The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association (LACEA) annual meeting is the region's premier economics conference. Attending alongside the RIDGE (Research Initiative on Development and Growth) Summer School provided a dual immersion in both frontier research presentations and intensive training in development economics methods.
The RIDGE summer school sessions were particularly formative — designed for early-career researchers, they offered deep dives into the latest empirical methods with the guidance of leading scholars in the field. The formal training complemented the informal learning from conversations during coffee breaks and conference dinners.
[Add your personal narrative here — specific sessions, papers you saw presented, connections made, or how this shaped your research direction.]