INESAD
The Bolivian Conference on Economic Development (BCDE 2025) took place from July 30 to August 1, 2025, on the campus of the Bolivian Private University (UPB) in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The event was organized by the Bolivian Society of Economists (SEBOL), the Bolivian Private University (UPB), the INESAD Foundation, the Bolivian Academy of Economic Sciences (ABCE), and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network Bolivia (SDSN Bolivia).
The conference brought together researchers, academics, representatives of international organizations, and decision-makers, establishing itself as the main academic forum for analyzing the country’s economic, social, and environmental challenges.
Over the course of three days, nearly forty academic presentations were given, with more than a hundred specialists from national and international institutions participating. The topics covered included fiscal policy, inflation, informal employment, gender and social inclusion, education, health, climate change, international trade, local governance, and productive transformation. The sessions combined theoretical approaches, empirical evidence, and public policy proposals, creating a pluralistic space for dialogue between scientific knowledge and decision-making.
Participation of the INESAD Foundation
The INESAD Foundation played a prominent role in BCDE 2025, contributing rigorous and up-to-date research on issues of high relevance to the country’s economic situation.
Beatriz Muriel, Executive Director of INESAD, played a leading role in two high-level events. She chaired the plenary session “Close solutions: the role of local and regional governments in Latin America and the Caribbean,” organized by CAF, and moderated the session “Between stabilization and reactivation: new paths for the Bolivian economy,” co-organized by INESAD, ABCE, and SEBOL. The latter session featured Luis Carlos Jemio, Javier Aliaga (both from INESAD) and Pablo Mendieta (SEBOL), who addressed the structural challenges facing the Bolivian economy and proposed public policy paths aimed at reactivation and macroeconomic stability.
In the parallel sessions, Luis Carlos Jemio presented the paper Could there be hyperinflation in Bolivia again?, in which he analyzed the current macroeconomic risks based on the country’s historical experience, identifying factors that could lead to a new inflationary cycle.
For his part, Ronaldo Terrazas presented the study Macroeconomic impact of the removal of hydrocarbon subsidies in Bolivia: a SVAR analysis and transition strategies, which assesses the macroeconomic consequences of eliminating hydrocarbon subsidies and proposes transition strategies to mitigate the impact on households and public finances.
Adriana Caballero also presented two research projects: Schumpeter meets Bolivia: competition as a path to growth toward the frontier, which explores the role of competition as an engine of sustained growth; and Sustainable cost of quinoa production in Bolivia: a landscape approach integrating the recovery of agricultural heritage, in which she analyzes the sustainability of quinoa production from a territorial perspective and with a focus on recovering agricultural heritage.
Osvaldo Nina participated as moderator of the closing keynote lecture, “The End of Globalization?”, given by academic Emanuel Ornelas (Sao Paulo School of Economics), contributing to the exchange between the speaker and the audience.
International speakers and general topics
The conference featured renowned keynote speakers and international experts. Among them, Conchita D’Ambrosio (University of Luxembourg) opened the event with the presentation “Poverty under the skin: insights from biology,” while Emanuel Ornelas (Sao Paulo School of Economics) closed the conference with “The End of Globalization?”
High-level plenary sessions were also held, organized by institutions such as CAF, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the London School of Economics (LSE), where topics such as the efficiency of public spending on health and education, protected areas, local governance, and macroeconomic stability were discussed. These presentations enriched the debate on the structural challenges of development in Bolivia and Latin America.
