Professor Andrés  Velasco

Professor Andrés Velasco

Dean of the School of Public Policy

School of Public Policy

Telephone
020 7955 7982
Room No
CBG 5.19
Office Hours
Email the Dean's Office to make an appointment
Connect with me

Languages
English, Spanish
Key Expertise
Macroeconomics, Economic Policy, Populism, Development

About me

Biography

Andrés Velasco is the Dean of the School of Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

In 2017-18 he was a member of the G20 Eminent Persons Group. During 2015-16 he co-chaired the Global Panel on the Future of the Multilateral Lending Institutions. In 2013-16 he was a member of the Global Oceans Commission.

Mr. Velasco was a presidential candidate in Chile in 2013. He also was the Minister of Finance of Chile between March 2006 and March 2010. During his tenure he was recognized as Latin American Finance Minister of the Year by several international publications. His work to save Chile´s copper windfall and create a rainy-day fund was highlighted in the Financial Times, the Economist, the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, among many others.

In 2013-17 Mr. Velasco served as Professor of Professional Practice in International Development at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University. In 2000-06 he was Sumitomo-FASID Professor of International Finance and Development at the Harvard Kennedy School. Earlier he was Associate Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at New York University.

Andrés Velasco received a B.A. in economics and philosophy and an M.A. in international relations from Yale University. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University and was a postdoctoral fellow in political economy at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

He is the author of nearly one hundred academic articles, several academic books and two novels. He was president of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association (LACEA) from 2005 to 2007. In February 2006 he received the Award for Excellence in Research from the Inter-American Development Bank.

He has served as a consultant to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and to governments, central banks and private businesses around the world.

He is married to Consuelo Saavedra, a journalist and television anchorwoman. They have three children: Rosa, Ema and Gaspar.

CV

Education and Degrees

Yale University (BA, MA)

Columbia University (PhD)

Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Political Economy

Admin Support: Pilar Frogley

Room number: CBG 5.

Phone number: 020 7955 7982

Email Address: Spp.Deansoffice@lse.ac.uk

Webpages

Personal Website (Spanish) | Project Syndicate Profile

Recent research papers

Selected Experience

Professorial:

  • Dean of the School of Public Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, 2018 - Present
  • Professor of Professional Practice in International Development, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, 2013 – 2017.
  • Sumitomo-FASID Professor of International Finance and Development, Harvard Kennedy School, 2000-2009 (on leave 2006-09).
  • Director, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, New York University, 1998-2000.
  • Associate Professor of Economics (tenured), New York University, 1995-2000.

Professional:

  •  Minister of Finance, Republic of Chile, March 2006 – March 2010.
  • Member, Latin Trade Board of Economists, since 2015.
  • Member, International Advisory Board, Banco Itaú, 2011- July 2017.
  • Advisory work for governmental institutions in Colombia, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Nigeria, Panama and South Africa, 1995-2014.

Public service:

  • Member, G20 Eminent Person Group on International Financial Governance, since 2017.
  • Member, New Global Progressive Construct Convention, since 2016.
  • Co-Chair, Global Commission on the Future of the Multilateral Lending Institutions, 2015-17.
  • Member, Global Oceans Commission, 2014-16.
  • Member, Board of Directors, Humanitas 360, since 2014.

Political:

  • Senatorial candidate, Maule Region, Chile, 2017.
  • Founding member, Partido Ciudadanos (Chilean political party), 2015.
  • President, Partido Ciudadanos, 2015-16.
  • Presidential candidate (in the Nueva Mayoría primary), Chile, 2013.

Honours, awards and academic memberships:

  • Inter-American Development Bank Award for Excellence in Economic Research, 2006.
  • International Research Fellow, Kiel Institute for World Economics, 2005-09.
  • National Science Foundation Research Award, 2001-04.
  • Research Associate, NBER, 1998-present.
  • C.V. Starr Center Faculty Research Grant, 1995-2000.

Video Lectures and Podcasts

Recent opinion pieces

Journal Articles

  • “Financial Intermediation, Exchange Rates, and Unconventional Policies in an Open Economy” (with L. F. Céspedes and R. Chang), Journal of International Economics, 108, 2017. Link.
  • “Financial Frictions and Unconventional Monetary Policy in Emerging Economies” (with R. Chang), IMF Economic Review, 65, 1, 2017. Link.
  • “Is Inflation Targeting Still on Target? The Recent Experience of Latin America” (with L. F. Céspedes and R. Chang), International Finance, Vol. 17, Issue 2, Summer 2014. Link.
  • “Fiscal Rules and the Management of Natural Resource Revenues: The Case of Chile”, (with L. F. Céspedes and E. Parrado), Annual Review of Resource Economics, 6:25, 2014. Link.
  • “Was This Time Different? Fiscal Policy in Commodity Republics” (with L. F. Céspedes). Journal of Development Economics, 106, 2014. Link.
  • “Macroeconomic Performance During Commodity Price Booms and Busts¨ (with L. F. Céspedes), IMF Economic Review, 60, 2012. Link.
  • “Currency Mismatches and Monetary Policy: A Tale of Two Equilibria” (with R. Chang), Journal of International Economics, 69, 2006. Link.
  • “Endogenous Dollarization and Exchange Rate Policy” (with R. Chang), Journal of Policy Reform, 8, 2005. Link. 
  • “Market Imperfections and the Instability of Open Economies” (with Q. Meng). Journal of International Economics, Volume 64, Issue 2, 2004. Link.
  • “Balance Sheets and Exchange Rate Policy” (with L. F. Céspedes and R. Chang). American Economic Review, September 2004. Link
  • “IS-LM-BP in the Pampas” (with L. F. Céspedes and R. Chang). IMF Staff Papers, Vol. 50, 2003. Link. 
  • “Indeterminacy in a Small Open Economy with Endogenous Labor Supply,” (with Q. Meng). Economic Theory, Vol. 22, N. 3, October 2003. Link.
  • “How Should Emerging Economies Float their Currencies?” (with F. Larraín). The Economics of Transition, Vol. 10, No. 2, 2002. Link.
  • “Revisiting the Case for a Populist Central Banker: A Comment,” (with V. Guzzo). European Economic Review, (46) 3, 2002. Link.
  • “Exchange Rate Policy in Emerging Markets: The Case for Floating,” (with F. Larraín). Princeton Studies in International Economics, No. 224, December 2001. Link.

 

Books and reports

  • Advanced Macroeconomics: an easy guideF. CampanteF. Sturzenegger and A. Velasco. LSE Press, October 2021.
  • Liberalismo en Tiempos de Cólera (with D. Brieba). Editorial Debate: Random House Mondadori, May 2019.
  • Multilateral Development Banking for This Century’s Development Challenges: Five Recommendations to Shareholders of the Old and New Multilateral Development Banks. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Lawrence Summers, and Andrés Velasco, Chairs. Washington: Center for Global Development, October 2016.
  • Banks and Cross-Border Capital Flows – Policy Challenges and Regulatory Responses: Report of the Committee on International Economic Policy Reform. Washington: The Brookings Institution, 2012.
  • Contra la Desigualdad: El Empleo es la Clave. (with C. Huneeus). Santiago: Editorial Debate, Random House Mondadori, 2011.
  • Rethinking Central Banking: Report of the Committee on International Economic Policy Reform. Washington: The Brookings Institution, 2011.
  • Money, Crises, and Transition: Essays in Honor of Guillermo A. Calvo. C. Reinhart, C. A. Végh and A. Velasco (eds.). Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2008.
  • 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.
  • Lugares Comunes (novel). Santiago: Editorial Planeta, 2003.
  • Vox Populi (novel). Santiago: Editorial Sudamericana, 1995.
  • Trade, Development and the World Economy: Selected Essays of Carlos Díaz-Alejandro. A. Velasco, Editor. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1988.