OUR FINAL ISSUE

 

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The first issue of Cuadernos de Economía, was published in late 1963. Its launch coincided with several important events in the life of the Instituto de Economía (Economics Department) at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. First, several professors had just returned to the university after completing their studies at the University of Chicago, and second, changes in our programs of study positioned us at the forefront of teaching in those days. Lastly, the journal was founded shortly after the Instituto de Economía began hiring full-time scholars dedicated exclusively to academic work, so they were not only teaching, but also conducting research. Therefore, this publication would be the channel for disseminating that research (remember, this was a world without Internet). In short, the Instituto was changing, and the new journal sought to support those changes.

At the launch of that first issue, Dean Julio Chaná commented, "Cuadernos is intended to lend some permanence and regularity to the publication of research conducted within this Facultad."

Subsequently, Cuadernos went through different stages and several changes in appearance. It began to include articles from scholars outside the Instituto, first on the Chilean scenario, then expanding to include all of Latin America. In 1992, the journal began publishing English-language articles, and gradually, in an attempt to expand its international readership and contributors, publication in English was emphasized. In 1999, "Latin American Journal of Economics" was added as a subtitle to the original name, "Cuadernos de Economía."’

In the November 2010 issue, a major transformation was announced: the journal would begin competing with other journals around the world to disseminate research on Latin America. Its name was changed to the Latin American Journal of Economics, and all articles published from the following year on would be in English. Lastly, it was decided that articles written by professors of the Instituto would be included only in exceptional cases.

This change was accompanied by another at the Instituto de Economía: the institution’s internationalization and intention to compete in "the big leagues," encouraging cutting-edge research of the kind published in the world’s leading journals. This transformation went hand in hand with the Instituto’s goal to become the best economics department in Latin America, and among the top one hundred across the globe.

In January 2016, after considering several options, the Consejo de Profesores of the Instituto de Economía voted to close the journal, a process that has been implemented during 2016 and culminates with this final issue. The Instituto believes that, at this time, it does not require its own journal to accomplish its objectives. Research conducted at the Instituto is disseminated through our working papers series that can be viewed online, and the papers written by our academics should be published in the world’s leading journals.

For more than 50 years, the Instituto’s journal successfully fulfilled its mission, focused primarily on accompanying and supporting the Instituto at its different stages of development. For making this achievement possible, we would like to thank all past editors of this publication.

Those editors are, in reverse chronological order, from the most recent to the oldest: Raimundo Soto, Felipe Zurita, José Miguel Sánchez, Juan Pablo Montero, Sebastián Claro, Francisco Rosende, Dominique Hachette, Fernando Ossa, Rolf Luders, Vittorio Corbo, Salvador Valdés, Felipe Larraín, Carlos Williamson, Alberto Valdés, Sergio de la Cuadra, Arístides Torche, Osvaldo Schenone, Gert Wagner, Sebastián Piñera, Eduardo García, Marcelo Selowsky, Raul Yver, Manuel Cruzat, Mario Corbo, Camilo Carrasco, Ricardo French-Davis, Pablo Baraona, and Raúl Urzúa.

The above list includes many illustrious economists, and several names that are closely tied to the Instituto’s history. The Instituto is proud of and grateful for their efforts and contributions.

 

Claudio Sapelli
Director
Instituto de Economía
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile