ASCE, ASCE; everywhere ASCE!

In less than three weeks, the 23rd annual conference of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy, will kick off for a three-day marathon of panels, receptions, debates, and discussions from August 1-3 at the Miami Hilton Downtown.

You can register yourself, and pay via PayPal.

Given recent changes in Cuba's migration laws, the organizers of the conference (including myself) have been working hard for months to bring in a record number of participants from the island itself.

Full preliminary program.

The Cubans Are Coming!
I can confirm that we will have the honor of hosting:

• Roberto Veiga and Lenier González (the co-editors of the essential socio-culural magazine of the Catholic Church, Espacio Laical);
• The young professor and doctoral student from the University of Camagüey, José Luis Leyva Cruz;
• The independent economist Karina Gálvez (Convivencia Magazine);
• The independent laywer Lartiza Diversent (possibly together with her colleague Veizant Boloy);
• Estado de Sats co-founder Antonio Rodiles (who will likely attend with the defense lawyer, Amelia Rodríguez Calá);
• Environmental social entrepreneur Yociel Marrero of the Fundación Antonio Núñez Jiménez;
• Veteran dissident attorney, René Gómez Manzano; and
• The young scholar Armando Chaguaceda, who will be coming in from the University of Veracruz where he works.

It is also likely that we will once again benefit from the informed analysis of Oscar Espinosa Chepe, but via teleconference from Spain where he is receiving medical treatment.

We will also benefit from the presence and participation of a number of recently immigrated Cuban scholars, including Nora Gámez and Abel Sierra Madero, whom I met at the recent FIU CRI conference and at LASA.

Of course, I have left out many other attendees such as ASCE stalwarts - like Carmelo Mesa-Lago and Jorge Pérez-López - as well as this year's keynote speaker Harvard labor economist, Gorge Borjas, but my intention here is to emphasize our efforts to grow the organization and make it ever more inclusive and dynamic.

The organizing committee also invited a number of other economists, scholars, and intellectuals who work in Cuban educational and research institutions.  Unfortunately, none besides Leyva Cruz and Marrero is able to attend this year.  But we have let them know both publicly and privately that our doors remain open as we value their scholarship and would benefit from their participation.

$10 Student Registration and The Jorge Pérez-López Student Prize
In order to encourage greater graduate and undergraduate student participation, we have SLASHED the price of registration for all students (and recent graduates) by 95%.  Student can register here for just $10!

One of the cornerstones of ASCE’s outreach to young scholars is the Jorge Pérez-López Student Prize, which awards the author of the best undergraduate and graduate paper on Cuban economic issues with a cash award, travel and lodging costs to attend and present their work at ASCE’s annual conference, one year of ASCE membership, and publication in Cuba in Transition.

This year we received a record number of submissions from two dozen universities in Cuba, the United States, Canada, and Europe!

And the winners are... (Click the image to enlarge)