The Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD), the Society of Bolivian Economists (SBE), and Universidad Privada Boliviana (UPB), are jointly organizing the second Bolivian Conference on Development Economics, to be held on November 18-19, 2010, at UPB’s Achocalla Campus in La Paz, Bolivia. The conference aims at bringing together local and international scholars for the exchange of ideas and discussion of recent results within theoretical and applied development economics research. We particularly encourage female researchers and young Bolivian researchers to submit papers on all topics within the field of development economics. The Conference features keynote speakers Beatriz Armendáriz (Harvard) and Máximo Torero (IFPRI).

Keynote speakers

Beatriz Armendáriz (Ph.D. Paris School of Economics) is Lecturer of Economics at Harvard University. She has worked extensively on microfinance and the economics of contemporary Latin America, and has held visiting research and teaching positions at MIT, LSE, Université Libre de Bruxelles, and ITAM, among others. She is founding member and member of the board of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation, founder and member of the board of the Gender Equality Fund at OXFAM, and research fellow at the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard. Her CV, a list of publications, and a description of current research projects, are available here.

Máximo Torero (Ph.D. UCLA) is Division Director of the Markets, Trade, and Institutions Division at the International Food Policy Research Institute, IFPRI Director for Latin America, leader of the Global Research Program on Institutions and Infrastructure for Market Development, and co-leader of the Global Research Program on Urban and Rural linkages. His experience extends to projects in Latin America, Sub Saharan Africa (East and West), and Asia; and has unique expertise on impact evaluation on projects linked to water and sanitation, electricity, ICTs, roads, and in social and institutional aspects on the delivery of public services. His CV, a list of publications, and a description of current research projects, are available here.

Paper submission

Papers must be submitted by email (as a word or a pdf file) to the conference team e-mail account at bcde2010@inesad.edu.bo. The deadline for paper submission is Thursday September 30, 2010.

All submitted papers will be reviewed prior to acceptance for presentation. The conference team will finish the review process by Monday October 4, 2010 and will notify applicants of the outcome by email. Following the review process, a final program will be put together and posted at the Conference’s web site (www.inesad.edu.bo/bcde2010). 

Travel and accommodation

All participants must cover their own travel and accommodation costs, but the organizers have made arrangements for preferential rates at hotels Plaza, Europa and Camino Real in La Paz.

A travel stipend of 500 EUR will be offered to some of the successful applicants residing outside Bolivia, based on the quality of their submissions. Applicants interested in being considered for one of these stipends, should indicate that at the moment of submitting their papers.  

Format of presentation and discussion

The conference will largely consist of parallel sessions, 2 plenary sessions and 2 keynote lectures. All participants may be requested to serve as discussants in the parallel sessions.

Conference team

Feel free to contact us at bcde2010@inesad.edu.bo for further inquiries,

• Lykke E. Andersen, INESAD

• Carlos Gustavo Machicado, INESAD

• Beatriz Muriel, INESAD

• Pablo Selaya, University of Copenhagen

• Rainer Thiele, Kiel Insitute for the World Economy

• Miguel Urquiola, Columbia University

• Rafael Vidaurre, Universidad Privada Boliviana.

The Danish Development Research Network, and the Poverty Reduction, Equity, and Growth Network maintained by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, are gratefully acknowledged for financial support to organize this conference.