Publication:

The Importance of Human Capital and Institutions in an Economic Reform Process: A Comparison of Two Programs

While the Klein & Saks team was working in the country, the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile entered into an academic agreement with the University of Chicago under the auspices of the U.S. government. The economists formed under this program would be very influential in Chile, as part of a new economic reform plan, since the mid-1970s. As we compare these programs we argue that one of the reasons why the Klein-Saks mission ultimately failed was because it did not articulate a critical mass of economists invested in their agenda. Together with institutions, human capital should be considered as an important element of a successful economic reform program