Innovation, competitiveness, and development in Latin America - Lessons from the past and perspectives for the future

In this seminar, Professor Paulo N. Figueiredo (FGV EBAPE) and Professor Edmund Amann (Leiden University and John Hopkins), two highly experienced international scholars, will talk about “Innovation, Competitiveness, and Development in Latin America. Lessons from the Past and Perspectives for the Future,” which is the title of their new book, published by Oxford University Press. This seminar is an opportunity to explore Latin America’s pressing issues and gain comprehensive insight into why the region has struggled to grow and bridge the development gap with advanced industrial economies. Moreover, participants will thoroughly analyze Latin America’s growth and development challenges based on evidence from across the region, including major economies and smaller often overlooked cases.

Professor Paulo N. Figueiredo is a faculty member for MSc & PhD in Administration, Professional Master’s in Public Administration (MAP) and Executive Master’s in Business Administration (MEX) programs at FGV EBAPE. Together with Professor Edmund Amann, they will discuss specific questions, including: What are the best forms of policy intervention to help Latin America overcome its structural impediments and seize emerging global opportunities? What institutional obstacles prevent the implementation of effective policies? How can the region avoid missing opportunities regarding new windows of technological, learning, demand, and institutional opportunities in the future?

The event will be held in English, but participants will be able to ask questions in Portuguese.

Paulo N. Figueiredo is a full professor of technology and innovation management at the Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration (EBAPE) of Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV). He also serves as a senior research associate at the Department of International Development at the University of Oxford, UK, and a research associate at the Center of New Developmentalism of the São Paulo School of Business Administration (EAESP) of FGV. Professor Figueiredo holds a PhD in science and technology studies from the University of Sussex Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), UK, and is the founder and editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development (IJTLID), UK. He is a member of the Techno-scientific Council of the Eldorado Research Institute, São Paulo, Brazil, and established the Research Programme on Technological Learning and Industrial Innovation in Brazil at FGV EBAPE in 1999.

Edmund Amann is a professor at SAIS Europe, Leiden University (The Netherlands) and Johns Hopkins University (United States of America). He holds the position of Reader in Development Economics at the University of Manchester and serves as a consultant at the Inter-American Development Bank. Professor Amann has previously held the J.P. Lemann visiting professorship at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and was a research fellow at St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford. He frequently contributes to professional journals and holds a PhD in economics from the University of Manchester.