Centro de Estudios Públicos

Centro de Estudios Públicos
Name	Centro de Estudios Públicos
Native name	Centro de Estudios Públicos
Formation	1980
Founder	Hernán Büchi, Alicia Rodríguez
Type	Think tank
Headquarters	Santiago, Chile
Region served	Chile
Language	Spanish language
Leader title	President
Leader name	Hernán Büchi

Contents

Centro de Estudios Públicos is a Chilean independent research institute and think tank based in Santiago, Chile founded in 1980. It conducts interdisciplinary analysis and public debate involving figures from politics such as Augusto Pinochet, Sebastián Piñera, Michelle Bachelet, Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, Patricio Aylwin and international scholars like Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, Adam Smith-influenced economists. The center organizes conferences, publishes books and journals, and hosts forums with connections to institutions like Harvard University, London School of Economics, Universidad Católica de Chile, and Universidad de Chile.

History

The institute was founded in 1980 during a period marked by figures including Augusto Pinochet, José Piñera, Hernán Büchi and policy networks linked to the Chicago Boys, Institute of Economic Affairs, Heritage Foundation and American Enterprise Institute. Early activities featured visits and collaboration with scholars such as Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek, Gary Becker, James Buchanan and engagement with Latin American leaders like Alberto Fujimori, Carlos Menem and Raúl Alfonsín. Over the 1980s and 1990s CEP convened debates involving politicians Ricardo Lagos, Jorge Alessandri Rodríguez, Andrés Allamand and jurists like Orlando Letelier-era critics as well as comparative constitutional scholars from Columbia University and Stanford University. In the 2000s the center broadened ties to European institutions such as BI Norwegian Business School, École des hautes études en sciences sociales and University of Cambridge, hosting panels with economists like Joseph Stiglitz, Amartya Sen and Kenneth Rogoff.

CEP states goals aligning with public policy discussion involving personalities from Santiago, Chile’s political life including Sebastián Piñera, Michelle Bachelet, Ricardo Lagos and legal thinkers akin to Alejandro Silva Herzog. Activities include seminars with international visitors from Brookings Institution, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Chatham House, Council on Foreign Relations and academic exchanges with Universidad del Desarrollo, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and Universidad Diego Portales. CEP organizes lecture series featuring economists Hernando de Soto, Vladimir Pozner-type commentators, historians like Enrique Krauss-style scholars, and political scientists linked to Princeton University, Yale University, Johns Hopkins University who address Chilean policy debates. The center hosts public forums, roundtables with representatives from Confederación de la Producción y del Comercio, Unión Demócrata Independiente, Partido Socialista de Chile, and collaborative projects with Inter-American Development Bank and World Bank delegations.

CEP publishes books, monographs and a journal series featuring authors such as Andrés Allamand, Hernán Büchi, José Piñera, Axel Kaiser, Ignacio Briones and visiting academics from University of Chicago, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Oxford and Universidad de Salamanca. Its publication list includes policy studies on taxation, pensions and constitutional design referenced alongside works by James Buchanan, Elinor Ostrom and Kenneth Arrow. CEP has produced edited volumes in collaboration with editors affiliated with Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, FLACSO, Latin American Studies Association and research partnerships with Universidad Católica del Norte. The center’s editorial output is cited in debates involving legal frameworks like Constitution of Chile (1980), pension reforms associated with Afps reforms and electoral reforms debated by parties such as Partido por la Democracia and Renovación Nacional.

CEP has been influential in shaping policy debates involving presidents Patricio Aylwin, Ricardo Lagos, Michelle Bachelet and Sebastián Piñera and in connecting Chilean policy networks to transnational actors like International Monetary Fund, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Inter-American Development Bank and United Nations Development Programme. Its conferences have hosted economists Milton Friedman, Joseph Stiglitz, Amartya Sen, political theorists connected to Hannah Arendt-inspired debates, and constitutionalists comparing models from United States Constitution, Spanish Constitution of 1978 and German Basic Law. CEP research has been cited in media outlets such as El Mercurio (Chile), La Tercera, The New York Times, and The Economist and in legislative discussions in the National Congress of Chile. The center’s intellectual network includes links to policy institutes like Cato Institute, Rand Corporation and Fraser Institute.

CEP is governed by a board featuring entrepreneurs, academics and former government officials including figures comparable to Hernán Büchi, Alicia Rodríguez, Ignacio Briones, Andrés Velasco-style economists and lawyers from Universidad de Chile and Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Funding sources comprise private foundations, corporate donors in sectors like mining represented by companies such as CODELCO-adjacent actors, philanthropy with ties to Gates Foundation-style donors, and collaboration grants from international bodies including World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank and research funds from ANID (Chile). CEP partners with universities such as Universidad de Chile, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez and international centers like Harvard Kennedy School.

Prominent associated scholars and alumni include economists and public figures like Hernán Büchi, José Piñera, Ignacio Briones, Axel Kaiser, Andrés Allamand, Claudio Orrego, Mario Góngora-era historians, legal scholars akin to Sergio Muñoz Gajardo, sociologists with links to María Teresa Ruiz-style academics, and international visitors including Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek, Joseph Stiglitz, Amartya Sen, Kenneth Rogoff, James Buchanan, Gary Becker, Elinor Ostrom, Robert Solow, Daron Acemoglu, Esteban Peña-style public intellectuals. Alumni have moved into roles in cabinets, legislatures, universities and international organizations like International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank and regional bodies.

Category:Think tanks in Chile