The Chile Project

The Story of the Chicago Boys and the Downfall of Neoliberalism

English language

Published May 23, 2023 by Princeton University Press.

ISBN:
978-0-691-20862-6
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(3 reviews)

In "The Chile Project", Sebastian Edwards tells the remarkable story of how the neoliberal economic model—installed in Chile during the Pinochet dictatorship and deepened during three decades of left-of-center governments—came to an end in 2021, when Gabriel Boric, a young former student activist, was elected president, vowing that “If Chile was the cradle of neoliberalism, it will also be its grave.” More than a story about one Latin American country, "The Chile Project" is a behind-the-scenes history of the spread and consequences of the free-market thinking that dominated economic policymaking around the world in the second half of the twentieth century—but is now on the retreat.

In 1955, the U.S. State Department launched the “Chile Project” to train Chilean economists at the University of Chicago, home of the libertarian Milton Friedman. After General Augusto Pinochet overthrew socialist president Salvador Allende in 1973, Chile’s “Chicago Boys” implemented the purest neoliberal model …

2 editions

An In-Depth, Individual-Focused History of UChicago's Complicated Entanglement with Chile

The University of Chicago's engagement with Chile during the Pinochet regime has become more well known over time, but this book dives into that history to provide an incredibly well researched look into this period, its effects, and its legacy. What emerges is an economically-focused history of the different players and policies that led to the introduction of many neoliberal policies in Chile, potentially laying the groundwork for later economic growth.

Edwards is an involved participant in the events of this book, and while he does a decent job at trying to play a neutral author his belief in the positive nature of neoliberalism bleeds through. While constantly lauding Chile's economic growth under some neoliberal policies, he fails to meaningfully consider alternative explanations or compare with much more successful models outside of Latin America (South Korea in particular comes to mind). Beyond that, the moral question of whether collaborating and …

reviewed The Chile Project by Sebastian Edwards

Helpful for understanding Chile's recent history

I really liked this book! I found it helpful for understanding economics, the history of Chile, and the neoliberal mindset.

The core story of the book is that when neoliberalism was implemented without opposition by Pinochet after the anti-socialist coup, the country went through 8 economically difficult years of a transition to capitalism, a banking crisis, and then a gradual reaping of the economic fruits of the neoliberal reform. In particular, neoliberalism is seen to have won the war of ideas after the end of the dictatorship, with the centrist/center-left governments continuing and in some ways deepening the neoliberal reforms. These reforms led to the economic success of Chile but also increased inequality and dissatisfaction in non-economic parts of life, ultimately leading to the revolt in 2019, which was a surprised to members of the elite that considered economic markers to be sufficient for understanding the mood of the population. …

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