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Remarks for The Round Table “La Economia de Mercado y Los Desafios para un Crecimiento Participativo”
It is wonderful to be here this morning. I am very pleased to have the opportunity to welcome Professor Arnold Harberger to El Salvador.
Professor Harberger is a leading international expert and practitioner on economic development.
He currently teaches at UCLA and serves as Chief Economic Advisor to the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID.
He is also a sought-after consultant with international organizations and with developing countries in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia.
His advice on such matters as inflation control and real exchange-rate management has helped nations tackle a variety of macroeconomic problems.
Professor Harberger has a long history of involvement in El Salvador that started over thirty years ago.
During the 1980s, he was closely involved in the design of the economic reforms that were launched in the late 1980s and formed the basis for El Salvador’s economic course since then.
We all know that El Salvador has made significant economic progress in the last 20 years. Poverty has fallen, inflation is under control, and, during the past couple years, growth rates have picked up.
But, like any country, El Salvador faces some important challenges.
A key challenge is how can El Salvador generate both the type of economic growth and the levels of economic growth that generate benefits for a broad segment of the population?
That is, what does El Salvador need to do to ensure the benefits of free trade, open markets, and economic growth reach every Salvadoran?
That is the question Professor Harbeger and the esteemed panel of economists assembled here today will address.
I am looking forward to a fascinating discussion. We are delighted to be able to co-sponsor this event with FUSADES.
Open dialogue on critical economic issues, with views from across the ideological spectrum, is vital to any democracy. So let’s get the dialogue started!
Muchas gracias.
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