The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association or Asociación de Economía de América Latina y el Caribe (LACEA) is an international association of economists with common research interests in Latin America. It was formed in 1992 to facilitate the exchange of ideas among economists and policymakers. For more information about LACEA, preview its history and Bylaws. We also invite you to join LACEA.

LACEA is generously supported by grants from The World Bank, The Inter-American Development Bank, The Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) and other organizations that are willing to support LACEA's future. Click here to read more about LACEA's supporters.

Dear LACEA members,

The UNU-WIDER will be holding its 2022 Development Conference in Bogota, October 5-7. The conference theme will be Inequality and Development. LACEA has been invited to organize a session and you are therefore invited to submit COMPLETE session proposals that are broadly related to that theme.

The session should consist of 3-4 papers. Please include the authors, paper title, and abstract for each paper in the session (links for each paper will make the submission stronger). The organizers will pay economy class tickets for one author of each paper. The person submitting the proposal should be a LACEA member (membership information available here) and, if the session is accepted, the individuals presenting should be as well.

The deadline for receiving a proposal is December 24th. Please send an email with the title UNU-WIDER Session Proposal to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and cc me (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Best regards,

Raquel Fernández
LACEA President

LACEA Annual Meetings

The 26th Annual LACEA Meeting 2021 was hosted virtually on October 20th-22nd, 2021, by Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia. For more information click here.

The 25th Annual LACEA Meeting 2020 was hosted virtually on November 12th-13th, 2020, and was limited to 5 keynote speakers, a panel on Covid-19 in LAC. For more information click here. 

The 24th Annual LACEA Meeting 2019 took place in Puebla, Mexico on November 7th-9th, hosted by Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla and Colegio de Economistas del Estado de Puebla. For more information click here.

The 23rd Annual LACEA Meeting 2018 took place in Guayaquil, Ecuador on November 8th-10th, hosted by Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, ESPOL. For more information click here.

The 22nd Annual LACEA Meeting 2017 took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina on November 8th-11th, hosted by Universidad San Andrés. For more information click here.

The 21st Annual LACEA Meeting 2016 took place in Medellín, Colombia on November 10th-12th, hosted by Universidad Eafit.  For more information click here.

For further information about previous meetings click here

LACEA Sponsored Networks

Currently, LACEA sponsors ten networks in the field of Capacity Building. Each Network - Inequality and Poverty, Political Economy, Trade, integration and Growth in Latin America, Impact Evaluation, Finance Camps, America Latina Crime and Policy, Labor Network, Health Economics Network, Behavioral Economics Network and Economic History Network - holds annual meetings in different regions of Latin America. All the details related to the LACEA's Networks, can be found here.

Economia, the Journal of LACEA 

Economía is the journal of LACEA. Launched in 2000, ECONOMIA publishes 2 issues per year. It has become the outlet of choice for some of the best research conducted in and on Latin America or relevant for the region. Published by the Brookings Press, Economía publishes peer-reviewed research papers covering a range of topics in applied and empirical economics that are of policy relevance to Latin America. Economía’s emphasis is on rigorous applied theoretical or quantitative work that uses modern analytical tools and, possibly, novel or underexploited databases. Consistent with its aim, the journal also publishes critical surveys of work on policy-relevant areas. The journal welcomes submission on any area of macroeconomics, microeconomics, or finance and at any time. For more information, please click here.

LACEA's Prizes

Carlos Diaz-Alejandro Prize

LACEA's Diaz-Alejandro Prize is designed to honor the memory and contribution of Carlos Diaz-Alejandro, and to encourage high quality research on economic issues relevant to Latin America. Please click here, to read more about this rize and its winners.

Juan Luis Londoño Prize

LACEA's Londoño Prize is designed to honor the memory and contribution of Juan Luis Londoño, and to encourage high quality and policy relevant research on socioeconomic issues relevant to Latin America. Please click here, to read more about this rize and its winners.