Natural Resources, Development, and the New Dynamics of Trade
Leland is the Co-founder and CEO of China Beige Book, where for over a decade and a half he has run the world’s largest private macroeconomic survey of China’s economy and financial system.
In December 2025, he was reappointed by U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson to serve on the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, the congressional body tasked with assessing the economic, trade, and security implications of the U.S.-China relationship. His current term runs through December 31, 2027.
He holds a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law; a master’s degree in Chinese History from Oxford University; and a BA in European History from Washington & Lee University.
Ricardo Hausmann is the Founder and Director of Harvard’s Growth Lab, one of the most well-regarded and influential hubs for research on economic growth and development around the world, and the Rafik Hariri Professor of the Practice of International Political Economy at Harvard Kennedy School.
Before joining Harvard University, he served as the first Chief Economist of the Inter-American Development Bank (1994-2000), where he created the Research Department. He has served as Minister of Planning of Venezuela (1992-1993) and as a member of the Board of the Central Bank of Venezuela. He also served as Chair of the IMF-World Bank Development Committee. He was Professor of Economics at the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administracion (IESA) (1985-1991) in Caracas, where he founded the Center for Public Policy.
His work has been published in some of the top journals in the world. These publications have been cited more than 59,000 times.
He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Cornell University.
Marcos Buscaglia is the Founder of Alberdi Partners (www.alberdipartners.com), a consulting firm specializing in political, economic, and market analysis across Latin America.
He served for five years as Chief Economist for Latin America at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York. He also served as Chief Economist for Latin America at Citibank, based in New York, and as Chief Economist for the Southern Cone at Citibank, based in Buenos Aires.
He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, a Postgraduate Degree in Economics from Torcuato Di Tella University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina (UCA). He graduated top of his class in Economics at UCA, earning the university’s Gold Medal for highest academic achievement, and was also awarded a Fulbright Scholarship.
Andrés Lopez is Director of the Interdisciplinary Institute of Political Economy (IIEP), a joint institute of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and CONICET. He is a Principal Researcher at CONICET, Full Professor of Economic Development, and a professor in the Master’s Program in Economics at the School of Economics of the University of Buenos Aires (FCE-UBA). He also serves as Executive Director of the South American Network on Applied Economics (RED SUR). Since November 2024, he has been President of the Argentine Association of Political Economy (AAEP).
He previously served as Chair of the Department of Economics at the School of Economics of the University of Buenos Aires (FCE-UBA).
He received the KONEX Merit Award in the field of Economic Development and was recognized as one of the 200 outstanding figures of the University of Buenos Aires as part of the university’s bicentennial celebrations.
He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Buenos Aires.
Fernando Navajas is Chief Economist at FIEL and a member of the Argentine National Academy of Economic Sciences (ANCE), where he serves as Director of the Institute of Applied Economics. He is a former President of the Argentine Association of Political Economy (AAEP) and Full Professor in the Departments of Economics at the Schools of Economics of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and the National University of La Plata (UNLP).
Previously, he served as Senior Economist at the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Office in Buenos Aires and as Chief of Advisors to Argentina’s Ministry of Economy.
A leading expert in macroeconomic analysis, energy, and public policy, he received the Platinum KONEX Award in Applied Economic Analysis and the Medal for Academic Excellence from the University of Buenos Aires. His career is featured in Juan Carlos de Pablo’s book Diez Economistas Argentinos (Buenos Aires: Ed. Unión).
D.Phil. in Economics from the University of Oxford. Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the National University of La Plata (UNLP).
Gerardo della Paolera is Executive Director of Fundación Bunge y Born. He is Professor at Torcuato Di Tella University (UTDT) and the Central European University (CEU). He was the founding President of UTDT and has held faculty appointments at the University of Chicago, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Kyoto University, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Universidad de San Andrés, and the University of Buenos Aires (UBA).
He has published extensively and is co-author of the books Straining at the Anchor: The Argentine Currency Board and the Search for Macroeconomic Stability, Una Nueva Historia Económica Argentina, and La Economía de Perón: Una Historia Económica.
He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina (UCA).
