The Chilean Neoliberal Model Enters into Crisis

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4499740
AutoresJose Cademartori (Alejandro Lipschutz Institute of Sciences in Santiago, autor de correspondencia)
Año2003
Volumen30
Número5
Páginas79-88
Fecha de publicación2003-09-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaLatin American Perspectives (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0094-582X • E-ISSN: 1552-678X
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0094582x03256258
OpenAlexW2015272326
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas9

According to the major macroeconomic indexes, in 1997 Chile completed a decade of notable dynamism. The rate of growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) was around 7 percent annually, and exports grew at an even higher rate. The proportion of gross investment reached previously unheardof levels. A constant oversupply of foreign currency, an increase in U.S. dollar reserves, and a revaluation of the Chilean peso (none of which had occurred since World War II) were all the results of a favorable but unstable commercial balance and the unprecedented influx of foreign capital. The fiscal budget increased with a continual surplus, and inflation was reduced to single-digit figures. The period was labeled the golden decade, and the international financial press cited Chile as a model worthy of imitation. The majority of Chileans, however, have declared their unhappiness, directly contradicting the idea of general prosperity contained in the 1998 UNDP Report on Human Development. There has been a loss of confidence in the free market because the benefits of modernity have been concentrated in a small minority who enjoy First World standards of living while the general population remains firmly ensconced in the Third World. Rapid wealth gain and unbridled consumerism have created an environment that foments increasing corruption and delinquency. Many people are trying to improve their situations through exhausting work schedules, with the result that Chile has one of the worst annual employment rates in the world, according to the International Labor Organization. The quality of urban life is worsening, with a corresponding deterioration in family and community life. Chileans feature in world statistics with high indexes of mental and psychological disorders and an increasing incidence of modern illnesses and their associated costs. There are shortages, delays, and marked educational inequalities. All these are objective elements of a general dissatisfaction with the economic model. Many people hope for important changes in economic and social policy

Currency · Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · Economy · Gross domestic product · Inflation (cosmology) · Liberian dollar · Monetary economics · Population · Prosperity · Economic and Social Development · Finance