Renowned Harvard Economist Ricardo Hausmann Urged to Increase New Export Areas in Chile

October 02, 2023

The renowned economist at Harvard University, Ricardo Hausmann, who visited Chile in September, pleaded to diversify new export areas to resume economic growth as they can expand themselves on much larger scales and push the rest of the economy.

He came to Chile as the keynote speaker of the annual Global Forum on Productivity (GFP) of the Organization for Cooperation and Economic Development (OECD) organized by the Ministry of Economy.

Hausmann’s inaugural speech addressed new policies for sustainable productive development and growth. Hausmann also met the Chilean metallurgical entrepreneurs from the Asociación de Industrias Metalúrgicas y Metalmecánicas (Asimet) in Santiago.

Dr Hausmann gave a keynote lecture at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) as part of the Cycle of Keynote Conferences organized to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations regional commission. He highlighted the relevance of intertwining technology, knowledge, and productive development to diminish inequality in economies.

At ECLAC, Professor Hausmann analyzed the development gaps many countries show in relation to the United States. He said that although developing countries have closed gaps in education, urbanization, employment, and even investment over the last 40 years, in Latin America and the Caribbean this gap has widened, particularly in the last decade. The reason, he mentioned, hinges on the divergence on a large scale of the total factor productivity.

During his stay in Santiago and at the Ministry of Economy, Dr Hausmann discussed the efforts to promote modern industrial policy from Chile through new local capacities, the search for a green economic sophistication, essential elements of industrial policy in the Latin American context, main challenges as well as possible industrial policy strategies.

Ricardo Hausmann is the founder and Director of Harvard’s Growth Lab and the Rafik Hariri Professor of the Practice of International Political Economy at Harvard Kennedy School. Under his leadership, the Growth Lab has become one of the most well-regarded and influential hubs for research on economic growth and development around the world.

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