemio returned to INESAD after a 19 months stint working on Pension Reforms in Macedonia and will lead the work on Integrated Environmental and Economic Modeling for Bolivia.
- Ioulia Fenton, a former intern at INESAD, has accepted the post as Head of International Communications and Outreach at INESAD and will also be in charge of the important Food & Agriculture research area at CEEMA.
These changes imply that we have several vacancies open, both at the level of Board of Directors and at the level of Interns.
The 4th Bolivian Conference on Development Economics:
This year we have received a record number (64) of paper submissions for the annual Bolivian Conference on Development Economics (BCDE2012) to be held in La Paz on the 6th and 7th of November 2012. We are currently in the process of selecting the best papers and putting together a great program.
The keynote speakers this year are: Rodrigo Soares from PUC-Rio, one of the best economists in Latin America, and Eduardo Lora from IDB, one of the pillars of development research in our region.
Supporting policy initiatives and allied institutions:
Collaboration with key government and non-government institutions is key for INESAD. Some of the August highlights are the following:
- Osvaldo Nina, Fernando Mita and Beatriz Muriel carried out a Strategic Planning course for the Bolivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Lykke Andersen participated in a CIPCA workshop in Santa Cruz to improve the proposal for a new Forest Law in Bolivia.
- Osvaldo Nina, Carlos Gustavo Machicado, Natalia Zegarra and Israel Tito participated in the 5th Meeting of Economists in Bolivia, organized by the Central Bank of Bolivia.
- Lykke Andersen was invited to form part of the Advisory Board for Responsabilidad Social Empresarial (RSE) in Bolivia.
- Osvaldo Nina and Carlos Gustavo Machicado presented their new book “Factores que inciden en el crecimiento y el desarrollo en Bolivia: Análisis nacional y regional (1989 – 2009)” at the La Paz Chamber of Commerce.
- Lykke Andersen made a presentation on “The REDD Dilemma in Bolivia” at the Bolivian Academy of Economic Sciences.
Publications:
We have reinvented the Monday Morning Development Newsletter into three new blogs: the Spanish-language Desarrollo sobre la Mesa, the light-hearted Fun at INESAD, and the English-speaking Development Roast. We invite you to follow them either by e-mail subscription, facebook or Twitter.
In case you missed it, here are the month’s Development Roast posts from experts in their fields:
- Commercializing Nature? The Bolivian government has taken a strong stance against the international REDD+ mechanism, mainly because it reduces forests to a simple commodity to be traded in international carbon emissions markets. INESAD’s Lykke Andersen argues that we need to empower local people to protect their forests, in order to avoid an even worse form of commercialization of nature.
- “You Can’t Fire Your Land”: How the Humble Farmer Dethrones Free Market Economics Economics 101 teaches students about the basic rules of market supply and demand. However, as INESAD’s Ioulia Fenton argues, this does not apply to smallholder farming or industrial agriculture.
- Can We Use Trade to Make Us Healthier? A Case Study From Mexico Blame for the growing global obesity epidemic is usually placed on poor individual eating habits and choices. A new study points to another possible culprit: trade liberalization. INESAD’s Ioulia Fenton explores a case study from Mexico.
- Mining Companies’ Violations In Developing Countries—Who Is Responsible? Mining companies have profited substantially from developing countries, whilst often abusing human rights and damaging the environment. By taking a historical look at Guatemala, Grahame Russel from Rights Action argues that consumers should shoulder some of the responsibility.
- A Native Perspective on Gold Mining in Guatemala Cathy Griffin, a Mi’kmaq Elder, shares her experiences of visiting indigenous Maya people who are currently fighting against encroachment of gold mining companies in Guatemala.
Want to contribute to the Development Roast? Email ifenton@inesad.edu.bo.
INESAD in the Press:
- Five Alternative Holistic Farming Methods: From Ducks in Rice Paddies and Bees in Bushes to Chicken Sanitation Crews, Nourishing the Planet, Aug 28, 2012.
- Linking School Food Policy and Children’s Health in America, Nourishing the Planet, Aug 15, 2012.
- Helping Poor Children Avoid Poor Diets,The Statesman, Austin, Texas, Aug 13, 2012.
- Obesity in the Americas: The Trade Effect, Americas Quarterly, Aug 2, 2012.