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The Chicago Boys (c. 1970s) were a group of about 25 young Chilean economists who trained at the University of Chicago under Milton Friedman and Arnold Harberger.1 They later worked in Augusto Pinochet's administration to create a free market economy and decentralize control of the economy.
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Chile
The Chicago Boys received their basic economic education from the School of Economy in Universidad Católica. In 1956 that School had signed a three-year program of intensive collaboration with the Economics Faculty of the University of Chicago (the "Chile Project"). It entailed Chicago professors going to teach in Santiago, the donation of a full modern library, scholarships to the best Chilean students, etc. Under the leadership of Dean Theodore Shultz of the University of Chicago, this program was renewed three times and eventually had a transformative effect on economic policy in Chile. That is why the graduates of the School of Economics of "La Catolica" (the Catholic University) are called "the Chicago Boys." Only some of them went later for postgraduate studies at the University of Chicago, where they enrolled in Arnold Harberger's Latin American Finance Workshop and Milton Friedman's Money and Banking Workshop. The whole group was heavily influenced by the Chicago School of Economics, and especially by the writings and public policy proposals of Milton Friedman.
Some key Chicago Boys were:
- Jorge Cauas (Minister of Finance, 1975 - 1977)
- Sergio de Castro (Minister of Finance, 1977 - 1982)
- Pablo Baraona (Minister of Economy, 1976 - 1979)
- José Piñera (Minister of Labor and Pensions, 1978-1980, Minister of Mining, 1980-1981)
- Hernán Büchi (Minister of Finance 1985 - 1989) (although he did his Ph.D. in Columbia University).
- Alvaro Bardón (Minister of Economy, 1982-1983)
- Juan Carlos Méndez (Budget Director, 1975-1981)
- Emilio Sanfuentes (Economic advisor to Central Bank)
- Sergio de la Cuadra (Minister of Finance, 1982-1983)
- Miguel Kast (Minister of Planning, 1978-1980)
- Martín Costabal (Budget Director, 1987-1989)
- Juan Ariztía Matte (Private Pension System Superintendent 1980-1990)
- Maria Teresa Infante (Minister of Labor 1988-1990)
Elsewhere in Latin America
Although the largest and most influential group of so-called Chicago Boys was Chilean in origin, there were many Latin American graduates from the University of Chicago around the same period. These economists continued to shape the economies of their respective countries, and include people like Mexico's Francisco Gil Diaz, Fernando Sanchez Ugarte, Carlos Isoard y Viesca, Argentina's Ricardo Lopez Murphy, and many more from countries like Brazil, Peru, Uruguay, and Costa Rica.
At least one former academic of the University has statedcitation needed that the main advantage Chile had when compared to other Latin American countries was not the presence of the Chicago Boys, but rather the large number of them and the coherence of their policy making. Other military regimes of the seventies, such as the Ernesto Geisel presidency in Brazil, followed a radically different economic orientation, based upon the idea of overcoming underdevelopment through heavy government spending and centralized planning.
See also
References
- ^ VILLAROEL, Gilberto. La herencia de los "Chicago boys". Santiago do Chile: BBC Mundo.com - América Latina, 10/12/2006. (Spanish)
Further reading
- Valdés, Juan Gabriel (1995), Pinochet's Economists: The Chicago School of Economics in Chile, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-45146-9
- Fontaine Aldunate, Arturo (1988), "Los Economistas y el Presidente Pinochet", Zig Zag
External links
- Video clip - Chicago Boys and Pinochet, on PBS
- Is Chile a Neoliberal Success? analysis of Chicago Boys' policies in Dollars & Sense magazine
- Audio clip - 'Chicago Boys' Leave Lasting Legacy on Chile's Economy, National Public Radio
- Beware the Chicago Boys by Naomi Klein, report appeared in The Nation and Commondreams.org
- How the Chicago Boys Wrecked the Economy An Interview with Michael Hudson by Mike Whitney
- The Chicago Conspiracy - A film about the influence of the Chicago Boys and radical currents in Chile against their legacy
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 23 November 2008, at 11:22.
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