Tomás Rau

Tomás Andrés Rau Binder (born 18 April 1973) is a Chilean economist, academic, consultant, and researcher of German descent who serves as Minister of Labor and Social Welfare since 11 March 2026 under President José Antonio Kast. Previously he served as director of the Institute of Economics at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (PUC).

Education Rau completed his primary and secondary education at Liceo No. 11 Rafael Sotomayor in Las Condes, Santiago.

He earned a degree in business administration (ingeniería comercial) from the University of Chile.

Rau later obtained a master’s degree in statistics and a PhD in economics from the University of California, Berkeley, where he was a doctoral student of economist and Nobel Prize laureate David Card. His academic specialization focuses on econometrics and labor economics.

He has co-authored academic research with economists such as José De Gregorio, David Bravo, Sergio Urzúa, and Francisco Gallego, among others.

Consulting and advisory work According to his professional profile, Rau has acted as a consultant for international organizations including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Labour Organization, and the United Nations Development Programme. He has also advised private companies, business associations, and public institutions, served as an expert witness before the Chilean Competition Tribunal, and worked with the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office of Chile on competition matters.

Honors Rau has received several distinctions, including the Circle of Honor Award from the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Chile, the Teaching Excellence Recognition Award (PRED) from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile in 2019, and the Centenary Medal of the Faculty of Economics and Administration of the same university in 2024.