Looking at Chile’s Economic Dvelopment From an International Perspective

Abstract

This paper examines the relative position of Chile through time and compared with other emerging and industrial economies, using various economic development indicators, particularly over the past two decades. It provides a descriptive analysis, without exploring causalities or testing hypotheses on the economic growth of the country, but it reveals the strengths and weaknesses that serve as the base for growth policy discussion. The comparison of economic development indicators shows that Chile is comparatively strong in macroeconomic stability, commercial and financial integration, quality of institutions, and in the progress of other structural reforms that are manifested in its well-developed capital market and private sector involvement in production. However, when it comes to quality of education, technological innovation efforts, infrastructure quality and quantity, and some social indicators, its performance is poor.