Mark Falcoff is a former professional staff member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a senior consultant to the 1983 National Bipartisan Commission on Central America, chaired by Henry Kissinger. Through August 2004, he wrote AEI's monthly Latin American Outlook. He is also the author of Cuba the Morning After: Confronting Castro's Legacy (AEI Press, 2003).

Desmond Lachman joined AEI after serving as a managing director and chief emerging market economic strategist at Salomon Smith Barney. He previously served as deputy director in the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Policy Development and Review Department and was active in staff formulation of IMF policies. Mr. Lachman has written extensively on the global economic crisis, the U.S. housing market bust, the U.S. dollar, and the strains in the euro area. At AEI, Mr. Lachman is focused on the global macroeconomy, global currency issues, and the multilateral lending agencies.