Business Cooperation and Regional Productive Development in Chile, El Salvador, Paraguay, and Uruguay (TTI)

Several studies have shown that some forms of collaborative business networking can have a positive impact on innovation, financial results, and regional development. Studying the extent and structure of business collaboration in a specific region can contribute to an understanding of the role of collaboration in regional development and form a basis for appropriate public policies. This research project, to be implemented by the Fundación Salvadoreña para el Desarrollo Económico y Social (Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development), will explore the capabilities of four Latin American countries (Chile, El Salvador, Paraguay, and Uruguay) to establish collaborative business networks for regional economic development. The research will characterize each country's regional productive specialization and analyze business networks, focusing on successful economic performance and the determinants and effects of cooperation among businesses. In addition, the project will generate policy recommendations for enhancing productive development. The project will produce a database with productive specialization maps, a working paper discussing main sectoral and regional productive development specializations, a collaborative business-networks map broken down by sector and region, an academic journal article, and several policy briefs. This project entails transferring knowledge between collaborating institutions, which will strengthen their research capabilities. It is funded through IDRC's Think Tank Initiative, which is a multi-funder program dedicated to strengthening independent policy research institutions, or think tanks, in developing countries. The program aims to enhance their ability to provide sound research that informs and influences policy. This second TTI phase will fund 43 institutions, helping them consolidate their role as credible development actors in their countries, and in some cases, regionally and internationally.