The Chile Project: The Story of the Chicago Boys and the Downfall of Neoliberalism
In 1955, the United States launched the “Chile Project” to train Chilean economists at the University of Chicago. After General Augusto Pinochet overthrew Salvador Allende in 1973, Chile’s “Chicago Boys” implemented the purest neoliberal model in the world for the next seventeen years. But under the veneer of success, a profound dissatisfaction was growing.
Sebastian Edwards, Henry Ford II Professor of International Economics at UCLA’s Anderson Graduate School of Management, discussed his book “The Chile Project” in which he tells the remarkable story of how the neoliberal economic model came to an end in 2021, when Gabriel Boric, a young former student activist, was elected president.
Edwards’ presentation was followed by a fireside chat alongside James Heckman, who has been at the Department of Economics at the University of Chicago since 1973, moderated by Eduardo Porter, columnist and editorial board member at the Washington Post.
Agenda
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Reception
Welcome and Introduction
Fernando Alvarez, The Charles F. Gray Distinguished Service Professor in Economics and the College, the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics, University of Chicago; Faculty Director of BFI Latin America
Book Discussion
Sebastian Edwards, Henry Ford II Professor of International Economics, University of California, Los Angeles
Fireside Chat
Sebastian Edwards, Henry Ford II Professor of International Economics, University of California, Los Angeles (Discussant)
James Heckman, Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago (Discussant)
Eduardo Porter, Economics reporter for The Washington Post (Moderator)
Audience Q&A
Post-Event Networking