• Professor Andrés Velasco, dean of the School of Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science and former Chilean finance minister, spoke to CDE executive director Ann Bernstein about democracy, growth and the fight against poverty.
  • According to Velasco, for countries like Chile and South Africa, debt levels of 30 to 40 per cent of GDP are manageable, 60 to 70 percent is trickier and 100 percent would be extremely alarming.
  • In Velasco’s view, advocates of modern monetary theory – the completely wrong idea that any expenditure of any size can be financed by money creation – are left-wing ‘Chicago Boys’.
  • In an increasingly polarised world, Professor Velasco appealed to liberal reformers in countries like South Africa, Chile and elsewhere to develop a distinctive, bold and progressive set of centrist ideas that would result in a fairer country, with expanding opportunities for all.