José Piñera
Contributor, Pacific Rim Perspectives

José Piñera is the master architect of Chile's socio-economic transformation. While Labor Minister of Chile, from 1978-1980, Piñera won a victory for capitalism and freedom when he devised and implemented what Investor's Business Daily calls "the world's most successful privatized pension system." A reformer with results, Piñera has been called upon for his expertise by President George W. Bush and the United States Congress. He has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The Economist.

As founder and President of the International Center for Pension Reform, Piñera has advised many governments on the process of economic liberalization. Piñera's economic initiatives have commenced a worldwide paradigm shift, with seven other Latin American countries and three European countries, including Sweden, following his Chilean pension model. Bipartisan American interest has been shown for Piñera's valuable reforms. Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, and the late Milton Friedman, one of the world's best-known economists, are among those who have expressed support for Piñera's reforms.

Full of passion, and the need to share the success of his country's economic rebirth, Piñera reveals his solution for the United States. With the coming retirement of the baby boom generation and the issues raised by the Enron debacle, Piñera's message of individual responsibility and transparency is more important than ever. From the podium, Piñera's animated presence and international experience give vigor and diversity to complex economic issues, while demonstrating that solutions do exist.

As Minister of Labor and Social Security for Chile, Piñera set up a funded pension system to replace his country's bankrupt pay-as-you-go scheme. This action laid the groundwork for the country's economic revitalization and political opening. As Minister of Mining (1981), he introduced the mining reform that established property rights in this key sector of the Chilean economy.

Piñera is a Senior Distinguished Fellow at the Cato Institute, a non-profit public policy research foundation, where he is also co-chair of the organization's Project on Social Security Choice and is a member of the Advisory Board of the Trade Policy Center.

Piñera holds a masters and doctorate in Economics from Harvard University. He has published numerous articles and is the author of six books.

Publications by José Piñera:
The Legacy of Milton Friedman, January 29, 2007