Reflections of economists on the impact of DR-CAFTA on the rural sector of Central America

In September, RUTA, the World Bank, IDB and IFPRI published a 24-page booklet summarizing the thoughts of a highly qualified group of economists on the impact of the Free Trade Agreement between the United States and Central America and the Dominican Republic (DR-CAFTA). The booklet was edited by Carlos Arce and includes contributions by Miguel Gómez, Hans Jansen, Sam Morley, Jorge León, Francisco Pichón and Diego Arias. It was published with the support of the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID).

Economists and researchers specializing in rural development from different regional research centers met in March 2006 in Costa Rica, under the auspices of RUTA. At the meeting, they also drew up an agenda for research on the design of complementary policies relating to DR-CAFTA.

Series on drivers of growth in Central America is published

In September 2006, a series entitled Motores de crecimiento rural sostenible y reducción de la pobreza en Centroamérica was published in September 2006 by RUTA and the World Bank. The series includes case studies on Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, and was published with the support of the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID).

The studies identify the capacities and potentialities of the poor rural population in each country, with a view to strengthening those assets and helping the people overcome poverty. Even vulnerable populations have, to a greater or lesser degree, certain key assets that can be activated as "drivers of growth" so as to improve their living standards. These assets may be related to aspects such as their culture, production, education, natural resources, land, organization, health, infrastructure or others. Recognizing these assets is especially useful in targeting public interventions so as to strengthen the drivers of growth in different rural communities. That is the goal of this series.