Christian A.M. Wilson invited Nobel laureate Randy Schekman to share his expertise in Latin America, and Schekman is interviewed by Harley Shaiken.
Throughout Latin America, scientific research is hampered by a lack of investment. Chile and Argentina are no exception, with only about 0.4 percent of gross domestic product assigned to research and development (compared to 2.73 percent in the United States and 3.47 percent in Japan), and most of this R&D investment is public funding. The lack of resources limits access to grant opportunities and equipment, drives up costs, and results in low salaries for scientists. These daunting circumstances are reflected in low numbers of scientists: 320 per million inhabitants in Chile and 1,121 in Argentina, compared to 3,867 in the United States and 5,153 in Japan (Ciocca & Deglado, 2017).
