Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T06:33:34.722Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Poverty and Inequality in Chile: Are Democratic Politics and Neoliberal Economics Good for You?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

David E. Hojman*
Affiliation:
Economics and Latin American Studies at the University of Liverpool (England)

Extract

This article examines whether the free-market, open-economy model adopted by Chile's civilian, democratically elected administrations — of Patricio Aylwin (after March 1990) and Eduardo Frei (after March 1994) — has affected the country's distribution of income and degree of poverty and, if so, how. The free-market model was inherited from the military regime headed by General Pinochet (1973-1990) and adopted by his civilian successors almost without modification despite the fact that the post-1990 administrations were explicitly committed to making alleviation of poverty and reduction of inequalities in income a top priority. The article examines the extent to which the determinants of poverty and inequality have changed (if, indeed, they have changed at all) since the end of the military regime in 1990 — and if so, why.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anand, S. and Kanbur, S. (1993) “Inequality and Development: A Critique.” Journal of Development Economics 41 (June): 1943.Google Scholar
Banco Central de Chile (BCCH) (1993-1995) Boletín Mensual. Santiago de Chile: Banco Central de Chile.Google Scholar
Banco Central de Chile (BCCH) ((1989) Indicadores Económicos y Sociales, 1960-1988. Santiago de Chile: Banco Central de Chile.Google Scholar
Bethel, L. (ed.) (1993), Chile since Independence. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Cardoso, E. and Graham, C. (1994) “Comments,” pp. 24152 in Bosworth, B. P., Dornbusch, R., and Laban, R. (eds.) The Chilean Economy: Policy Lessons and Challenges. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution.Google Scholar
De Kadt, E. (1993) Poverty-Focused Policies: The Experience of Chile (IDS, Discussion Paper 319). Sussex, England: University of Sussex.Google Scholar
De Ramon, A. and Larrain, J. (1982) Origines de la Vida Económica Chilena, 1659-1808. Santiago de Chile: Centro de Estudios Públicos.Google Scholar
De Walt, K. (1993) “Nutrition and the Commercialisation of Agriculture: Ten Years Later.” Social Science and Medicine 36, 11 Qune): 14071416.Google Scholar
(The) Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) (1993-1995) Country Forecast: Chile. London, England: The Economist Publishing Co.Google Scholar
Edwards, S. and Edwards, A. (1987) Monetarism and Liberalisation: The Chilean Experiment. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.Google Scholar
Escobar, B. and Repetto, A. (1993) “Efectos de la Estrategia de Desarrollo Chilena en las Regiones: Una Estimación de la Rentabilidad del Sector Transable Regional.” Colección Estudios CIEPLAN 37 (June): 536.Google Scholar
Ffrench-Davis, R., Agosin, M., and Uthoff, A. (1995) “Capital Movements, Export Strategy and Macroeconomic Stability in Chile,” pp. 99144 in Ffrench-Davis, R. and Griffith-Jones, S. (eds.) Coping with Capital Surges: The Return of Finance to Latin America. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freebairn, D. (1995) “Did the Green Revolution Concentrate Incomes? A Quantitative Study of Research Reports.” World Development 23, 2 (February): 265279.Google Scholar
Graham, C. (1993) “From Emergency Employment to Social Investment: Changing Approaches to Poverty Alleviation in Chile,” pp. 2774 in Angelí, A. and Pollack, B. (eds.) The Legacy of Dictatorship: Political, Economic and Social Change in Pinochet's Chile (Monograph Series No. 17). Liverpool, England: University of Liverpool, Institute of Latin American Studies.Google Scholar
Hojman, D. (ed.) (1995a) Neo-Liberalism with a Human Face? The Politics and Economics of the Chilean Model (Monograph Series No. 20). Liverpool, England: University of Liverpool, Institute of Latin American Studies.Google Scholar
Hojman, D. (1995b) “Chile Under Frei (Again): The First Latin American Tiger — Or just Another Cat?Bulletin of Latin American Research 14, 2 (May): 127142.Google Scholar
Hojman, D. (1995c) “Too Much of A Good Thing? Macro and Microeconomics of the Chilean Peso Appreciation,” pp. 225-48 in Hojman, D.E. (ed.) Neo-Liberalism with a Human Face? The Politics and Economics of the Chilean Model (Monograph Series No. 20). Liverpool, England: University of Liverpool, Institute of Latin American Studies.Google Scholar
Hojman, D. (1993) Chile: The Political Economy of Development and Democracy in the 1990s. London, England: Macmillan; Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh University Press.Google Scholar
Hojman, D. (1992) “Evolution of Infant and Child Mortality in Chile: A Model.” Applied Economics 24 (October): 1173-79.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hojman, D. (1989) “Neo-liberal Economic Policies and Infant and Child Mortality: Simulation Analysis of a Chilean Paradox.” World Development 17, 1 (January): 93108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Irrarrazaval, I. (1994) “The Role of Community Organisations in Fighting Poverty in Chile,” pp. 2365 in Navarro, J.C. (ed.) Community Organisations in Latin America. Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).Google Scholar
Loveman, B. (1988) Chile: The Legacy of Hispanic Capitalism (2nd ed.). Oxford, England; New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Lustig, N. (1994) “Medición de la Pobreza y de la Desigualdad en la América Latina; El Emperador no Tiene Ropa.” El Trimestre Económico Vol. LXI(l), No. 241 (enero-marzo): 200216.Google Scholar
Mamalakis, M. (1976) The Growth and Structure of the Chilean Economy: From Independence to Allende. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Marcel, M. and Solimano, A. (1994) “The Distribution of Income and Economic Adjustment, pp. 217-41” in Bosworth, B. P., Dornbuschand, R. Laban, R. (eds.) The Chilean Economy: Policy Lessons and Challenges. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution.Google Scholar
Marfan, M. (1993) “Reflexiones Teóricas sobre Crecimiento y Equidad.” Colección Estudios CIEPLAN 37 (June): 7799.Google Scholar
Matte, P. and Camhi, R. (1994) “Nuevos Desafíos paraSuperar la Pobreza,” pp. 121-72 in Larroulet, C. (ed.) Las Tareas de Hoy. Santiago de Chile: Zig-Zag.Google Scholar
Matte, P. and Camhi, R. (1993) “Pobreza en la Decada de los 90 y Desafíos Futuros.” CPU Estudios Sociales 75 (First Quarter): 3956.Google Scholar
Meller, P. (1992) Adjustment and Equity in Chile. Paris, France: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).Google Scholar
(El) Mercurio [International Edition] (1995a) “Advierten Deficiencias y Errores en Presupuesto.” (19-25 October): 4.Google Scholar
(El) Mercurio [International Edition] (1995b) “Mas Cifras Sobre Gasto Fiscal.” (28 September-4 October): 3Google Scholar
(El) Mercurio [International Edition] (1995c) “Tipo de Cambio Real Cayo 7%.” (21-27 September): 4Google Scholar
(El) Mercurio [International Edition] (1995d) “La Semana Económica.” (14-20 September): 3Google Scholar
(El) Mercurio [International Edition] (1995e) “La Semana Económica.” (7-13 September): 3Google Scholar
(El) Mercurio [International Edition] (1995f) “Menos Pobres pero Mayor Disparidad.” (31 August- 6 September): 5Google Scholar
(El) Mercurio [International Edition] (1995g) “Se Cumplen Metas Socioeconómicas para el Año 2000.” (24-30 August): 1-2Google Scholar
(El) Mercurio [International Edition] (1995h) “La Defensa de Genaro.” (11-17 May): 6Google Scholar
Raczynski, D. (1994) “Políticas Sociales y Programas de Combate a la Pobreza en Chile: Balance y Desafíos.” Colección Estudios CIEPLAN 39 (June): 973.Google Scholar
Repetto, A. (1994) “Políticas Macroeconómicas y tipo de Cambio Real: Chile, 1980-91.” Colección Estudios CIEPLAN 39 Cune): 105135.Google Scholar
Saith, A. (1983) “Development and Distribution: A Critique of the Crosscountry U-Hypothesis.” Journal of Development Economics 13 (December): 367382.Google Scholar
Scott, C.D. (1995) The Distributive Impact of the New Economic Model in Chile (2nd Version). London, England: London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economics.Google Scholar
United Nations Development Program (UNDP) (1994) Human Development Report 1994. New York, NY: United Nations, UNDP.Google Scholar
Vergara, P. (1990) Políticas hacia la Extrema Pobreza en Chile. Santiago de Chile: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO).Google Scholar
(The) World Bank (1995) World Development Report. Washington, DC: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).Google Scholar
(The) World Bank (1994) World Development Report. Washington, DC: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).Google Scholar
(The) World Bank (1993) World Development Report. Washington, DC: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).Google Scholar