This was the second project of the Programme on Latin America and the Caribbean funded by the Ford Foundation.

The project’s general objective was to provide sharply-focused policy research and forward-looking analysis on the impact of the economic and trade liberalization in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The project generated new knowledge and advanced fresh ideas on the evolving economic and social relationships in the region. In essence, it contributed towards the understanding of the economic and social impact on Latin America and the Caribbean of a more open trade and investment regime in the Americas.

The program followed a particular collaborative model in which Canadian and LAC researchers pursued related projects in parallel, integrating their findings towards the end of the project cycle. The project particularly encouraged Canadian-LAC joint participation in specific individual research efforts.

The research effort focused on three main thematic modules: 1) The Effects of Liberalization on Trade and Investment; 2) Economic Liberalization and Industrial Restructuring in LAC Countries; and 3) Restructuring, Labour Markets, Income Distribution, and Poverty. A total of 18 projects were funded in the three modules.

The project also fostered interaction between LAC and Canadian specialists through the visitors program, through trips by Canadian faculty to the collaborating institutions in Latin America, and through the organization of an international conference on Small and Medium Enterprise, Labour Markets, and Income Distribution in Latin America and the Caribbean (Buenos Aires, August 24-25, 1998). A total of 16 LAC scholars visited CIS for periods ranging from one to three months while participating in the project’s research effort.