"Economic Management and Political Collapse in Argentina:
Interpreting the Past to Build for the Future"

The New School’s Graduate Program in International Affairs
to Present a Major Conference on April 8 – 9, 2002

(New York, NY – March 14, 2002) The New School’s Graduate Program in International Affairs will host a 2-day interdisciplinary conference on Monday, April 8 and Tuesday, April 9, 2002, from 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. on both days. The conference will convene leading participants and analysts from Argentina and the U.S. to examine the recent economic and political collapse in Argentina and the implications for the country, Latin America, and global institutions. The conference will be held at The New School, Swayduck Auditorium, 65 Fifth Avenue, NYC. For more information go to www.nsu.newschool.edu/internationalaffairs/argentina.htm.

The extraordinary events of December 2002 – January 2002, including political changes, the largest debt default by a country in history, and a redirection of macroeconomic policy from the so-called "Washington consensus," represent moments of major historical shifts in the economic and trajectories of Argentina. They have also created new cultural and political spaces and energies influencing how those trajectories proceed in the future. While the events in Argentina are deeply troubling in the country, they are also of great significance in Latin America and the developing world more generally.

If Argentina had followed the "best advice" of the global institutions, what had gone wrong? If this could happen to Argentina, a relatively rich, middle-income country, could this happen elsewhere? Why had the international institutions let this happen? What could be expected from the United States, who had designated Argentina as a "non-NATO ally" and had been so active in the Mexican crisis of 1982 and later 1994-95? What are the economic consequences of Argentina’s problems on neighboring countries and on the United States?

These issues will be addressed during the conference by the following participants:

JOSEPH STIGLITZ, Nobel Laureate in Economics;Professor of Economics, Columbia University
NESTOR GARCIA-CANCLINI, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)
HALPERIN DONGHI, Professor of History, University of California, Berkeley
Roberto Doberti, Faculty of Architecture, Design, and Urban Planning; University of Buenos Aires
ROBERTO FRENKEL, Director, Bank of the Province of Buenos Aires
LANCE TAYLOR, Director, Center for Economic Policy Analysis, and Professor, Graduate Faculty, New School University
TORCUATO DI TELLA, Professor of Political Science, University of Buenos Aires
JEFFREY MADRICK, Economics Writer, The New York Times; Senior Fellow, World Policy Institute
ADRIANA CLEMENTE, Director, Social Policy and Poverty Program, International Institute for Environment and Development, America Latina
MICHAEL COHEN, Director, Graduate Program in International Affairs, The New School
BERARDO DUJOVNE, Dean, School of Architecture, Design, and Urban Planning, University of Buenos Aires
CAROLINE MOSER, Graduate Program in International Affairs, The New School; Senior Fellow, World Policy Institute
NICHOLAS DUJOVNE, Chief Economist, Banco de Galicia, Buenos Aires
ANDRES SOLIMANO, UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL)
VICTORIA MURILLO, Professor of Political Science, Yale University
MARGARITA GUTMAN, Vera List Center for Art and Politics, The New School; School of Architecture, Design, and Urban Planning, University of Buenos Aires
JOSE MARCIA CAMARGO, Pontifical Catholic University (PUC-Brazil)
ERNESTO SEMAN, Clarin, Buenos Aires
DIANA TUSSIE, Professor, International Economic Relations, FLACSO, Buenos Aires

The topics discussed during the conference include:

ARGENTINA IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: WHY DID ARGENTINA
ADOPT A NEO-LIBERAL MODEL?

THE MODEL IN PRACTICE: COSTS AND BENEFITS - A ROUNDTABLE

IMPACTS OF THE CRISIS; POLITICAL ISSUES OF THE TRANSITION

POLICY ISSUES OF THE TRANSITION: FROM CRISIS TOWARDS
SUSTAINABLE AND EQUITABLE GROWTH

NEW SPACES OF EXPRESSION

INTERNATIONAL, REGIONAL, AND NATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

CONCLUSION: PUTTING ARGENTINA ON PERSPECTIVE: TOWARDS CHANGING<

THE MODEL IN LATIN AMERICA

The International Affairs Program brings together the extensive resources of New School University, including faculty from its graduate programs in media studies, management and social sciences. The Graduate Program in International Affairs offers two degrees: a 30-credit Master of Science in International Affairs for students with at least five years of relevant post-university professional international experience, and 42-credit Master of Arts in International Affairs for students who have not already established a career in an international field or who intend a career change. Michael Cohen is Director of the International Affairs Program.

Michael Cohen is director of the Graduate Program in International Affairs. From 1972 to 1999, he worked in various key positions at the World Bank and was responsible for much of the urban policy development of the Bank over that period. He has worked in over 50 countries and was heavily involved in the Bank’s work on infrastructure, environment, and sustainable development.

He served as the Senior Advisor to the Bank’s Vice-President for Environmentally Sustainable Development. He is the author of several books on urban development, Africa, and evaluation of the impact of development assistance.

The conference is supported by The Ford Foundation and The New School. Admission is free.
Registration online at www.nsu.newschool.edu/internationalaffairs/argentina.htm.
Information by email to [email protected] or 212 229-5488.