Latest Embassy Programs
American Professor Educates Hundreds of Nepalis about Promoting Economic Growth
July 12-17, 2009
U.S. Speaker Dr. Hilton Root, Professor of the School of Public Policy at George Mason University, shared his expertise on the topics of international political economy and development with various audiences in Kathmandu. The programs were co-hosted by Samriddhi - the Prosperity Foundation, a non-governmental organization.
July 13 – Dr. Hilton Root’s first engagement was a presentation for students from various public and private colleges. Dr. Root spoke on the topic “Integrating Developed and Developing Economies” and discussed the history of U.S. economic development and the stages of business -state relations. This was followed by a discussion session during which more than 45 young college students had the opportunity to ask questions on how this integration might work in Asian countries, i.e., what sort of economic system can be adopted, what sort of government and business relations are required for development and economic growth, and what are the major roles and policies that Asian nations can adopt from the United States. The students highly appreciated Dr. Root’s knowledge and his responses to their questions.
July 14 – An engagement between Dr. Root and youth leaders of NGOs was also organized to discuss how public policy institutes work in the United States, and to explain the importance of such institutes. Dr. Root shared his personal experience of working with various public policy institutes and public policy schools. He also talked about how the public policy institutes can build their own network and capacity. The discussion helped the audience to understand the role of such institutes in an economy.
In the afternoon, another lecture was organized at Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, on the topic “Integrating Developed and Developing Economies.” More than 200 students from the Department of Economics of the university attended this lecture. Dr. Hilton Root described the U.S. history of economic development and the stages of business-state relations. During the following discussion session, questions were raised on how developed countries such as the United States have grown so fast, why some developing countries are poorer than others, the impact of privatization in developing countries, and how developing countries compete in a global economy. This proved to be a lively and informative session.
 |
|
More than 200 students at Tribhuvan University pack the lecture hall to hear Dr. Root speak |
July 15 – Dr. Hilton Root held a roundtable entitled “Economic Transition – from traditional economy to growth” with ten renowned Nepali economists. Dr. Root’s presentation and the comments from the participants about Nepal’s economy made this a valuable session. Discussions centered on several serious issues such as the different kinds of risk faced by developing countries, economic reform in East Asian countries, and economic growth. Dr. Root effectively provided information about the economic transition of the United States from a traditional agricultural economy to a modern economy, and he discussed how a similar process would work in developing countries.
July 16 – The final lecture held on the topic of “Integrating Developed and Developing Economies” proved to be very informative for the students of the Kathmandu College of Management (KCM). More than 60 undergraduate students listened with great interest to Dr. Hilton Root’s brief economic history of the United States. In this session Dr. Root discussed the stages of U.S. economic development and the growth of the business sector in the United States. He highlighted the types of state – business relationship that are important for economic growth. Dr. Root’s response to the queries was also very commendable. Moreover, from this session the students were able to learn about lobbying, government regulation, and the role of business and business associations in interacting with the government.
The series of programs by Dr. Root provided ample opportunities to reach diverse audiences, including Nepali economists, bankers, politicians, think tank representatives, members of civil society, young students, student leaders, and influential opinion makers. The overall program helped educate these audiences -- 390 individuals in total -- about the U.S. model of the private and the government sector.