Sebastián Edwards

Sebastian Edwards is the Henry Ford II Distinguished Professor of International Economics at the University of California, Los Angeles. From 1993 to 1996 he was Chief Economist for Latin America and the Caribbean at the World Bank. He has published 15 books, and over 200 scholarly articles. He was the Co-Director of the National Bureau of Economic Research’s “Africa Project.” He is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and an Honorary Professor at the Universidad de Chile.

Professor Edwards has been an adviser to numerous governments, financial institutions, and multinational companies. He is a frequent commentator on economic matters in CNN and other cable outlets, and his op-ed pieces have been published in the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, El País (Spain), La Vanguardia (Spain), Clarín (Argentina), El Mercurio (Chile), and other newspapers from around the world.

Professor Edwards has been an expert witness in several legal cases in the United States and other nations. He is a frequent speaker at financial and industry meetings.

His latest book is “The Chile Project: The story of the Chicago Boys and the downfall of neoliberalism” (Princeton University Press, 2023).

Other books include “American Default: The untold story of FDR, the Supreme Court and the Battle over Gold” (Princeton University Press, 2018), “African Successes,” (co-edited with Simon Johnson and David Weil; University of Chicago Press, 2016); “Toxic Aid: Economic Collapse and Recovery in Tanzania” (Oxford University Press, 2014); “Left Behind: Latin America and the False Promise of Populism” (University of Chicago Press, 2010), and “Crisis and Reform in Latin America: From Despair to Hope,” (Oxford University Press, 1995).

Professor Edwards is a past President of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association (LACEA), and a former member of the Scientific Advisory Council of the Kiel Institute of World Economics, Kiel-Germany. He was a member of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Council of Economic Advisors.

In 2013 Professor Edwards was awarded the Carlos Díaz-Alejandro Prize in recognition for his research on the Latin American economies. Other awards include the Raul Yver Prize, the CINDA Prize, and the “Economista del Año” Prize, and the Eminent Graduate Award from the Catholic University, Chile.

Professor Edwards was educated at the Universidad de Chile and Universidad Católica de Chile. He received an MA a Ph.D. in economics in 1981, both from the University of Chicago.