Emerging Markets Institute Director to Speak at Council on Foreign Relations
Richard J. Coyle will offer thoughts on growth and innovation in Brazil
Richard J. Coyle, Executive Director of the Emerging Markets Institute at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University, will be a featured speaker and participate in the third annual Brazil Investment Conference at the New York City-based Council on Foreign Relations. The conference brings top Brazilian and U.S. business leaders together to discuss how the country differs from other emerging markets, focusing on Brazilian energy, infrastructure, education, barriers and benefits to foreign investment, human capital, and innovation. The conference is coordinated by the Council on Foreign Relations, an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher.
Using the Global Innovation Index, developed by Johnson Dean Soumitra Dutta and jointly published by Cornell University, INSEAD, and the World Intellectual Property Organization, Coyle will demonstrate how Brazil has been losing ground to other countries in the areas of education, research and development, and ease of doing business. However, new educational and innovation initiatives recently launched by the Brazilian government seem to hold promise, as gains in these areas are becoming evident.
Examples include Science Without Borders, which has sent 37 Brazilian students to Cornell University this semester, with another 17 expected in January. Globally, the program hopes to send 101,000 Brazilians abroad by 2015. Programs such as this have helped quadruple annual number of master’s and doctorate graduates in Brazil in the past 15 years. Major corporations such as IBM, Halliburton, and Cisco have recently announced new Innovation & Technology Centers in Brazil. In addition, reforms have been implemented within the government innovation agency to accelerate the approval process for funding.
Challenges still exist, such as a lag in productivity and tendency toward protectionism, which have prevented the importation of new technologies. “Brazil has already demonstrated global leadership in aircraft manufacturing, agritech, pharmaceuticals, and oil and gas extraction technologies,” Coyle said. “If a greater culture of innovation can be fostered among other sectors, the Brazilian economy could hold a bright future.”
About the Emerging Markets Institute at Johnson at Cornell University:
Established in 2010, the Emerging Markets Institute was founded at Cornell University’s Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management to promote the research and study of emerging economies. The Institute provides a private forum for lively exchange among corporate leaders from emerging and developed markets and leading researchers. We are building the most highly regarded academic program for the study of emerging markets—with the breadth, depth, and quality of education needed to effectively prepare business leaders for success.