Bylaws of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association (Asociación de Economía de América Latina y el Caribe)

March 1, 1998

Preamble: This association has been created by an international group of economists with common research interests in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. The purpose of this organization is to encourage greater professional interaction among economists concerned with Latin American policy and research problems, without regard to political, ideological or methodological orientation.

Article 1: The name of this organization shall be the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association, hereafter abbreviated LACEA. The name of the organization in Spanish shall be Asociación de Economía de América Latina y el Caribe, abbreviated AEALC.

Article 2: The purposes of the LACEA are

(i) to encourage research and teaching related to the economies of Latin American and Caribbean countries and to foster dialogue among researchers and practitioners whose work focuses on the economies of the region. As a matter of policy, LACEA welcomes economists of all nationalities, theoretical orientations and policy perspectives.

(ii) to encourage interaction among scholars, teachers and policy-makers residing and working in Latin America and the Caribbean and professionals residing outside the region.

(iii) to sponsor programs, meetings, conferences and other opportunities for scholarly exchange among individuals and organizations concerned with the economies of Latin American and Caribbean nations. In this capacity, LACEA can act both independently and as a member of other professional or nonprofit associations.

Article 3: Membership and Dues

Membership in LACEA is open to all teachers, students, institutions, and others professionally concerned with the study of Latin American and Caribbean economies. The types of Members are:

1. Full membership is open to all persons professionally concerned with the economics of Latin America and the Caribbean. Upon payment of dues set by the Executive committee, full members shall enjoy all the rights accorded under these Bylaws.
   
2. Student membership is open to graduate and undergraduate students upon payment of reduced membership fees as set by LACEA. Student members shall have the rights of full members, except they are not eligible to hold office.
   
3. Institutional membership is open to all educational, governmental and private organizations concerned with the Latin American and Caribbean economies. Institutional members shall pay dues at a separate rate set by the LACEA executive committee. Institutional members as corporate entities shall enjoy neither voting rights nor eligibility for office. However, members of an organization that is an institutional member can vote or hold office as individuals.
   
4. Honorary Members. The Executive Committee may invite honorary members to LACEA. An honorary member will be someone who given his or her reputation will add to the prestige and visibility of the association. The honorary members will be listed as such in the program of LACEA Annual meetings and other postings of LACEA's activities (e.g., webpage, call for papers, etc.). Honorary members will not be required to pay dues.

Article 4: Organization of the Association

1. The LACEA shall be governed by an Executive Committee consisting of fourteen voting members: the President, Vice President, and twelve Directors-at-large. The past President, the Secretary and the Treasurer shall be ex-officio members of the Executive Committee, with no voting rights. Executive Committee votes will be decided by simple majority; in the event of a tie, the President's vote will be counted twice. Bi-annual elections will be held to elect a Vice-President and six Directors-at- large. The Executive Committee shall meet at least once each year. A quorum shall consist of eight members of the Executive Committee membership. The Executive Committee shall have full authority to make decisions, to collect and spend monies, and conduct the Association's business, subject to these Bylaws. Members of the Executive Committee can be re-elected.
   
2. The President shall preside over all meetings of the Executive Committee, act as official spokesperson for LACEA, and perform all duties incident to the office of president, including scheduling of annual meetings, appointing working committees, holding elections, etc. The President shall serve during a term of two years, after serving a two year term as Vice President.
   
3. The Vice President shall act as a regular member of the Executive Committee and carry out those functions assigned to him or her by the President. The Vice President will also act as President in the event that the President is absent, resigns or becomes incapacitated. The Vice President shall serve during a term of two years, after which he or she shall assume the office of President. The Vice President shall be elected by secret mail ballot from among a list of no fewer than two candidates. Candidates for Vice President will be nominated by a Nominating Committee of at least 3 members selected by the Executive Committee. The candidate garnering a plurality of the votes cast wins the election.
   
4. The Secretary shall be appointed by the President. The Secretary of LACEA shall be responsible for: the collection of dues, recording and distributing the minutes of the Executive Committee meetings; maintaining LACEA's membership mailing list; sending communications and announcements to the Executive Committee, LACEA's membership and host institutions of LACEA events, etc.; sending elections ballots, and collecting and counting the votes; extending LACEA's membership; and, updating LACEA's webpage.
   
5. The Treasurer shall be appointed by the Executive Committee. The Treasurer shall receive and have custody of the funds of LACEA, and shall be responsible for the preparation of legal and tax- related documents, monitoring grant funds, etc. The Treasurer shall be the financial representative of LACEA and shall coordinate the collection of monies and the overall allocation of funds subject to the annual review and approval of the Executive Committee. The Treasurer shall prepare an annual budget and a statement, and present it to the Executive Committee.
   
6. The Executive Committee may decide that the tasks of the Secretary and the Treasurer fall under the responsibility of a single individual who thereafter would be the Secretary/Treasurer of LACEA.
   
7. The Directors-at-large shall vote on matters which come before the Executive Committee, including the appointment of a Nominating Committee for elections, the appointment of the Treasurer, the setting of dues, etc. Directors-at-large will be elected by secret mail ballot from a list of twelve candidates to be selected by the Nominating Committee. The six candidates garnering the largest number of votes win the election. The Directors-at-large will serve for four years.
   
8. The terms of the newly elected Vice-President and Directors-at-large will start January 1st of the next calendar year.
   
9. Only members who are current on their dues can participate in the election process.
   
10. In addition to the nominations made by the Nominating Committee, further nominations for any elected position can be made by petition. No fewer than 10 percent of eligible membership must support such a petition for the candidate's name to be entered in the election list.
    
11. Any member of the Executive Committee may be removed from office by motions of no confidence. Motions of no confidence may be initiated by a mail ballot petition of no less than 20 percent of the membership. A two-thirds majority of those voting is required to pass a vote of no confidence.

Article 5. Amendments to the Bylaws

Amendments to these Bylaws may be initiated by a simple majority of the Executive Committee or by petition of 20 percent of membership. Petition amendments must be submitted to the membership for approval within six months of receipt by the Executive Committee. Amendments to these Bylaws must be approved by a majority of votes cast of LACEA's current members to become effective.

Amended Article 6. Transitory Clauses

1. The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association (LACEA) will be deemed created, the initial Executive Committee shall take office, and the original Bylaws--approved by a majority of charter members--will enter into effect on July 1, 1994.
   
2. The initial Executive Committee will be selected by an organizing committee and shall be governed by the following rules:

• The current President, Vice-President and Directors-at-large of LACEA's first Executive Committee (EC) shall serve on their posts until December 31, 1997.
  
• The first Vice-President will become President on January 1, 1998 and serve for two years.
  
• In the interim, the EC shall appoint a Nominating Committee of five members drawn from LACEA's current membership, with no more than two from the existing EC.
  
• The Nominating Committee will present a list of candidates for Vice-President, and five of the Directors-at-large following LACEA's Bylaws no later than March 31, 1997.
  
• The elections of the new members of the EC shall be completed by August 31, 1997, and the results shall be announced during the Second Annual Meetings of LACEA to be held on October 2-4, 1997, in Bogota.
  
• The new Executive Committee shall begin its term on January 1, 1998.
  
• As stipulated by the Bylaws, the new members of the Executive Committee shall serve for four years, until December 31, 2001. Six of the seven Directors-at-large which remained in place from the first Executive Committee shall serve until December 31, 1999, and the seventh shall serve until December 31, 2001. The replacement of Executive Committee members shall take place following the procedures stipulated in Article 4 of the Bylaws.
  
• The Treasurer of LACEA shall complete the registration of the association as a non-profit and tax-exempt organization by December 31, 1999. The Treasurer and the Secretary shall complete the preparation of LACEA's webpage by December 31, 1998. The Secretary and the Treasurer shall propose a mechanism to collect dues by December 31, 1998.

3. Until March 31, 1998 the "membership" will be defined as anyone who has signed on to become a member of LACEA. Thereafter, only individuals current in their dues will be considered members of LACEA.