Peru: Students study development economics on the coast and in the highlands of Peru

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academics 1:56 Peru: Students study development economics on the coast and in the highlands of Peru

By:

Andrea Brunais

9 Jan 2019 231

Students from Virginia Tech and the University of Piura embark on a novel new program to study development economics on the ground on the coast and in the highlands of Peru.

[00:00:00] >> [MUSIC] [00:00:19] From the mountains to coasts in this vast country, a land of city people and rural residents, community leaders and people famous for handiwork and crafts, 14 undergraduate students unite in a compelling goal. A new program helps them learn to apply techniques of behavioral economics to modern problems. The landscape is ancient but modern day Peruvian life is what commands attention during 10 days in July. [00:00:49] Four students from Virginia Tech and 10 from the University of Piura join forces. They hear lectures in Lima, hang out on the Piura campus, visit a flood-ravaged town, take a 4-hour winding bus ride into the mountains, where they see a dramatic sunset, learn about deforestation, walk an hour to a small village, and then conduct a survey of residents, and cap off the tour by spending a magical hour atop the Andes -- all in the span of 2 weeks. [00:01:26] They end up in teams to create pilot programs and then compete to see if they'll work. They pitch those change-the-world ideas to their professors arguing that their projects are worthy of funding. Follow along in this video series to share in the journey. Go to Tinyurl.com/vtoutreachvideos and click on Peru Trip Playlist. [00:01:51] This is Andrea Brunais reporting.