The Becker Friedman Institute for Economics has established BFI Latin America as a platform to highlight contributions of scholars from UChicago’s Griffin Department of Economics, Booth School, and Harris School of Public Policy. BFI Latin America builds on the legacy contributions of UChicago economists to produce frontier research on the most challenging issues facing Latin American economies today, and to share those findings with the world.

Universidad Andrés Bello

The Universidad Andrés Bello (UNAB) and the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics (BFI) at the University of Chicago are collaborating on an academic agreement that aims to foster the exchange, production, and dissemination of research ideas focused on the most relevant issues in economic policy for Latin America.

Through this agreement, UNAB and BFI support cutting-edge research involving scholars from both institutions, host conferences and seminars in both the United States and Latin America, facilitate the exchange of professors and students between both institutions, and eventually launch a new data hub designed to support new research and contribute to economic policy through the dissemination of this work throughout Latin America

Insper

Through their research collaboration, BFI and Insper produce cutting-edge research involving scholars from both institutions, host a series of conferences and workshops on key topics to foster exchange, and develop a pipeline of early career researchers trained in frontier methods of economics research.

A new research professional exchange program for Insper students feeds into BFI’s renowned research professional program, which consists of nearly 80 early career researchers in residence supporting UChicago economics faculty. The program wgives some of the best graduating students from Insper the opportunity to be matched with UChicago faculty for two-year research appointments.

The academic partnership between BFI and Insper was made possible through the support of the Haddad Foundation. Claudio Haddad is the Founder and Chairman of the Board of Insper, a member of the BFI Advisory Council and President of the Board of the Haddad Foundation. He received his PhD in Economics from The University of Chicago in 1974 and previously served as director responsible for public debt and open market operations for the Central Bank of Brazil. He later served as partner and then chief executive officer of Banco de Investimentos Garantia SA, a Brazilian investment bank.

A Monetary and Fiscal History of Latin America, 1960–2017

The Monetary and Fiscal History of Latin America Project was launched in 2013 by the University of Chicago’s Lars Peter Hansen in his former capacity as the Director of the Becker Friedman Institute and as part of its fiscal policy initiative. Upon the advice of Thomas Sargent, New York University, and former Distinguished Fellow of the BFI, and Fernando Alvarez, University of Chicago, the Institute provided funding and other support for this vibrant project initiated and led throughout by the University of Minnesota’s Timothy Kehoe and the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank’s Juan Pablo Nicolini. In supporting and hosting this project, the Institute envisioned an intensive research program to produce a comprehensive monetary and fiscal history of the ten largest countries of South America plus Mexico since 1960. Under Kehoe’s and Nicolini’s leadership, and with the extensive efforts of a large number of scholars with expertise on the macroeconomic experiences of Latin American countries, this project delivered with great success on its initial ambition. The authors of the chapters are country experts who participated in numerous meetings over six years to discuss and receive feedback on their findings that were framed in ways to facilitate comparisons and open the door to novel insights applicable more broadly. Along with the scholarship represented in this book, these economists worked with BFI to create a dynamic database for the eleven Latin American countries under review (https://mafhola.uchicago.edu/), which will inform and inspire scholarship for years to come.