Last November I spent a week in Buenos Aires meeting with senior Argentine government officials, key business leaders, including members of the banking community, and leading Argentine economists. My visit led to this Financial Times op-ed entitled, “Here’s How to Make Argentina Grow Again.”
Argentina has an amazing collection of brilliant economists. Former Economics Minister, Domingo Cavallo, my lifetime close friend and graduate-school classmate, has done it all and seen it all when it comes to Argentina’s economic history. We spent many hours on my trip discussing President Milei’s policy agenda and the potential to put Argentina on a path of growth. This podcast with Domingo and former Chilean President, Sebastian Pinera, another dear friend from graduate school (who died in February 2024 in a tragic accident), provides a clear sense of the capacity of proper economic policy to make South America grow again.
My trip included meeting a very strong proponent of dollarization and an extraordinary macroeconomist -- Emilio Ocampo. Emilio and I hadn’t previously met, but we instantly connected. As we were talking, I kept asking myself -- “How can a country with so many exceptional economists be in this much trouble?”
Please do listen/watch this podcast. Emilio is an economist’s economist as well as a truly captivating public intellectual. He’s as good as it gets in describing where things are, where they need to go, and how Argentina can get from here to there. I am delighted that he joined Economics Matters and hope everyone, especially everyone in Argentina, tunes in.
Emilio’s Bio
Emilio Ocampo is an Argentine economist, author, and professor at Universidad del CEMA (UCEMA) in Buenos Aires. He is internationally recognized for his work on monetary institutions, dollarization, central banking, and Latin American economic history. During Argentina’s 2023 presidential campaign, he served as an economic advisor to Javier Milei. Mr. Ocampo began his career in international finance in New York, holding senior investment banking positions at Chase Manhattan Bank, Salomon Brothers, and Morgan Stanley, where he was a Managing Director. Since returning to Argentina in 2006, he has worked as an independent financial advisor to select local and international clients.
At UCEMA, Mr. Ocampo teaches finance and serves on the Academic Committee of the MSc in Finance Program. He previously taught finance at New York University’s Stern School of Business. He is the author and co-editor of several books and numerous academic and policy articles on economics, finance, and history, including Dolarización: Una solución para la Argentina. He is also a regular contributor to La Nación, one of Argentina’s leading newspapers. Mr. Ocampo serves on the Academic Advisory Board of Fundación Libertad y Progreso, a leading Argentine public policy think tank. He previously served as Chairman of HelpArgentina. Between 2016 and 2018, he was a Non-Resident Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a degree in Economics from the University of Buenos Aires.
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