Guest blog by Lilliana Carranza, LEG’23
One of the main lessons learned in addressing the growth challenges in my country was to eliminate the idea that successful external recipes will lead us to solve local problems.
This practice is very widespread in Latin America where the recipes of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Inter-American Economic Development Bank (among others); Many times, they are imposed from outside and assumed by the politicians in power as the way to follow. In the course I learned that this approach does not focus on the problem or take into account the actors on whom the success or failure of said strategies really depends.
When solutions to economic development problems arise from the different groups involved, listening to local proposals from those who know the reality and integrating them with multidisciplinary work groups that provide a broader perspective; There is a greater possibility of generating a “sense of us” that makes the construction of the strategy a process of generating learning that really drives change.
Throughout the course, my approach perspective evolved: from the approach of the growth challenge to be solved; to the definition of working groups that could eventually be integrated into the construction of a collective solution with a common goal. In my case, the process of defining critical points for addressing the problem, after identifying the bonding constraint, was very enriching.
The concept of multi-agent leadership in the construction of public policy solutions in economic matters also managed to change my perspective. I used to think it was kind of “lucky” that a country had a great leader who drove big changes. However, in the course I learned that since growth is a complex challenge, the only way to achieve a successful result is through the committed mobilization of many actors, from different roles and in a work team that, beyond wanting to execute tasks, have a shared commitment to a vision for the future.
During the course it was also very interesting to share various growth challenges in our group, in countries as different as the United States, Azerbaijan and Costa Rica: it brought us face to face with the reality that in many cases we encounter the same obstacles: lack of resources, little political agreement, institutions and sectors that work in a disjointed manner, although they pursue the same goal.
In my specific case, in addition to being a journalist, I also participate in a non-governmental organization that seeks to influence gender equality and increase the participation of women in the workforce in the country.
The problem that I decided to address in the course was the Low female employment rates in STEM Jobs in Costa Rica. What I learned in the course will change the way I carry out activism and how I interact with different actors to try to implement public policies that really ensure that more women can study, train and enter the labor market, especially those related to the areas STEM, which is where the country has great opportunities to achieve growth in the medium and long term.
In the next course, I would like to find answers to some doubts that arise regarding the currents that promote the green economy as a route of opportunities for economic growth. This is because there are trends that are being heard very strongly at this time, such as the replacement of the energy matrix based on fossil resources.
However, there are several substitution activities such as electric mobility, energy generation through solar panels, which could also have strong collateral environmental impacts that it is not very clear if their future impact has been dimensioned.
I would also like to have answers that arise from the changes that technological advances such as Artificial Intelligence could have on the workforce of developing countries, where they could negatively impact the generation of good jobs, without the countries having been able to adapt capabilities.
This is a blog series written by the alumni of the Leading Economic Growth Executive Education Program at the Harvard Kennedy School. 58 Participants successfully completed this 10-week online course in December 2023. These are their learning journey stories.