Department or Program
History
Abstract
On September 11th, 1973, Chile broke with its strong democratic history when the military bombed the presidential palace and Augusto Ugarte Pinochet began his 17-year dictatorship. On the day of the coup, a team of Chicago-educated Chilean economists presented a document they had been asked to draft by the Chilean Navy. It called for the abolition of the statist economy that characterized Chile at that time and the implementation of a free-market model. The free-market model that emerged under the dictatorship brought Chile to its position as one of the strongest economies in Latin America and its fundamentals are still in place in present-day Chile. The model is glorified by some and criticized by others because of the authoritarian atmosphere in which it was introduced. But the forced exit of Pinochet in 1990 and return to democracy provides an example to other Latin American countries that a free-market can only be sustained alongside a democratic regime. Drawing from personal interviews, archival material, and historical documents, I examine how and why an exchange between Chilean Universities and the University of Chicago began in the mid-1950s and how these ideas have carried through to reshape Chile’s economy. I focus on the context in which the exchange emerged and how the Chicago Boys’ policies infiltrated Chile. Ultimately, the longevity of the free-market policies demonstrates that they have been effective in bringing Chile to its superior economic position in Latin America today.
Level of Access
Open Access
Date of Graduation
Spring 5-2012
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Recommended Citation
Reinhardt, Josephine B., "Los “Chicago Boys”: A Powerful Exchange of People and Ideas between Chile and Chicago" (2012). Honors Theses. 41.
https://scarab.bates.edu/honorstheses/41
Number of Pages
101
Components of Thesis
1 pdf file
Open Access
Available to all.