Sparking ideas in Latin American economics

BY BECKY PURDY

Ask Professor Miguel Ramirez about the economy of Mexico or Chile, and he leans forward, his words gain speed, and his face lights up. A few rhetorical questions sneak into his discussion of Latin American economics: “In my research I’m finding that public investment does not crowd out private investment, rather it -- what? It encourages private investment in complementary areas.”

            Ramirez’s students know this tone well. Their economics professor is talking about his area of expertise, and predictably, the opportunity to discuss his ideas electrifies him. “He becomes very animated when talking about those topics. He’s moving all around. His hands get going,” says Adam Strogoff ‘01, an economics major. Strogoff was one of five students this fall in Ramirez’s senior seminar, “Issues in International Finance.” Beyond the knowledge and perspective Strogoff gained in the seminar, he says, Ramirez taught him about “having the courage to voice your opinion even if you’re not sure that what you’re saying is right.”

            Ramirez teaches by example. He often presents results of his ongoing research to his classes, not as proof of an absolute, but as an invitation to challenge and further develop his ideas. “I find that students are less inhibited about asking questions about my research, sometimes more than my peers,” he says.

 Sparks of ideas

            Ramirez’s delight in the exchange of ideas and his keen interest in his students’ thoughts engender a teaching style that Strogoff calls “interactive.” The international finance senior seminar met for two-and-a-half hours each week, with Ramirez and the five seminar students sitting in a circle and discussing current events and articles related to international finance. “We threw ideas back and forth,” Strogoff recalls, and the time never dragged. Professor of Economics Diane C. Zannoni has witnessed this give-and-take in Ramirez’s larger classes as well. “He’s an amazing lecturer,” she says. “He’s dynamic. He focuses on the important ideas. He engages the audience. He engages the students. You can see the sparks going back and forth.”

            Although his subject matter is often multifaceted and complex, Ramirez has a gift for explaining complicated topics. “As a teacher he’s just fantastic,” says Zannoni, who teaches macroeconomics and econometrics. “I’ve had students in my classes that have had him, and they’re always really well prepared. He’s rigorous, but he’s able to convey really complex material in ways that students can understand.”

            Ramirez encourages his students to see economics in context. “In general, economics courses tend to be more reductionist in their structure,” he says. He tries to put economic ideas into historical perspective. His “Latin American Economic Development”

course, for instance, has a strong interdisciplinary flavor because Ramirez incorporates both economic and historical issues. And in “Economics 101,” he explains Keynesian ideas in the context of the Great Depression, helping students to see why and how Franklin D. Roosevelt developed work programs. Ramirez strives to help students understand economics intuitively. “Economics is, in many ways, sophisticated common sense,” he says.

 Economic theory in context

            Like his students, Latin American countries might benefit from a bit of context for their economics, as Ramirez’s research has shown. Focusing on what he terms “the changing role of the state in Latin America and the Caribbean,” Ramirez has discovered some unexpected results from government’s diminished role in the region during the last two decades. For instance, under the theory that public investment crowds out private funding, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reduced government investment in public projects, such as roads, bridges, and education, he explains. But recent events have shown that, contrary to the theory, government funding for public projects serves as a catalyst for private investment in related projects, Ramirez explains.

            Free-market economic theory also promotes privatizing government agencies, a step that Mexico and Chile have taken. But, Ramirez says, without proper regulation, the private entities are not held accountable for their business practices, and the transfer of state enterprises such as banking and telecommunications to private hands has led to monopolistic behavior, including high prices. A native of Chile who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1990, Ramirez stresses that he does not oppose privatization as long as antitrust measures accompany the changes. Otherwise, as has happened in Latin America, economic power tends to concentrate in a small handful of people, a situation that does not help a country’s financial standing or give citizens economic choices.

Developing a critical mind

            Ramirez started teaching at Trinity in 1985, shortly after earning his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In his 15 years at the College, he has earned a reputation as a professor who assigns a considerable amount of writing. “For developing a critical mind, you have to have discussion, but you also have to be able to write an essay in a compelling and cogent manner,” he explains.

            Ramirez demands considerable writing from himself as well. He has disciplined himself to write at least one page every day. He usually tackles this task after his children, 12-year-old Daniel and 10-year-old Juliana, have gone to bed. “I’m kind of a night owl. I’m not really a morning person, so I guess in that sense I have something in common with Trinity students,” he says with a laugh.