The impact of exports on growth in Chile

Dynamic export growth has been a distinctive feature of the Chilean economy over the last quarter of a century. This strong performance, however, has been accompanied by only modest average growth in GDP. Whilst export volumes rose by 10% a year between 1974 and 2001, GDP growth was only 4.3%. Furthermore, whereas export growth was steady, GDP fluctuated greatly, with several episodes of 8% to 10% growth but also deep recessions of 14% or 15%. Here we shall look at the similarities and differences among three episodes (1973-1982, 1983-1989 and 1990-1999), analyse the interrelationship among export quality, the macroeconomic environment and overall growth in Chile, and touch on some challenges for the future.