Front-Loaded Stabilizations: Lessons from Milei's Chainsaw Reform Program

The literature on delayed stabilization has built its analytical framework on the premise that stabilization entails costs. We argue that this premise is incorrect: stabilization and economic reform deliver benefits rather than costs. If so, reforms should be front-loaded rather than delayed. We use the case of President Milei's - "chainsaw" - reform program to illustrate such a front-loading approach in action. We argue that the case suggests the need to substantially reformulate the literature on economic reform and delayed stabilization.