Event Summary

On October 26, AEI’s Stan Veuger and Steven B. Kamin welcomed Ilan Goldfajn and Ana María Ibáñez of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Daniel Lansberg-Rodriguez of Aurora Macro Strategies, and Nancy Lee of the Center for Global Development for a conversation and panel on challenges to growth in Latin America.

Drs. Veuger and Goldfajn began with a conversation on broader challenges to development, the role of the IDB, and Dr. Goldfajn’s vision as IDB’s president. Dr. Goldfajn highlighted a triple challenge: rising social demand for amenities, lacking fiscal resources for authorities to take action, and lumbering productivity growth. He also listed the region’s opportunities: Latin America is crucial in providing clean energy, biodiversity, and clean minerals, and it is a powerhouse of food production. The IDB needs to help realize these opportunities by channeling investment and knowledge to these countries.

This was followed by a panel discussion with Dr. Ibáñez, Mr. Lansberg-Rodrigeuz, and Dr. Lee, which Dr. Kamin moderated. Mr. Lansberg-Rodriguez discussed political challenges to development, Dr. Lee emphasized the increasing role of multilateral development banks, and Dr. Ibáñez described the IDB’s role in technical operations to solve fiscal and developmental constraints.

—Aatman Vakil

Event Description

Latin America’s economies face grave challenges, including high inflation, deep inequalities, climate change, and persistently low productivity growth. Charged with helping them meet these challenges is the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a multilateral financial institution that is a leading source of development finance for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Join AEI’s Stan Veuger for a conversation with IDB President Ilan Goldfajn about economic prospects for Latin America and the Caribbean and the role the IDB can play in enhancing those prospects. An expert panel on Latin America development policy, moderated by AEI’s Steven B. Kamin, will follow.