Technological Gaps, De-Industrialisation and Catching-Up: Is the Chilean Case a Paradox?

A paradox seems to emerge about the extraordinary Chilean growth performance during the last two decades. Indeed, the export-led growth model was based on the export of natural resource based products characterized by low-income elasticity of demand while the productive structure was suffering a strong de-industrialization process. The paper is divided into two main parts. In the first one, the current Chilean international specialisation pattern is critically examined adopting several different approaches. In the second, a stylised ricardian-evolutionary model, accounting for the qualitative and quantitative analysis developed, is offered as an interpretative framework for the actual Chilean long-run growth possibilities.