FELIPE LARRAÍN

Twice served as Chile's Finance Minister (2010-2014 and 2018-2019); co-author of "Macroeconomics in the Global Economy" with Jeffrey Sachs


  • Distinguished in 2010 and 2018 as "Best Finance Minister of Latin America" and “Best Finance Minister of the Americas” by prestigious international publications
  • Led the issuance of the first sovereign green bond in the Americas (2019)
  • Founded and then led (along with Finland) the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action, which today has 50 member countries (2018)
  • Tenured Professor at Universidad Catolica de Chile (since 1996)
  • Member of the United Nations Leadership Council of the Sustainable Development Solution Network
  • Has been an advisor to 18 governments and a Fellow of the World Economic Forum
  • Robert F. Kennedy Visiting Professor of Latin American Studies at Harvard University (1997 - 1999)
  • Author and editor of 15 books and some 140 academic articles

Felipe Larraín Bascuñán is currently a tenured Professor at the Universidad Catolica de Chile and researcher at the Latin American Center for Economic and Social Policies UC (CLAPES UC), which he directed between 2014 and 2018. In 2014, he became a member of the UN Leadership Council for the Sustainable Development Solution Network.

He holds a Master’s degree and a PhD in Economics from Harvard University and a BA in Economics from the Universidad Católica de Chile.

He served as Chile's Finance Minister from 2010 to 2014, and then from 2018 to 2019. He was Vice President of Chile in February 2014.

Between 1997 and 1999, he was the Robert F. Kennedy Visiting Professor of Latin American Studies at Harvard University, where he later became Faculty Fellow (2000-2002).

Since 1985, he has been economic advisor to the governments of Bolivia, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic and Venezuela. He has also been a Fellow of the World Economic Forum.

He has been a consultant to the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund. He has also served as a consultant and member of the board of directors of several companies in Chile, Latin America, the United States and Europe. Professor Larraín has published 15 books and some 140 articles in specialized journals and books in Latin America, the United States, Europe and Asia. His book “Macroeconomics in the Global Economy”, written with Professor Jeffrey Sachs, has been translated into 10 languages, including German, Chinese, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Russian.

He has received numerous recognitions and awards, including: Best Sovereign Green Bond Issue 2019; Minister of Finance of the Year of the Americas (The Banker, 2018); he was chosen as one of the 100 most influential world leaders by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business - AACSB (2015); Best Sovereign Bond Issue 2012-2013 (Latin Finance); Minister of Finance of the Year of the Americas (The Banker, 2010); Minister of Finance of the Year of Latin America (Emerging Markets, América Economía, Latin Finance, 2010-11); Economist of the Year 2010 (El Mercurio).

  • Economic Outlook - Latin America
  • Global Economy and Emerging Markets
  • Commercial Warfare, Effects and Possible Responses
  • Climate change and action
  • Sustainable Development
  • Fiscal Policy
  • Exchange rates
  • Globalization
  • Macro-economic view of financial markets
  • Global Economy and Markets
  • Economies in transition
  • Natural Science Laboratories

Economies in Transition

Several countries are facing deep transition processes from heavily natural-resources -based economies to more diversified economic structures. This occurs because of a mixture of resource depletion or sharp declines in international prices, in some cases due to climate change. This requires rethinking the tax structure, the monetary and exchange rate systems, and the incentives for this economic diversification to take place in a gradual, harmonious and non-traumatic manner.

Natural Science Laboratories

Using science and innovation as a competitive advantage, countries can develop productive poles and become diversified based on their natural advantages. This is the case, for example, of Chile with astronomy, solar energy, resistance to natural disasters and Antarctic research.