EVALUATION OF THE GRADUATE ECONOMICS PROGRAM AT THE FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF PERNAMBUCO (RECIFE)

PGTE was created to meet the demand for trained economists in northeast Brazil. The study evaluates the present stage of PGTE's development based on a one-day visit to PGTE and discussions with Ford Foundation and USAID personnel. 24 students are presently enrolled in PGTE. PGTE's master degree program began in l967. Only within FY 70, however, has the program developed to a level at which it can justifiably grant MA degrees to a regular graduation class (only one MA has been awarded to date). PGTE is in a position today to issue a quality master degree primarily due to the efforts of Fuenzalida, the Vanderbilt professor financed by USAID. The rest of the faculty is capable and dedicated, but still young and inexperienced, both academically and administratively. The quality of the courses appears to be high and comparable to graduate courses in the US. The curriculum could, however, be improved by adding at least one more required course in basic theory to the core curriculum, and by expanding the variety and number of optional courses. A strong curriculum in agricultural economics also needs to be developed. This can be accomplished through the proposed consortium with the Universidade Rural in Pernambuco, and with an additional visiting professor in agricultural economics. The most important barrier to continued improvement in PGTE is the absence of qualified leadership within the Brazilian faculty to replace Fuenzalida. USAID should support Fuenzalida and 2 additional professors for another 2 years in hopes that, by that time, one of the Brazilians could take over. The PGTE faculty is now conducting contract research for such institutions as IPEA, CONDEPE, and SUDENE. The quality of the research is good and additional contracts are contemplated. PGTE is also interested in conducting research for USAID in the future in the the areas of income distribution and employment. Overhead income for the research provides an important source of revenue for PGTE.