The Chicago Boys Before the Chicago Boys: A Collective Biography of Three Chilean Economists, 1930s–73

This paper analyzes the early academic trajectories of the "Chicago boys," a label coined in the 1970s to describe a group of Chilean economists trained at the University of Chicago who played pivotal roles in shaping the economic policies of the Pinochet regime. Their work during the dictatorship has been the subject of extensive study by historians, economists, and political scientists. This paper shifts the focus to their academic and professional experiences before the 1973 coup d´etat, a period largely unexplored in the existing literature about Pinochet’s economists. By examining the personal and academic trajectories of Sergio de Castro, Rolf Luders, and Ernesto Fontaine in these formative years, this paper aims to pose and answer the question of who they were before they became known as the "Chicago boys." It explores their educational experiences, the professors who influenced them, and their contributions to economic thought. By so doing, the paper challenges the simplistic cause-and-effect narratives that often associate their training at Chicago solely with their later roles in the Pinochet dictatorship. The work also explores the broader Cold War context, highlighting how U.S. economic aid and educational programs helped spread free-market ideologies, shaping the political and economic landscape of Latin America. Through archival research from the University of Chicago, the Catholic University, and the Rockefeller Foundation, this study provides a nuanced perspective on the formative years of the "Chicago boys" and the institutional structures that fostered their rise.