The Research Institute for Development, Growth and Economics (RIDGE) and the LACEA Political Economy Group (PEG) are pleased to announce a call for papers for the RIDGE/LACEA-PEG Workshop on Political Economy to be held at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), Brazil, on 22-23 May 2017.

The deadline for submission is February 28/02/17

The 2017 meeting will take place in Rio de Janeiro, hosted by PUC-Rio, within the framework of the 2017 RIDGE May Forum along with the following workshops:

• LACEA Trade, Integration and Growth Network, May 19-20 (Montevideo, Uruguay)
• RIDGE/LACEA-PEG Workshop on Political Economy, May 22-23 (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
• Impact Evaluation of Labor Market Policies, May 24-26 (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
• Public Economics, May 25-26 (Montevideo, Uruguay)
• Economic History, May 26-27 (Montevideo, Uruguay)

The Political Economy Group of LACEA has held annual meetings since 1998. As in previous years, the 2017 meeting aims to promote the discussion around the connection between economics and politics that is relevant for Latin American and Caribbean economies. The focus of the meeting will be on the connection between economics and political institutions broadly understood, including legislatures, courts, executives, political parties, elections, weakly institutionalized environments, the institutions of federalism and the workings of the public service.

The accepted contributions are expected to be relevant for understanding the most challenging problems of Latin America and Caribbean countries. This allows for papers addressing issues in other regions when those issues are deemed relevant to the Latin American context. Studies of specific Latin American countries, as well as comparative institutional analyses are also welcome. Both theoretical and empirical contributions are welcome. There will be a dedicated discussant for each paper, as well as open floor discussion.

LACEA-PEG co-directors: Ernesto Dal Bó (UC Berkeley) Claudio Ferraz (PUC-Rio) Scientific Committee: Timothy Besley (LSE) Ernesto Dal Bó (UC Berkeley) Claudio Ferraz (PUC-Rio) Frederico Finan (UC Berkeley) Alvaro Forteza (U de la República) Ernesto Stein (IADB)

The RIDGE Forums and LACEA networks aim to favor the spread of high quality research in economics by bringing together top local and regional researchers working on the frontier of knowledge and policymakers. Participants to any workshop are welcome and encouraged to attend the other workshops.