CIEPLAN

CIEPLAN
Name	CIEPLAN
Type	Think tank
Founded	1980s
Headquarters	Santiago, Chile
Region served	Latin America
Leader title	Director

CIEPLAN is a Chilean policy research institute established in the 1980s that has contributed to debates on social policy, macroeconomic policy, and democratic transition in Santiago, Chile. It engaged scholars, practitioners, and public figures in analyses relevant to the transitions that followed the Chilean transition to democracy and broader developments in Latin America. The institute’s work intersected with academic centers, international organizations, and national institutions involved in post-authoritarian reform and development planning.

History

CIEPLAN was created during a period shaped by the legacies of the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, the policies of the Pinochet regime, and regional shifts after the Debt crisis of the 1980s. Founders and early affiliates included economists, sociologists, and political scientists who had connections to universities such as Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and University of Chile, as well as to public officials who later participated in cabinets under presidents like Patricio Aylwin and Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle. During the 1990s it contributed to policy debates alongside institutions such as Centro de Estudios Públicos and international actors including the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. Over successive decades the institute’s trajectory intersected with events including the 1998 arrest of Augusto Pinochet and the constitutional processes debated in the 2000s and 2010s.

Mission and Objectives

The institute’s stated mission emphasized advising on policies affecting social protection, fiscal frameworks, and democratic governance in contexts such as Chile and neighboring states like Argentina, Peru, and Bolivia. Objectives included producing evidence to inform decisions by legislatures such as the Chilean Congress, advising ministries like the Ministry of Finance (Chile) and Ministry of Social Development (Chile), and contributing to international policy discussions at forums like the United Nations and regional summits including the Summit of the Americas. Its work was pitched toward audiences across academia, non-governmental organizations like Fundación Chile, and political parties such as the Christian Democratic Party (Chile) and the Socialist Party of Chile.

Organizational Structure

The institute organized itself with a director and research teams grouped by topic areas such as public finance, social policy, and institutional reform, drawing on networks that included professors from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, the University of Chile, and international scholars affiliated with Harvard University, London School of Economics, and Stanford University. Governance mechanisms featured boards with members who had served in executive posts or legislatures, connecting the institute to figures associated with administrations like that of Ricardo Lagos and policy makers influenced by the work of economists such as Hernán Büchi and Manuel Riesco. Collaborations extended to research centers like FLACSO and think tanks such as Brookings Institution and Center for Economic and Policy Research.

Key Programs and Projects

Work programs included analyses of pension reform comparable to debates involving the AFP model (Chile), evaluations of health system changes paralleling studies of the National Health Service (United Kingdom) and systems in Costa Rica, and fiscal policy research relevant to sovereign debt issues like those confronted during the Latin American debt crisis. Projects addressed urban development in municipalities like Santiago de Chile, inequality trends studied alongside scholars from University of Oxford and University of California, Berkeley, and labor market reforms examined against cases such as Brazil and Mexico. Specific initiatives involved collaboration with agencies including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and UN programs such as UNDP.

Research and Publications

The institute produced policy briefs, working papers, and books disseminated through channels used by academic publishers and policy fora connected to entities like Cuadernos de la CEPAL and journals that publish comparative studies involving scholars from Universidad de Buenos Aires and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Topics ranged from tax reform and social safety nets to institutional design in constitutional debates like those that surfaced in post-Pinochet constitutional reform efforts. Authors included economists and social scientists who also published in outlets associated with Journal of Latin American Studies and who participated in conferences alongside representatives of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Influence on Public Policy

CIEPLAN’s analyses informed policy discussions during administrations including those of Patricio Aylwin, Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, and Ricardo Lagos, with staff and affiliated scholars advising on reforms in pensions, taxation, and decentralization contested in legislative processes in the Chilean Congress. Its influence extended to regional policy debates in forums such as the Organization of American States and technical exchanges with ministries in Peru and Colombia. The institute’s proposals fed into campaigns and policy platforms of parties like the Party for Democracy (Chile) and think tanks linked to social movements exemplified by debates around the 2011–2013 Chilean student protests.

Funding and Partnerships

Funding came from a mixture of private foundations, academic grants, and contracts with international organizations including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and foundations such as the Ford Foundation and Open Society Foundations. Partnerships included collaborations with national universities like the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, regional organizations including ECLAC (the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean), and bilateral cooperation agencies such as USAID and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ). These relationships supported comparative studies with teams from Harvard Kennedy School, London School of Economics, and regional research centers such as CIDOB and CIPPEC.

Category:Think tanks in Chile