Fruits of capitalism : modernisation of Chilean agriculture 1950-2000

The so-called Chilean economic miracle during the 1980s and 1990s connotes not only high-speed economic growth but also a profound structural transformation of the Chilean economy. Most previous research ascribes growth and transformation to the liberalisation of markets and other neo-liberal policy instruments introduced after 1974. Policies, before as well as after 1974, have indeed been important for creating preconditions for growth and transformation. However, in the present study it is argued that by overemphasising the role of polices one may partly disregard the historical process by which capitalist forms of organisation have gained momentum in the productive system as new technologies worked have their way into the agricultural sector.