Conference on the Role of Development Banks

January 18, 2018

In January, Stephany Griffith-Jones, Financial Markets Director at the Initiative for Policy Dialogue, presented the main conclusions of a two-year research project led by Columbia University, co-directed by José Antonio Ocampo, that studied the role of Development Banks (DB) in seven countries: Germany, China, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. The study will be published as a book by Oxford University Press.

During a conference organized by the Santiago Center in association with Universidad de Chile's School of Economic and Business (FEN), Griffith-Jones explained the contribution that DB's have made in terms of promoting economic development as well as the challenges they face today: she covered several key questions, such as: What is the role DB's should fulfill in the current economic context? do they use the adequate instruments and funding schemes to support economic development, productive diversification, energy transformation, and entrepreneurship and innovation? Do they have sufficient scale in economies such as Chile? What relationship should they have with the private world? How can the continuity of its programs be guaranteed beyond electoral cycles?

Her presentation was followed by a panel discussion featuring Eduardo Bitran, Executive Vice President of Chile’s Economic Development Agency (CORFO); Ricardo French-Davis, a renowned economist that teaches at FEN; and Daniel Titelman, director of the Economic Development Division of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC). The event was chaired by Manuel Agosin, Dean of FEN and also a Columbia alumnus.

Conclusions of the upcoming book on DB and thechhapter that focuses on the Chilean development Agency (CORFO), can be accessed through here.