Banco de la República presents the book "Veinte años de investigación sobre economía regional"

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	Book available for download (Spanish only)

In the framework of the celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the Centro de Estudios Ecónomics Regionales (CEER), today, Banco de la República, presents the book Veinte años de investigación sobre economía regional, written by researchers Luis Armando Galvis and Leonardo Bonilla. The launch event will take place in the Bartolomé Calvo Library of Banco de la República in Cartagena at 5:00 p.m., with a presentation by Mr. Miguel Urrutia, Associate Professor at the Universidad de los Andes and former Governor of the Central Bank. In attendance will be the authors of the book, Mr. Adolfo Meisel (member of the Board of Directors), Mr. Jaime Bonet (manager of the Cartagena branch), and renowned national and international researchers. 

The book recounts the creation of CEER in 1997 in the Cartagena branch to stimulate economic research in the regions, and it presents a balance of the primary contributions of this investigation center. First, it has been the site for rigorous academic study of a great variety of topics related to all the regions of the country, which has been possible thanks to the interdisciplinary nature of the group and its explicit decision to explore the critical issues of the regions that do not always get the attention they deserve. Second, the center has actively participated in public debate and in the formulation of public policies. In some cases, its recommendations have been welcomed by decision-makers and have been reflected in law bills and local and national government programs that have benefitted the economic development of the country. Without a doubt, this is one of the primary accomplishments of CEER in its first twenty years.

CEER was the first center for research created outside of Bogotá,  and, thanks to the success of this initiative, the Central Bank now counts with three other investigation niches in Medellín, Cali, and Bucaramanga, where topics of high relevance for the country such as the labor market, social policies, industrial organization, international commerce, and agriculture are studied.

Among the academic challenges that CEER faces towards the future are to study the reduction of deep regional gaps, deepen the knowledge of the most remote regions, and increase the study of urban and environmental issues, which are increasingly more relevant in the country. In these and other matters, CEER will no doubt have a lot to contribute in the years to come.

Cartagena.