The Universidad del Cema, since its origins as a Research Center (CEMA), has maintained close ties with the University of Chicago. During the first year of CEMA’s life –1978– most of its researchers had Ph.D.’s from Chicago: Pedro Pou, Roque Fernández, Jorge Márquez, Leonardo Auernheimer and Carlos Rodríguez. Many of the graduates from our Master in Economics program went on to do their Ph.D.’s in Chicago, among whom three subsequently returned to Universidad del Cema as Program Directors: Carola Pessino, Aquiles Almansi and Edgardo Zablotsky.

This connection was not the consequence of any predetermined policy. It was simply due to the excellence of the education offered at Chicago and to the pre-existence of an established network of contacts. Prior to the creation of CEMA, there were already many Chicago graduates in Argentina and the basic ideas of the Chicago school were already widely disseminated among the local academic community.

The relationship between the University of Chicago and Argentina stems from a specific origin: the Programa Cuyo. This was a training program, directed by professors from the University of Chicago at the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, that started in 1962. Young professor Larry Sjaastad was the Program Director. I thought it convenient, and necessary, to ask my good friend Larry to write for us about his experience with this successful program, something which he kindly accepted to do.