Research Groups

Research Groups have a well-defined field in economics and are led by Research Directors and a Scientific Committee of internationally renowned economists. Many of the workshops of the RIDGE forum are organized jointly with the LACEA Networks.

As a general rule, the field of a Research Group has to be relevant for economic policy and/or have a critical social impact, in particular for Latin America. RIDGE aims to interact with researchers in the region and increase the relation between academic research and economic policy. RIDGE cooperates with universities and research centers in the region as well as research departments of national, regional and international institutions. Among others, the Inter American Development Bank (IADB), the Central Bank of Uruguay (BCU), CAF, UdelaR, Universidad de Montevideo, Universidad ORT, EAFIT, UBA, PUCRio, FGV, U los Andes.

Know more about them

LACEA-EHN Historical Development

Towards Sustainable Growth

The “Towards Sustainable Growth” research group aims to share and discuss the latest and most innovative developments in macro-development, seeking to understand the root causes and consequences of economic disparities and development both within and across countries.

WELAC (LACEA) Gender and Household Economics

WELAC stands for Women in Economic in LAC.  Like its sister organizations CSWEP in the US (for the AEA) and WinE in Europe (EEA), WELAC is standing committee of LACEA.  Its goals are to promote the careers of female economists and monitor the status of women in the profession.

LACEA Workshop on the Economics of Crime

This research group aims at studying two critical social problems faced by the developing world: crime and conflict.

Economic History

Development is a long run and global process. History, the present and the future are at the center of that process, the analysis of which must be tackled with historically informed development and growth theory, able to catch general laws, but also account historical specificities and the hierarchical character of international relations.

Financial Stability

Global financial markets are in a state of flux. Since the global financial crisis many international agencies and national authorities have envisaged changes to the regulatory rules and supervisory architectures for banking and other financial institutions.

LACEA NIP Inequality & Poverty

The research group on inequality promotes the study of economic, demographic, and policy changes that affect the distribution of income, consumption and wealth. We prioritize research that is based on theoretical and empirical state of art methods and, at the same time, has the objective of drawing lessons for shaping economic policy both in Latin America and the rest of the world. 

International Macro

The research group on International Macroeconomics provides a forum for the study of the link between international capital markets and the less developed countries’ macroeconomics, with a focus on understanding the implications for economic policy.

Public Economics

The research group on Public Economics promotes the use of economic tools to study public policy issues. The group encourages diversity of approaches from different fields of economics, including but not limited to public finance, labor economics, behavioral economics and political economy.

LACEA Impact Evaluation Network

The research group on impact evaluation is a collaboration with the Impact Evaluation Network (IEN) of the Latin American and the Caribbean Economic Association (LACEA).

LACEA Brain

LACEA BRAIN (Behavioral Insights Network) aims to unite Latin American and Caribbean economists to promote rigorous research in behavioral and experimental economics…

Environmental Economics

LACEA Health Economics Network

The LACEA’s Health Economics network aims at bringing together economists and other social scientists in order to build a community of practice to promote quality research in health economics in LAC and contribute towards stronger health care systems.

RIDGE/LACEA-PEG Workshop on Political Economy

The Political Economy Group of RIDGE/LACEA aims to promote the discussion around the connection between economics and politics that is relevant for Latin American and Caribbean economies.

GDM / International Trade

Industrial Organization

The Industrial Organization research group aims to promote the use of both theoretical and empirical tools in industrial organization to study the functioning of markets, the behavior of firms and individuals in these markets, and their implications for competition policy and regulation.

Research Directors