Objetives

The main goal of the MercoNet is to maximize the contribution of economic research to the advancement and deepening of the regional integration process and the management of the challenges faced by countries in the region in order to successfully integrate into the global economy. On the basis of this general goal, MercoNet aims at the following specific objectives: 

• To promote, coordinate and develop joint studies on issues relevant to the integration process, from an independent and rigorous perspective.
• To highlight the role played by independent economic research in the public debate on the integration process, in order to balance the political and sectoral visions that often dominate the current debate.
  
  
• To create a space of open policy debate on common policies for MERCOSUR and on how the bloc responds to the changes in the international context, and/or other common challenges to member countries.
  
  
• To articulate the generation of knowledge with the needs and demands of policy makers, negotiators and other actors participating in the integration process and to discuss and broadly disseminate the results of studies developed within and outside the Network, with the objective of reaching all key sectors in the integration process.
  
  
• To identify priority issues for research within the region and carry out comparative work based on common methodologies that help create a regional vision of the problems faced by Latin American countries in view of their need to integrate into the global economy in ways that could help to meet their development objectives.
  

10 YEARS OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH IN THE MERCOSUR NETWORK: 1998 - 2008
After a decade of research, the Mercosur Network has managed to accumulate valuable ?social capital?, by constituting itself as a means for interaction between policy makers and research centers in the region. Also, the MercoNet has accumulated knowledge capital that has allowed it to contribute to the intellectual sphere and to offer policy recommendations. The purpose of this publication is to show briefly the most important results of our research. Download

Financing

The MERCOSUR Network is mainly funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC/CRDI of Canada) Additional funds are contributed by: the Organization of American States (OAS) the Inter American Development Bank (IADB) the Perez Guerrero Trust Fund of the United Nations (PGTF/G77) the Tinker Foundation Inc. the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC) the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS)
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE