Andrés Velasco Brañes (; born August 30, 1960) is a Chilean economist and professor who served as

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

in the first government of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018, becoming the first woman to hold the presidency. She was re-elected in December ...

from March 2006 to March 2010. He is currently the Dean of the School of Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Early life and education

The son of former radical politician Eugenio Velasco and lawyer Marta Brañes, Velasco was born in Santiago, where he lived until the age of 16. Following the exile of his father in 1977, the whole family moved to the US, first to Los Angeles and then to Boston. He finished his secondary school studies at

Groton School Groton School is a Private school, private, college-preparatory school, college-preparatory, day school, day and boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts, United States. It is affiliated with the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcop ...

, Groton, MA. He holds a PhD in economics from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. He took postdoctorate studies at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and at

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT). Earlier, he obtained his bachelor's degree in economics and philosophy at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, and a master's degree in international relations at the same university. He is Sumitomo-FASID professor of Development and International Finance at Harvard University's

John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

Early career

Velasco served as director of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

's Center for Latin-American and Caribbean Studies and assistant professor at

's Department of Economics and Public Affairs. He was Chile's Ministry of Finance Chief of Staff between 1990 and 1992, International Finance coordinator between 1992 and 1994, and

North American Free Trade Agreement The North American Free Trade Agreement (, TLCAN; , ALÉNA), referred to colloquially in the Anglosphere as NAFTA, ( ) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that created a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The ...

(NAFTA) negotiator in 1995. From 2000 to 2006, he was Sumitomo-FASID professor of Development and International Finance at Harvard University's

. Between 2001 and February 2006 Velasco was an associate researcher at the Corporation for Latin-American Research (Cieplán) and president of the board of Corporación Expansiva. He was also a consultant for the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

, the

Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international development finance institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America. It serves as one of the leading sources of development financing for the countri ...

, the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

Economist Intelligence Unit The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the research and analysis division of the Economist Group, providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts ...

's Government Round Tables, and for the governments of the Dominican Republic, Mexico and El Salvador.

Political career

Minister of Finance

When the price of copper reached all-time highs in 2006, boosting government revenues, Velasco resisted intense political pressure from government workers and students to spend the windfall.https://www.bloomberg.com.au/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aKqLXbopcqLA Instead he opted to hold it in reserves equivalent to 30% of the country's

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performance o ...

. The majority of this increase came from state-owned copper miner Codelco, whose profit contribution, in the form of taxes and dividends, provides approximately 13 percent of government revenues. The minister’s frugality enabled Chile to generate its largest budget surpluses in recent memory and the country became the only net creditor Latin American country. After the copper price plummeted following the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

, threatening the Chilean economy, Velasco then used these reserves on stimulus spending for subsidies and tax cuts policies now being praised for their positive social impact His popularity reversed from one of the most reviled politicians to one of the most admired.

Political leadership and presidential candidate

After serving as Chilean Finance Minister, Velasco expressed his intention to run for President of Chile, during a July 2011 interview with Que Pasa, a Chilean television program. Velasco ran in the primary of the Nueva Mayoría, a coalition of centre-left parties in Chile. Velasco officially launched his candidacy on May 15, 2012. In the June 30th primary, Velasco achieved second place with 13% of the popular vote total. Velasco finished second behind former Chilean President

. On October 7, 2012, Velasco started a new political movement called Fuerza Pública, which was later renamed

Ciudadanos Citizens (Spanish language, Spanish: ; ; shortened as Cs—C's until January 2017), officially Citizens–Party of the Citizenry (''Ciudadanos–Partido de la Ciudadanía'', CS), is a Liberalism, liberal List of political parties in Spain, politi ...

(“Citizens"). Velasco became president of the Ciudadanos party on December 11, 2016. He competed in the parliamentary elections of 2017 for a senatorial seat representing the Maule region. He obtained 10.5% of the votes and narrowly missed being elected senator.

Return to academia

In August 2018, Velasco became the inaugural dean of the newly created LSE School of Public Policy, which is housed at the

London School of Economics and Political Science The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public university, public research university in London, England, and a member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the University ...

. During its launch ceremony in November 2018, he remarked that the School of Public Policy will strive “to understand the causes of things for the betterment of society,” as outlined by LSE's founders. As dean, Velasco serves as a frequent speaker at campus events, teaches a course on macroeconomics, and hosts monthly dean dialogues aimed at providing students with a platform for discussion. Since 2001, Velasco has written a bimonthly column for

Project Syndicate ''Project Syndicate'' is an international nonprofit media organization that publishes and syndicates commentary and analysis on a variety of global topics. All opinion pieces are published on the ''Project Syndicate'' website, and also distribu ...

. As dean, he has continued to write articles on a wide range of topics for Project Syndicate, including populism and macroeconomic policy. In 2021, Velasco was appointed to the

–

High-Level Advisory Group (HLAG) on Sustainable and Inclusive Recovery and Growth, co-chaired by

Mari Pangestu Mari Elka Pangestu (: hokkien: Phang Hoei Lan; born 23 October 1956), who is currently serving as the Indonesian President's Special Advisor for International Trade and Multilateral Cooperation, appointed by President Prabowo Subianto on 21 O ...

, Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, and

Nicholas Stern Nicholas Herbert Stern, Baron Stern of Brentford, (born 22 April 1946), is a British economist, banker, and academic. He is the IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government and Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and ...

Recognition

Velasco has received several distinctions, including: the Award for Excellence in Research granted by the

(IDB), in recognition of contributions to economic research, the design of policies, and the creation of research institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean (2006); "Latin America Finance Minister of the Year" by ''Emerging Markets'' magazine published by

Euromoney Institutional Investor Delinian (formerly Euromoney Institutional Investor) is a British financial media company that has interests in business and financial publishing and event organisation. , it was one of Europe's largest business and financial information comp ...

plc during the annual meetings of the

and

, based on the preferences of the most influential economists, investors and experts in the region (2008); an award from ''

América Economía The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

'' magazine, which also considered him as "Finance Minister of the Year"; and ''

Latin Trade ''Latin Trade'' is a monthly magazine covering global business in Latin America and the Caribbean. Similar to Forbes and Fortune Magazine in coverage, the magazine was founded in 1993 and now publishes 40,000 copies every two months in Spanish a ...

'' magazine's prize for the "Most Innovative Leader of the Year" (2009).

Publications

*''Advanced Macroeconomics: An Easy Guide.'' Filipe Campante, Federico Sturzenegger, Andrés Velasco. London: LSE Press, 2021 *''Trade, Development and the World Economy: Selected Essays of Carlos Díaz-Alejandro''. A. Velasco, Editor. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1988

*''Vox Populi'' (novel). Santiago: Editorial Sudamericana, 1995. *''Lugares Comunes'' ("Common Places" / novel). Santiago: Editorial Planeta, 2003. *''Free Trade and Beyond: Prospects for Integration in the Americas''. A. Estevaordal, D. Rodrik, A. Taylor and A. Velasco (eds.). Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2004.

Personal life

Velasco is married to journalist

Consuelo Saavedra Consuelo or Consuela may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Consuelo'' (novel), an 1842–1843 novel by George Sand * Consuela (''Family Guy''), a character in ''Family Guy'' *"Consuelo", a 2002 song by Belle and Sebastian from ''Storytelling'' ...

and is the father of three.

References

External links

Official Site
(Spanish)
Faculty profile
at

Publications
at the

National Bureau of Economic Research The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is an American private nonprofit research organization "committed to undertaking and disseminating unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic co ...

Column archive
at

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Velasco, Andres 1960 births Living people Chilean agnostics 20th-century Chilean economists Chilean essayists Ministers of finance of Chile 20th-century Chilean novelists 20th-century Chilean male writers Chilean male novelists People educated at The Grange School, Santiago Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Harvard University alumni Harvard Kennedy School faculty Columbia University faculty Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Politicians from Santiago, Chile Yale College alumni Candidates for President of Chile Institute for New Economic Thinking Citizens (Chilean political party) politicians 21st-century Chilean economists