Watch the Recording

About the Event

The World Affairs Council of Philadelphia and its event partner, the Global Interdependence Center’s College of Central Bankers, spoke with Latin American finance and business leaders about the economic state of the region and what lies ahead after the pandemic.

The region’s economy contracted by an estimated 7.4 percent in 2020, according to the International Monetary Fund, and while some level of economic recovery is expected in 2021 and beyond, there’s still quite a bit of uncertainty for these emerging markets.  Representatives from two of the region’s largest economies—Argentina and Chile—had a robust discussion about the impact that the pandemic has had throughout the region, and what it might take for Latin America to beat the economic forecasts and projections.

About the Speakers

• Jose De Gregorio,  Dean of the School of Economics and Business of the Universidad de Chile; former President of the Central Bank of Chile, December 2007–December 2011
• Alfonso Prat-Gay, founder of Andares, Foundation for the Development of Microfinance; former President of the Central Bank of Argentina, December 2002-September 2004

About the "Beyond Our Borders" Series

This event is part of new programming for the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, the “Beyond Our Borders” series. The Council is offering programming across its activities—speaker events, student programs, and travel (with the objective of hosting a tour in March 2022, due to COVID precautions)—to provide its members and the Greater Philadelphia community a deeper understanding of Chilean culture, politics, cuisine, and its role in the world at large.

The Council is focusing on Chile for the launch of this program series because of the robust and long-standing international relationship between the country and Philadelphia.  In addition to our relationship, which supports thousands of jobs, there is a multi-year initiative to increase tech industry relationships and business development.