Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T16:32:13.983Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Uncertain Gains: Labor in Chile's New Export Sectors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2022

Rachel A. Schurman
Rachel A. Schurman*
Affiliation:
University of Illinois
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Natural-resource-based export-oriented growth strategies have resurfaced as the dominant development approach in Latin America. While a growing literature exists on the economic, equity, gender, and environmental impacts of this development strategy, insufficient attention has been paid to its significance for labor. This article seeks to help fill this gap by analyzing its effects on Chilean workers. Based on a study of the fruit, forestry, and fishing sectors, my work shows that this type of development strategy can be very labor-absorbing and can offer significant benefits for labor when it leads to “agro-industrialization.” Nonetheless, although working conditions clearly improved after the late 1980s, it is likely that the first decade of the twenty-first century will not be a repeat of the 1990s. The hypercompetition that now characterizes these sectors is putting tremendous pressure on firms to reduce costs, including that of labor. Stripped of basic state protections and left with little social power, Chilean workers are much more vulnerable than they were before.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 36 , Issue 2 , 2001 , pp. 3 - 29
Copyright
Copyright © 2001 by the University of Texas Press

Footnotes

*

I would like to thank Patrick Barrett, Peter Evans, Michael Goldman, Lovell Jarvis, Raka Ray, Bernard Schurman, David Tecklin, and four anonymous LARR reviewers for their useful comments on an earlier draft. I also appreciate Samuel Martland's and David Tecklin's able research assistance. Funding for this project was provided by the Hellman Family Faculty Fund at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Research Board at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

References

Achurra, Manuel 1995 “La experiencia de un nuevo producto de exportación: Los salmones.” In MELLER AND SAEZ 1995, 43–72.Google Scholar
Agacino, Rafael 1994 “Acumulación, distribución y consensos en Chile.” Economía y Trabajo 2, no. 4: 111–35.Google Scholar
Amin, Samir 1976 Unequal Development. New York: Monthly Review Press.Google Scholar
Amsden, Alice 1989 Asia's Next Giant: South Korea and Late Industrialization. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Balassa, Bela 1988 “The Lessons of East Asian Development: An Overview.” Economic Development and Cultural Change 36, no. 3: 273–90.Google Scholar
BANCO CENTRAL DE CHILE 1997 Boletín Mensual 70, no. 836 (Oct.):2804.Google Scholar
Barham, Bradford, Clark, Mary, Katz, Elizabeth, and Schurman, Rachel 1992 “Nontraditional Agricultural Exports in Latin America.” LARR 27, no. 2: 43–82.Google Scholar
Barrera, Manuel, and Samuel Valenzuela, J. 1986 “The Development of Labor Movement Opposition to the Military Regime.” In Military Rule in Chile: Dictatorship and Oppositions, edited by Valenzuela, J. Samuel and Valenzuela, Arturo, 230–69. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Barrett, Patrick n.d. “Labor-Business-State Relations in the New Chilean Democracy.” Revised version of a paper presented to the Latin American Studies Association, Chicago, 24–26 September.Google Scholar
Barrientos, Stephanie 1997 “The Hidden Ingredient: Female Labor in Chilean Fruit Exports.” Bulletin of Latin American Research 16, no. 1: 71–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bee, Anna, and Vogel, Isabel 1997 “Temporeras and Household Relations: Seasonal Employment in Chile's Agro-Export Sector.” Bulletin of Latin American Research 16, no. 1: 83–95.Google Scholar
Bosworth, Barry P., Dornbusch, Rudiger, and Laban, Raul, EDS. 1994 The Chilean Economy: Policy Lessons and Challenges. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution.Google Scholar
Boyd, William W., Prudham, Scott, and Schurman, Rachel n.d. “Industrial Dynamics and the Problem of Nature.” Society and Natural Resources, forthcoming.Google Scholar
Bunker, Stephen G. 1985 Underdeveloping the Amazon: Extraction, Unequal Exchange, and the Failure of the Modern State. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
Bunker, Stephen G. 1989 “Staples, Links, and Poles in the Construction of Regional Development Theory.” Sociological Forum 4, no. 4: 589–610.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carter, Michael R., Barham, Bradford L., and Mesbah, Dina 1996 “Agricultural Export Booms and the Rural Poor in Chile, Guatemala, and Paraguay.” LARR 31, no. 1: 33–65.Google Scholar
Castells, Manuel 1996 The Rise of the Network Society. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.Google Scholar
Claude, Marcel 1997 Una vez más la miseria: ¿Es Chile un país sustentable? Santiago: LOM Ediciones.Google Scholar
Contreras M., Rodolfo 1988 Más allá del bosque: La explotación forestal en Chile. Santiago: Amerinda.Google Scholar
Cortazar, Rene 1998 “Chile: The Evolution and Reform of the Labor Market.” In Labor Markets in Latin America: Combining Social Protection with Market Flexibility, edited by Edwards, Sebastian and Nora Claudia Lustig. Washington D.C.: Brookings Institution Press.Google Scholar
DFA-UC (DEPARTAMENTO DE ECONOMIA AGRARIA, UNIVERSIDAD CATOLICA DE CHILE) 1993 Oportunidades y desafíos competitivos de la fruticultura de exportación de Chile. Serie de Investigación no. 65. Santiago: DEA-UC.Google Scholar
Delano A., Priscilla 1993 “Women and Work in Chile: A Case Study of the Fish-Processing Industry on the Island of Chiloé.” Ph.D. diss., Cambridge University.Google Scholar
Delano A., Priscilla, and Lehmann, David 1993 “Women Workers in Labour-Intensive Factories: The Case of Chile's Fish Industry.” European Journal of Development Research 5, no. 2: 43–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diaz, Alvaro 1995 La industria chilena entre 1970–1994: De la sustitución de importaciones a la segunda fase exportadora. Santiago: CEPAL.Google Scholar
Diaz, Alvaro, and Ramos, Joseph 1998 “Apertura y competitividad.” In Construyendo opciones: Propuestas económicas y sociales para el cambio de siglo, edited by René Cortázar and Vial, JoaquÍN, 73–104. Santiago: CIEPLAN.Google Scholar
Diaz A., Estrella 1991 Investigación participativa acerca de las trabajadores temporeras de la fruta. San Bernardo, Chile: Centro El Canelo de Nos, Programa Mujer.Google Scholar
Duhart, Solange, and Weinstein, Jaqueline 1988 Pesca industrial: Sector estratégico y de alto riesgo. 2 vols. Colección Estudios Sectoriales no. 5. Santiago: Programa de Economía del Trabajo.Google Scholar
Emmanuel, Arghiri 1972 Unequal Exchange. New York: Modern Reader.Google Scholar
Escobar, Luis, and Contreras, Gustavo 1995 “Un sector exportador maduro: La fruta fresca.” In MELLER AND SAEZ 1995, 137–86.Google Scholar
Evans, Peter 1995 Embedded Autonomy: States and Industrial Transformation. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Falabella, Gonzalo 1994 “Hacia un síntesis cultural: Temporeras y temporeros en el escenario de la modernidad a la chilena.” Final report submitted to the Ford Foundation, Santiago.Google Scholar
Frank, Andre Gunder 1969 Capitalism and Underdevelopment in Latin America. New York: Modern Reader.Google Scholar
Freudenburg, William R. 1992 “Addictive Economies: Extractive Industries and Vulnerable Localities in a Changing World Economy.” Rural Sociology 57, no. 3: 305–32.Google Scholar
Frias, Patricio 1989 El movimiento sindical chileno en la lucha por la democracia. Santiago: Programa de Economía del Trabajo.Google Scholar
Gatica, Jaime 1989 Deindustrialization in Chile. Boulder, Colo.: Westview.Google Scholar
Gereffi, Gary, and Korzeniewicz, Miguel, EDS. 1994 Commodity Chains and Global Capitalism. Westport, Conn.: Praeger.Google Scholar
Gomez, Sergio, and Echenique, Jorge 1988 La agricultura chilena: Las dos caras de la modernización. Santiago: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO).Google Scholar
Gonzalez, Pablo 1996 “Normativa y política laboral en Chile.” Colección Estudios CIEPLAN, no. 43: 49–99.Google Scholar
Haggard, Stephan 1990 Pathways from the Periphery: The Politics of Growth in the Newly Industrializing Countries. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
INE (INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE ESTADISTICAS) 1987 Anuario de Precios. Santiago: INE.Google Scholar
Jarvis, Lovell 1992 “Cambios en los roles de los sectores público y privado en el desarrollo tecnológico: Lecciones a partir del sector frutícola chilena.” Colección Estudios CIEPLAN, no. 36: 5–39.Google Scholar
Jarvis, Lovell, Montero, Cecilia, and Hidalgo, Mauricio 1993 El empresario fruticultor: Fortalezas y debilidades de un sector heterogéneo. Notas Técnicas no. 154. Santiago: CIEPLAN.Google Scholar
Katz, Elizabeth 1991 “Breaking the Myth of Harmony: Theoretical and Methodological Guidelines to the Study of Rural Third World Households.” Review of Radical Political Economics 23, nos. 3–4:37–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lal, Deepak, and Rajapatirana, Sarath 1987 “Foreign Trade Regimes and Economic Growth in Developing Countries.” World Bank Research Observer 2, no. 2: 189–217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leiva, Fernando Ignacio, and Agacino, Rafael 1994 Mercado de trabajo flexible, pobreza y desintegración social en Chile, 1990–1994. Santiago: Universidad Arcis.Google Scholar
Marini, R. M. 1973 Dialéctica de la dependencia. Mexico City: Era.Google Scholar
Medel, Julia, and Riquelme, Veronica 1994 La salud ignorada: Temporeras de la fruticultura. Santiago: Centro de Estudios de la Mujer.Google Scholar
Meller, Patricio, O'Ryan, Raul, and Solimano, Andres 1996 “Growth, Equity, and the Environment in Chile: Issues and Evidence.” World Development 24, no. 2: 255–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meller, Patricio, and Repetto, Andrea 1996 “Empleo y remuneraciones en el sector exportador chileno.” In El modelo exportador chileno: Crecimiento y equidad, edited by Meller, Patricio, 87–140. Santiago: CIEPLAN.Google Scholar
Meller, Patricio, ed. 1996 El modelo exportador chileno: Crecimiento y equidad. Santiago: CIEPLAN.Google Scholar
Meller, Patricio, and Saez, Raul Eduardo, EDS. 1995 Auge exportador chileno: Lecciones y desafíos futuros. Santiago: Dolmen.Google Scholar
Mizala, Alejandra, and Romaguera, Pilar 1996 “Flexibilidad del mercado de trabajo: El impacto del ajuste y los requisitos del crecimiento económico.” Colección Estudios CIEPLAN, no. 43: 15–48.Google Scholar
Montero, Cecilia 1990 “La evolución del empresariado chileno: ¿Surge un nuevo actor?” Colección Estudios CIEPLAN, no. 30: 91–122.Google Scholar
Montero, Cecilia 1997 La revolución empresarial chileno. Santiago: CIEPLAN and Dolmen.Google Scholar
MuÑOz Goma, Oscar 1989 “Crisis y reorganización industrial en Chile.” In Industria, estado y sociedad, 201–34. Caracas: Nueva Sociedad.Google Scholar
Newman, Constance, and Jarvis, Lovell n.d. “Worker and Firm Determinants of Piece-Rate Variation in an Agricultural Labor Market.” Manuscript.Google Scholar
Ong, Aihwa 1987 Spirits of Resistance and Capitalist Discipline: Factory Women in Malaysia. Albany: State University of New York Press.Google Scholar
PET (PROGRAMA DE ECONOMIA DEL TRABAJO) 1996 Economía y trabajo en Chile: Informe anual. Santiago: PET.Google Scholar
PET (PROGRAMA DE ECONOMIA DEL TRABAJO) 1998 Economía y trabajo en Chile: Informe anual. Santiago: PET.Google Scholar
PiÑEra E., Jose 1990 La revolución laboral en Chile. Santiago: Zig-Zag.Google Scholar
Pizzaro, Cristomo, Raczynski, Dagmar, and Vial, Joaquin, EDS. 1996 Social and Economic Policies in Chile's Transition to Democracy. Santiago: CIEPLAN and UNICEF.Google Scholar
Polanyi, Karl 1944 The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time. Boston, Mass.: Beacon.Google Scholar
Polo-Diaz, Harry 1983 “Forestry Labour, Neo-liberalism, and the Authoritarian State: Chile, 1973–1981.” Ph.D. diss., York University, Toronto.Google Scholar
Porter, Michael E. 1990 The Competitive Advantage of Nations. New York: Free Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prebisch, Raul 1950 The Economic Development of Latin America and Its Principal Problems. New York: United Nations.Google Scholar
Ram, Rati 1987 “Exports and Economic Growth in Developing Countries: Evidence from Time-Series and Cross-Section Data.” Economic Development and Cultural Change 36, no. 1: 51–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rodriguez, Daniel, and Venegas, Sylvia 1988 Las regiones frutícolas de Chile: Caracterización productiva y del mercado laboral. GEA Estudios Agrarios no. 13. Santiago: Grupo de Estudios Agro-regionales de la Universidad Academia de Humanismo Cristiano (GEA).Google Scholar
Romaguera, Pilar, Echevarria, Cristian, and Gonzalez, Pablo 1995 “Chile.” In Reforming the Labor Market in a Liberalized Economy, edited by MÁRquez, Gustavo, 79–135. Washington, D.C.: Inter-American Development Bank and Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Rossi, Italo 1995 “Desarrollo y competitividad del sector forestal-maderero.” In Auge exportador chileno: Lecciones y desafíos futuros, edited by Meller, Patricio and Raúl Eduardo Sáez, 109–36. Santiago: CIEPLAN and Dolmen.Google Scholar
Ruiz-Tagle, Jaime 1985 El sindicalismo chileno después del Plan Laboral. Santiago: Programa de Economía del Trabajo.Google Scholar
Safa, Helen 1990 “Women, Production, and Reproduction in Industrial Capitalism: A Comparison of Brazilian and U.S. Factory Workers.” In Women, Men, and the International Division of Labor, edited by Stichter, Sharon and Parpart, Jane L., 72–97. Philadelphia, Pa.: Temple University Press.Google Scholar
Santos, Theotonio Dos 1970 “The Structure of Dependence.” American Economic Review 40, no. 2: 231–36.Google Scholar
Sassen, Saskia 1998 Globalization and Its Discontents. New York: New Press.Google Scholar
Schurman, Rachel 1993 “Economic Development and Class Formation in an Extractive Economy: The Fragile Nature of the Chilean Fishing Industry, 1973–1990.” Ph.D. diss., University of Wisconsin-Madison.Google Scholar
Schurman, Rachel 1996a “Snails, Southern Hake, and Sustainability: Neoliberalism and Natural Resource Exports in Chile.” World Development 24, no. 11: 1695–1709.Google Scholar
Schurman, Rachel 1996b “Chile's New Entrepreneurs and the ‘Economic Miracle’: The Invisible Hand or a Hand from the State?” Studies in Comparative International Development 31, no. 3: 83–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schurman, Rachel n.d. “Shuckers, Sorters, Headers, and Gutters: Labor in the Seafood Sector.” In Victims of the Miracle? Chilean Workers and the Neoliberal Model, 1973–1998, edited by Peter Winn. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, forthcoming.Google Scholar
Silva, Eduardo 1996 The State and Capital in Chile: Business Elites, Technocrats, and Market Economics. Boulder, Colo.: Westview.Google Scholar
Stonich, Susan 1991 “The Promotion of Nontraditional Agriculture Exports in Honduras: Issues of Equity, Environment, and Natural-Resource Management.” Development and Change 22, no. 4: 725–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thrupp, Lori Ann 1994 Challenges in Latin America's Recent Agro-Export Boom: Sustainability and Equity of Nontraditional Export Policies in Ecuador. Issues in Development Series. Washington, D.C.: World Resources Institute.Google Scholar
Unda, Alfredo, and Stuardo, Alejandro 1996 Chile: Expansión forestal en la novena región y desarrollo sustentable. No. 29. Santiago: Organización Internacional del Trabajo.Google Scholar
Venegas, Sylvia 1992 Una gota al día … un chorro al año: El impacto social de la expansión frutícola. Santiago: Grupo de Estudios Agro-Regionales de la Universidad Academia de Humanismo Cristiano.Google Scholar
Wade, Robert 1990 Governing the Market: Economic Theory and the Role of Government in East Asian Industrialization. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolf, Diane Lauren 1992 Factory Daughters: Gender, Household Dynamics, and Rural Industrialization in Java. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.Google Scholar
WORLD BANK 1993 The East Asian Miracle: Economic Growth and Public Policy. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar