CHOPE Fellow 2018 Carlos Eduardo Suprinyak

Why would an associate professor of economics at Brazil’s Federal University of Minas Gerais and a researcher at the Center for Development and Regional Planning (Cedeplar), come to the Center for the History of Political Economy? Carlos Eduardo Suprinyak explains, “There are very few places in the world today that provide such a nurturing environment for research on the history of economics, especially for the younger generations. The Center provides a very congenial scholarly environment, gathering young and senior researchers who are very committed to the field. Duke University’s facilities are also splendid.”

At Duke, Carlos is focusing on “the professionalization of economics as an academic discipline in Brazil during the 1960s and 1970s. Since this was accomplished, in great measure, with the support of institutions such as USAID and the Ford Foundation, the project also touches on many aspects of the history of US-Latin America relations during the Cold War era.” Duke’s Economists’ Papers Archive holds an essential ingredient to Carlos’s research: “the papers of Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen, who visited Brazil multiple times as part of the agreements then in place to foster the development of training and research in economics.”

Discussing his residence, Carlos concludes, “being awarded a research fellowship has allowed me to conclude my year-long sabbatical leave on a high note!” It is no surprise, however, that Carlos has had much to offer the ongoing conversations among scholars at the Center. After all, Carlos has been an active member of the history of economics community for over a decade, a regular participant in the annual History of Economics Society meetings, a co-editor of Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology since 2014, the chief editor of Nova Economia since 2015, and an active member of the recently created Latin American Society for the History of Economic Thought (ALAHPE).