MEDIA ADVISORY AND BACKGROUNDER October 17, 2007 Media Contacts:…

MEDIA ADVISORY AND BACKGROUNDER

October 17, 2007

Media Contacts:
Mario Larin, FUSADES, mlarin@fusades.org.sv / 011-503-2248-5750
Rick Melcher, Melcher+Tucker Consultants, rmelcher@mtconsultants.com / 312-795-3550
Stephanie Molina, Melcher+Tucker Consultants, semolina@mtconsultants.com/312-795-3557


University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy Studies and FUSADES
 to Co-Host Central American Presidential Forum on Security, Democracy,
                           and Trade, Oct. 29-30

Who: The Harris School of Public Policy Studies of the University of Chicago and the
Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development (FUSADES) will co-host a forum
for Central American presidents on "Security, Democracy, and Trade" on Monday, October 29
and Tuesday, October 30 in San Salvador.

What: Faculty from the Harris School will present to Central American presidents on topics
including presidential powers during war, the economics of crime, human capital, and
immigration. Featured faculty include:

   ·   William Howell, who has written widely on separation-of-powers issues and American
       political institutions, will speak on the "Balance of Power in Democracy."
   ·   Jens Ludwig, who focuses on social policy, particularly in the areas of urban poverty,
       education, crime, and housing policy, will speak on the "Economics of Crime."
   ·   Robert LaLonde, whose research includes education and training of the workforce,
       economic effects of immigration on developed countries, and the impact of unions and
       collective bargaining in the United States, will speak on "Current Challenges in
       Immigration."
   ·   James Heckman, a Nobel Prize winner in Economics in 2000, will lecture via
       videoconference on "Promoting Economic Development through Trade: The Role of
       Human Capital Development."

Susan Mayer, dean of the Harris School, will open the meeting with President Elias Antonio
Saca of El Salvador and Antonio Cabrales, president of FUSADES. Also attending will be
representatives from the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, and the Bureau of Trade. (Agenda
and Faculty background follows the Advisory.)
When: October 29-30. There will be an opportunity for photos at the start of the conference and all
sessions on October 30 are open to media. Harris School faculty members will be available
throughout the conference for interviews, as well as on the days before and after the conference.

To schedule interviews or get media credentials, contact: Mario Larin, mlarin@fusades.org.sv /
011-503-2248-5750

Where: Sheraton Presidente San Salvador Hotel
       Salones Presidentes 1, 2, and 3
       Ave. La Revolucion, Col. San Benito
       San Salvador, El Salvador

Why: The Harris School/FUSADES Presidential Forum brings together leading U.S. researchers on
timely social and economic issues, heads of state and top policy and business leaders from Central
America in a wide-ranging discussion on topics of strategic interest, such as trade, security and
democracy.

                                                  ###

Agenda:

October 30 Schedule of Events
   8:00 am- Registration of participants
   8:15 am- Opening: Ing. Antonio Cabrales, President, FUSADES; Susan Mayer, dean, Harris
   School, University of Chicago
   8:30 am- Jens Ludwig, "The Economics of Crime"
   9:45 am- Coffee break
   10:15 am- Robert LaLonde, "The Challenges of Immigration"
   11:30 am- James Heckman, Videoconference: "Promoting Economic Development through
   Trade: the Role of Human Capital Development"
   12:00 noon- Lunch
   13:30 pm- William Howell, "The Balance of Power in Democracy"
   14:45 pm- Closing remarks

Background on Harris Faculty:

William Howell: An associate professor in the Harris School, his recent research examines how
domestic political institutions constrain the president's ability to exercise military force abroad.
Howell is the co-author (with Jon Pevehouse) of While Dangers Gather: Congressional Checks
on Presidential War Powers (Princeton University Press, 2007). Learn more at
http://harrisschool.uchicago.edu/faculty/howell.

James J. Heckman: The Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of
Economics and an affiliate professor in the Harris School is director of the Center for Social
Program Evaluation at the University of Chicago. Heckman has researched areas such as
education, job training programs, minimum wage legislation, women's work effect and earnings,
child care effects, and anti-discrimination laws and civil rights. Learn more at
http://harrisschool.uchicago.edu/faculty/heckman.

Robert J. LaLonde: A professor in the Harris School, he is an expert on labor, immigration,
and incarceration. LaLonde is leading research projects examining women in Illinois prisons and
their children and the employment prospects of young men after they are paroled from prison.
Learn more at http://harrisschool.uchicago.edu/faculty/lalonde.

Jens Ludwig: The Professor of Social Service, Law, and Public Policy in the School of Social
Service Administration at the University and an affiliate professor in the Harris School, he also
serves as a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, faculty research fellow of the
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), and co-director of the NBER's working group
on the economics of crime. Learn more at http://harrisschool.uchicago.edu/faculty/ludwig.