Inequality and university research agendas in Latin America

The aim of this article is to explore the merit, feasibility, and possible scope of equality-biased academic research agendas in Latin America. First, it discusses the merits of uni-versity research agendas as tools in the fight against inequality. Second, it analyzes the feasibility of defining such research agendas in Latin American public universities, tak-ing into account their long tradition of institutionalized social commitment. Third, it comments on two Uruguayan examples of research programs that may make contribu-tions to the reduction of inequality. Finally, it assesses the possible impact of such pro-grams in the light of inadequacies in Latin American national systems of innovation. Some Questions around Technology and Inequality In his contribution to a recent book on economic and social development, Amartya Sen (1997) detailed several remarkable “development experiences” in the postwar world and presented some dramatic contrasts between East Asia and Latin America: “the advent of East Asia as a region of astonishing economic growth with remarkable social development and comparative equity; the experience of fast economic expansion in parts of Latin America, without commensurate elimination of deprivation ” (pp. 531-32). In terms of distribution of income, the latest data provided by the Eco-nomic Commission for Latin America (ECLA) for urban households in countries of Latin America and the Caribbean show the persistence of high levels of inequality: in some cases, inequality has become far worse during the past twenty years.