You are kindly invited to de Economics Department's seminar, where it will be presented the article called "Crecimiento Económico en Chile, 1810-2024" (Economic Growth in Chile, 1810-2024. First Chapter).

Presents: Manuel Agosin, Emeritus Professor, University of Chile.

This book seeks to explain Chile's economic growth since its independence by using a new database on GDP and other key variables. The Chilean economy converged toward the per capita GDP of the United States until the Great Depression. From the recovery in 1937 until 1985, Chile progressively diverged from the per capita GDP levels of developed countries. In 1985, Chile’s per capita GDP hit rock bottom, having fallen from half of the U.S. level to just a quarter. In the mid-1980s, a new period of convergence began, although it has been losing momentum since 2012. A key feature of the book is its effort to distinguish different periods in Chile's development. The import substitution period (1937–1971) was mediocre when compared to the results of even the long liberal period (1828–1913), during which the State limited itself to providing physical infrastructure and, in the 20th century, investing in education and health. Despite the conventional evaluation of the military regime (1973–1990), growth during the dictatorship was mediocre and marked by the major financial crisis of 1982–1983. The democratic period (since 1990) has been the most successful of the last century, although growth began to lose steam during the copper price boom (2003–2012). Since 2012, the economy has been nearly stagnant. The book aims to draw lessons from the best decade in Chile's economic history (1987–1998) to guide the economy toward faster growth.

The event will be held in a 1605 classroom.

Kind regards,

Research Direction