In this episode of Terrenal, recorded live at the Universidad de los Andes, Andrés Caro and Andrés Mejía speak with Juan Camilo Cárdenas and Leopoldo Fergusson, full professors in the School of Economics at the Universidad de los Andes and co-directors of TREES, about the different forms that inequality takes in Colombia and why it should matter to us.
The conversation touches on the role of merit and opportunity, educational segregation, discrimination based on accent, the weakness of Colombia’s fiscal pact, and the relationship between inequality, power, and polarization. It also explores what the government, the education system, and citizens can do to build a society in which everyone is treated equally.
This is the video version of episode 125 of *Terrenal*, recorded on June 18, 2026.
Does inequality begin before we can decide about our own lives?
In the second episode of The game of life, TREES' videopodcast and the documentary film directed by Andrés Ruiz Zuluaga, we talk about motherhood, caregiving, teenage pregnancy and the inequalities that begin to mark life from early childhood.
Together with Raquel Bernal, rector of the Universidad de los Andes and an expert in early childhood, and Andrés Moya, director of Seeds of Attachment, Leopoldo Fergusson, co-director of TREES, and Andrés Ruiz Zuluaga reflect on the women who support entire families, the invisible burden of caregiving and how opportunities - or their absence - begin to shape the future from the earliest years of life.
From the stories of The game of life, This episode explores how social inequalities permeate motherhood and parenting: from teenage pregnancy and the absence of support networks, to the economic, emotional and cultural barriers that millions of women face in caring for and raising their children.
The conversation also addresses the role of the first years of life in children's development, how early experiences impact the future and why talking about early childhood is also talking about poverty, gender, violence and social mobility.
In this episode
Why does inequality start from the earliest years of life?
Maternity, care and poverty in Colombia
Teenage pregnancy and inequality traps
Women who support entire families
What happens when parenting depends almost exclusively on mothers?
Early childhood, violence and life opportunities
How experiences from 0 to 6 years of age shape the future
The stories behind the inequality data
The invisible burden of care and gender gaps
What would have to change in order to grow up in a more equitable country?
Inequality is not only reflected in income. It also appears in how we are valued, perceived and heard. In this masterclass, Leopoldo Fergusson, full professor at the School of Economics of the Universidad de los Andes and co-founder of TREES, argues that the most essential equality, the one that matters more than inequality of opportunities or outcomes, is that of being treated with equal consideration as members of a political community. Using everyday examples and research findings, he discusses the expressions of this type of inequality in Colombia, its historical and cultural roots, and the opportunities we have to overcome it.
The session is presented by Jhon Quinchua and was part of Pensar en Voz Alta, the Icesi University Festival, which brought together open conversations on the future of democracy, the inequalities that permeate society and the impact of artificial intelligence.
TREES (Teaching and Researching Equitable Economics from the South), an initiative of the Center for Studies on Economic Development (CEDE) at the Universidad de los Andes, funded by the Ford Foundation, and the EGAP (Evidence in Governance & Politics) Latin American Hub, are seeking advanced-stage research projects aiming to understand the causes and consequences of inequality, broadly defined.
This call is open to researchers based in Latin America with advanced-stage research projects seeking peer feedback and support to finalize their work. The selected projects will receive up to USD 5.000 each.
We are open to research contemplating non-economic aspects of inequality. We welcome empirical studies and contributions to the measurement, conceptualization, and historicization of inequality.
Some non-comprehensive topics of reference may be:
Social segregation along income lines.
The economic and cultural implications of segregation.
Women in the economy of the global south.
Cultural, racial, and gender diversity.
Environmental justice.
Social interactions: Migration.
Stereotypes and discrimination.
Inequality and segregation in the labor market.
Teaching inequality from different areas of knowledge.
Fiscal issues and inequality.
Formal and informal rules, norms, and inequality.
Citizens and the State.
Teaching students with diverse characteristics.
We encourage rigorous and intellectually ambitious research and welcome proposals from multiple disciplinary and methodological perspectives, both domestically and internationally.
Eligibility and Selection process
To be eligible for the grant, the lead applicant must be a Principal Investigator (PI) linked to a non-profit organization or institution legally established in any State of Latin America or the Caribbean (host institution). The host institution is willing to serve as the administering organization if the grant is awarded.
If awarded the grant contract, the PI will become the coordinator. The coordinator is the sole interlocutor between the host institution and TREES.
The lead PI may submit more than one Letter of Inquiry but may not be awarded more than one grant.
The selection process consists of two stages
In the first stage, submitted applications will be reviewed and selected to participate in a peer-review workshop.
In the second stage, selected participants will present their work during the peer-review workshop, where a selection committee will identify the best paper(s) based on the following criteria: academic rigor; feasibility, understood as the project's capacity to be realistically completed within the proposed timeframe and with the available financial support; and the contribution of the research to a broader understanding of the causes and consequences of inequality.
Application Details
Fill out the Letter of Inquiry form to express interest in the TREES Research Grant Fund. No later than June 24, 2026, at 11:59 PM Bogotá Time (UTC -5)
Questions may be sent by e-mail no later than May 24, 2026, to the address below:
Due to the high volume of submissions, we regretfully cannot guarantee feedback on all the proposals received at any stage of the selection process.
To include all Latin America and the Caribbean, this call, the documents to be delivered, the deliverables, and the associated events will be in English.
Grants are awarded to the Host Institution with the explicit commitment that this institution offers appropriate conditions for the Principal Investigator and their team to direct the research and manage its funding for the project's duration. When the host institution commits to providing the appropriate conditions for the development of research and management of funds, it is expected that the administrative tasks or indirect costs will be a cost-share of the host institution.
The grant cannot be awarded directly to individuals.
Intellectual property shall remain with the PIs, but they grant dissemination rights to Uniandes and the Ford Foundation.
Any relevant changes to the proposal or team shall be submitted to [email protected] and will be subject to approval.
Evaluation Criteria and process
The selection committee comprises the three principal investigators of TREES. If the submitted topics warrant, external evaluators may be invited. At each stage of the selection process, proposals undergo independent evaluations by a minimum of two principal investigators. Following this initial assessment by at least two principal investigators, proposals are discussed by the selection committee at large, and those that garner greater consensus are funded (fully or partially).
Evaluation Criteria for the Research Proposal:
Clarity and Relevance of the Research Problem.
Problem Statement: The proposal must clearly articulate the research problem, ensuring it is directly connected to issues of inequality.
Question, Objectives, and Justification: The proposal should specify the research question, outline the objectives, and justify the significance of the research clearly and concisely.
Contribution's Relevance and Novelty: The proposal must highlight how the research contributes new insights or approaches to the field, emphasizing both relevance and innovation.
Methodological Design.
Appropriateness of Methodology: The proposal should demonstrate that the chosen methodology is suitable and robust enough to address the research problem effectively.
Feasibility and Resources.
Realistic Proposal: The proposal must assess its feasibility, considering the resources available and the time frame.
Availability of Data and Resources: It should confirm that data and essential resources can be acquired within the proposed budget and time constraints.
Clarity in Writing.
Writing Quality: The proposal must be written with clarity, making it accessible and understandable to reviewers, without sacrificing depth or complexity.
Application Deadlines
Deliverable
Date
Letter of Inquiry open date
May 11, 2026
Letter of Inquiry close date
June 24 2026
Workshop acceptance notification
July 30, 2026
Workshop
September, 2026
Grant Award and notifying successful applicants
September 20, 2026
Formalization of grant award, delivery of the invoice for the first transfer of the approved budget.
November 15, 2026
Final document Submission and a financial accounting report, in COP, which includes a statement by the responsible financial officer of host organization certifying the accuracy of the report. This report must cover the expenses of 100% of the budget. If at the end of the period the entire budget has not been executed, the balance shall be returned in accordance with the provisions of the contract.
A total of 54 researchers have participated in the TREES Research Grant Fund workshops. They are conducting 40 research projects and come from 10 different disciplines and 3 countries: Colombia, Chile, and Uruguay—an academic network that transcends institutions and borders.
Understanding inequalities requires high-quality research. To this end, it is important to create spaces where researchers from Latin America, representing various disciplines, can engage in dialogue, question their own approaches, and collectively develop new research questions. That is why we created the TREES Research Grant Fund, whose purpose is to fund research projects and foster an academic community committed to broadening our understanding of inequalities from multiple perspectives.
The first Research Grant Fund workshop was the September 27, 2024 and brought together economists, sociologists, political scientists, anthropologists, and historians for the first time, who shared their projects in a space designed to foster the exchange of ideas and strengthen their research through interdisciplinary dialogue.
From this first meeting, it became clear that the value of this initiative goes beyond funding. Bringing together researchers from different disciplines allowed each project to receive feedback from various fields, broadening the analytical frameworks for addressing inequalities.
During the second workshop, the May 7, 2025, the participants presented their ongoing research and received feedback from colleagues. This session proved particularly valuable because it allowed them to identify strengths, challenge assumptions, and explore new lines of analysis before completing their studies.
For James Torres, a professor of history and geography at the Universidad de los Andes, said, “The workshop is fantastic because it brings together an interdisciplinary team of economists, historians, political scientists, and lawyers all discussing the same topic: inequality.”
The discussions addressed topics as diverse as the role of the state in land distribution, the reconstruction of women’s place in economic history, informal employment, social mobility, the cultural dimensions of inequality, and the challenges of applying models developed in the Global North to Latin American contexts.
That diversity also transformed the research itself. Natalia Amaya, a researcher at the Prolongar Foundation, highlighted how the conversation with other participants opened up new possibilities for her work: “I really liked the comparative perspective. One of the professors suggested we look at classism versus the caste system in India, something we hadn’t considered.”
Similarly, Emiliano Tealde, an economist and professor at the Catholic University of Uruguay, highlighted the value of receiving feedback while the project was still in development: “It’s very constructive to receive comments from colleagues at this stage. Concerns arise, as do weaknesses one might have suspected, but there are also suggestions that help improve the work.”
As explained Leopoldo Fergusson, head of research at TREES, “We want to look at inequality not only from a strictly economic perspective. This has led to a very rich mix of perspectives on its causes and consequences.”
The third edition of the workshop was held on February 17of 2026. The researchers spent the meeting discussing the progress of their projects and receiving feedback from their colleagues. This approach fostered more in-depth conversations about the methodologies, findings, and challenges of each research project. This way of working was appreciated by the participants, as noted by Sebastián Fleitas, professor at the Catholic University of Chile: “I think it’s very important to have a space for reflection on inequality where different perspectives can contribute, build on one another, and address the problem of inequality in Latin America and its solutions.”
Beyond academic exchange, the workshop also strengthened a research community committed to producing knowledge in a rigorous and collaborative manner. Luz Ángela Rodríguez, a professor in the School of Rural Studies at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, noted: “Thinking collectively about inequalities provides us not only with a learning community, but also with the opportunity to develop new ideas for further research and, ideally, to influence public policy processes.”
Over the course of the three editions, the following have participated 54 researchers, which develop 40 investigations from 10 disciplines different and 6 cities in Latin America: Bogotá, Medellín, Santa Marta, Villavicencio, Putumayo, Santiago, Chile, and Montevideo. This consolidates an academic network that transcends institutions and borders.
Several of these studies are already part of the TREES Research Repository and continue to provide evidence to help us understand the multiple dimensions of inequality. When research is open to the exchange of ideas and peer feedback, it expands its capacity to understand the root causes of inequalities and generate evidence that contributes to the design of public policies and other initiatives aimed at building more equitable societies.
Transforming reality requires changing the ideas that sustain it.
Therefore, in TREES we work to understand and transform inequalities based on rigorous knowledge. In this report we share what we have done between 2023 and 2025 in our three areas of work: Research, Teaching and Outreach. Here you will find our main achievements, learnings and challenges.
