Call for Papers
II Workshop of the Regional Integration Network (RIN)
Punta del Este, Uruguay, December 17-19, 2002

The second Workshop of the Regional Integration Network (RIN) will be held in Punta del Este, Uruguay, December 17-19, 2002. This Workshop is sponsored by LACEA and is organized by CERES (Center for the Study of Economic and Social Affairs).

The Workshop is a unique event that brings together top researchers, policymakers and trade negotiators from the North and the South to discuss recent theoretical and empirical advances in the economics and politics of Regional Integration Agreements (RIAs). The goal of these meetings is to use the findings of research in order to gain a better understanding of the problems, opportunities and policy challenges faced by Latin American countries in the process of integration and also to encourage further research on the subject.

The program will start on the morning of December 17th with two full days of brainstorming sessions. Eight papers will be presented during the brainstorming sessions and each paper will be briefly commented by a discussant leaving ample time for general discussion. On December 19th there will be a roundtable discussion. The roundtable will be open to the public and will include policy makers as well as academics. It will preferably be in Spanish and the presentations will be policy oriented focusing on current problems and policy challenges related to RIAs in the region.

A program committee formed by Guillermo Calvo, Robert Devlin, Sebastian Edwards, Antoni Estevadeordal, Guillermo Perry, Ernesto Stein and Ernesto Talvi will select eight papers and discussants for the brainstorming sessions as well as the panelists for the roundtable. We welcome theoretical and empirical research relevant for understanding the economics and politics of RIAs (for convenience, a list of suggested topics is included in this Call for Papers which although not exhaustive will serve as a guide for Workshop participants). Both theoretical and policy oriented papers are welcomed. A special emphasis will be placed on attracting young scholars.

In order to participate in the Workshop it will be necessary to submit a paper or research project testifying to the author’s research commitment to this field. Those invited to participate, however, will not necessarily be asked to present a paper. Actually, we anticipate that there will be more participants than the eight papers, eight discussants and roundtable panelists that we will be able to accommodate during the Workshop. Thus, a basic requirement is your willingness to be an active participant during those two days.

For academic participants, we expect to be able to offer hotel accommodations and a round-trip economy class (most direct) airfare. We urge you to find other sources of funds to cover other transportation costs, as we are running this on a very limited budget.

Academics and researchers currently occupying policy-making positions are welcome to participate in the Workshop without presenting a paper. However, these participants will have to procure the financing to participate in the Workshop from their own institutions.

Please, send us an email indicating your willingness to participate in the Workshop to RIN2002@ceres-uy.org no later than August 31st , together with the paper title and an abstract. The submission deadline for papers and research projects is September 30th. Papers (preliminary drafts are acceptable) must be submitted in PDF format. For additional information please visit http://www.ceres-uy.org/RIN2002.

During the second meeting of the Regional Integration Network we hope to replicate the success of the first in promoting a very fruitful exchange of ideas as a basis for becoming an active part of the public policy debate on RIAs. As an additional incentive, please note that Punta del Este is one of the most beautiful seaside resorts in the world, only 140 km (about 90 miles) away from Montevideo and 25 minutes by plane from Buenos Aires’s downtown airport.

Please note that the second Workshop of the RIN will be held back to back with the Harvard University/IADB-INTAL Regional Conference on “FTAA and Beyond: Prospects for Integration in the Americas”. This Conference will be held in Punta del Este, Uruguay, December 15-16, 2002, in the same hotel as the RIN. Hope you all will be able to attend both events.

Sincerely,

Sebastian Edwards
LACEA’s President and
Henry Ford II Professor of International Economics
at The Anderson Graduate School of Management UCLA
Sebastian.edwards@anderson.ucla.edu

Ernesto Talvi
Executive Director
CERES
Montevideo, Uruguay
etalvi@ceres-uy.org

Regional Integration Network: Suggested List of Topics

I. The Economics and Politics of Regional Integration Agreements (RIAs)
- Economic and Political Determinants of RIAs
- Political Economy dimensions of RIAs (e.g. should Mercosur or the Andean Community negotiate FTAA as a bloc or individually? Should RIAs be used as a trade liberalization strategy?)
- Dispute Settlement Mechanisms within RIAs

II. Trade Integration

- International Trade Rules, WTO, and Regional Trade Arrangements
- Effects of Trading Blocks on Global Liberalization

III. Monetary and Financial Integration

- Currency Unions
- Exchange Rate Harmonization
- Macroeconomic coordination

IV. Integration Beyond Trade

- Product Standards
- Labor Standards
- Environmental Standards
- Intellectual Property Rights
- Government Procurement
- Competition Policy
- Capital Markets Integration (insurance, banking, supervision)
- Tax Harmonization
- Investment Agreements

V. The Economic and Social Impact of Integration
(as defined in II, III and IV)

- Trade Patterns
- Production Patterns
- Growth
- Technology Diffusion and Productivity
- Industrial Location and Spatial Agglomeration
- FDI
- Income Distribution
- Migration
- Employment