José Manuel Salazar

Bio

Mr. Salazar-Xirinachs is an Economist, with a Master of Philosophy in Development Economics and Doctorate in Economics from the University of Cambridge, England; he also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Costa Rica. He has taught at the Universities of Costa Rica; Nacional, Heredia, Costa Rica; Cambridge, England and Georgetown, Washington D.C. He assumed his current position as Director of the Trade Unit at the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington in June, 1998. Previous positions include Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica, Member of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Costa Rica and Executive Director and Chief Economist of the Federation of Private Entities of Central America and Panama (FEDEPRICAP).

Academic Background

  • B.A. in Economics from the University of Costa Rica (1976); Master of Philosophy in Development Economics (1980)

  • Ph.D in Economics (1993) from the University of Cambridge, England.

Areas of Expertise

  • International Trade - Regional Economic Integration - Development Economics

Present Positions

  • Chief Trade Advisor and Director of the Trade Unit at the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, D.C.

Previous Positions

  • Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica (1997-98).

  • Executive Director of the Business Network for Hemispheric Integration. (BNHI, 1996-97).

  • Vice President of the Board of the Central Bank of Costa Rica, 1995-96.

  • Executive Director and Chief Economist of the Federation of Private Entities of Central America and Panama (FEDEPRICAP, 1991-1995).

  • Consultant to UNDP, ECLAC, IDB and UNIDO (1990-91).

  • Executive President of the Costa Rican Development Corporation (CODESA), institution in charge of the privatization program and the industrial policy program in Costa Rica (1988-1990).

  • Member of the Council on Industrial Policy (1988-90).

  • Director of the Project "Prices, Incentives and Policy Reforms in the Agricultural Sector of Costa Rica." World Bank-Ministry of Planning (1987-88).

  • Advisor to the Government of Costa Rica in the negotiation of the Second Structural Adjustment Program (1987).

  • Advisor to the Minister of Planning of Costa Rica (1985).

Other Activities and Memberships

  • Founding member of the Business Network for Hemispheric Integration (BNHI).


Recent Publications

  • The FTAA and Development Strategies in Latin America and the Caribbean (2003)
  • Proliferation of Sub-Regional Trade Agreements in the Americas: An Assessment of Key Analytical and Policy Issues (2002)

  • "Globalización, crecimiento e innovación tecnológica", IX Seminario Latino-Iberoamericano de Gestión Tecnológica, Innovación Tecnológica en la Economía del Conocimiento, San José, Costa Rica, October (2001)

  • "Trade Labor and Global Governance: A Perspective from the Americas", Paper for the Conference on The Regulatory Framework of Globalization, University of Barcelona, October, (2001)

  • "El ALCA, la OEA y el Nuevo Pacto en las Américas", en Revista Costarricense de Política Exterior, Volumen I, Num. 1, Mayo, San José, Costa Rica, (2001)

  • Toward Free Trade in the Americas, Brookings Institution Press/General Secretariat of the Organization of American States, Washington D.C. (2001)

  • "Customs Unions in the Western Hemisphere", Chapter 3 in Salazar-Xirinachs and Robert (2001)

  • "The FTAA process, from Miami 1994 to Quebec 2001" Chapter 14 in Salazar-Xirinachs and Robert (2001)

  • "Implications of Proliferating Sub-Regional Trade Agreements: Lessons from the Latin American Experience", Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC)'s, Trade Policy Forum on Regional Trade Agreements, Bangkok, Thailand (2001)

  • "The Trade-Labor Nexus: Developing Countries' Perspectives", in Journal of International Economic Law, vol. 3, issue 2. (2000)

  • "Trade and Environment at the World Trade Organization: the Need for a Constructive Dialogue", en Gary Sampson (editor) (2000) in The Role of the WTO in Global Governance, UN University Press

  • "The Free Trade Area of the Americas: A Latin American Perspective", en P. Lloyd and C. Milner (eds.), in The World Economy: Global Trade Policy. (1999)

  • "Progress In The FTAA Negotiations: A Preliminary Assessment Of The First Eighteen Months", Background paper prepared for the Andean Development Corporation Annual Conference on Trade and Investment in the Americas, Washington D.C. (1999)

  • "Implementing the Summit of the Americas: Promoting Free Trade in the Americas", Working Paper Series, North South Center, University of Miami, (1996)

  • "The Central American Common Market and Hemispheric Free Trade", in Ana Julia Jatar y Sidney Weintraub (eds.) (1997) Integrating the Hemisphere: Perspectives from Latin America and the Caribbean, Inter-American Dialogue, Washington D.C.

Current Research Projects

Recommended Links

Areas of Interest

  • Trade and Labor

  • Global Governance