Suchergebnisse

In modern day Chile the economic entrepreneurial landscape is made up of large multinational conglomerates, local economic groups, and so-called emerging economic groups (that burgeoned with the transformation of former government employees into owners of important parts of state-owned companies).This last group is mainly comprised of the neoliberal technocracy that designed the economic policy of the Pinochet dictatorship. The power of these emerging technical groups in democratic Chile is based not only on direct private property, but also on their participation as high-ranking officials that dominate strategic decision-making in companies and conglomerates. Their power has been consolidated with the so-called second wave of privatizations (1985-90), as they took advantage of both profound neoliberal convictions and the unconditional support for multinational companies, which technocratic officials consider to be the materialization of the globalization of the Chilean economy. In turn, many of these technocrats operate as agents or strategic executives, associating with local economic groups and transnational conglomerates. The analysis of the origin and formation of the economic groups and conglomerates that today dominate the globalized Chilean economy is the main objective of this article.

While China and Latin America simultaneously implemented neoliberal policies as part of a profound economic restructuring process, there are important differences in the results of their policies and economic performance. This article discusses the different development paths of Latin America and China, including their starting points, economic policies and political processes. China's expansion and Latin America's liberalization have brought the two in much closer contact. Several Latin American countries are now important providers of commodities (for example, minerals, energy and soy) that China needs to keep up with the rising levels of production and consumption. As a result China is also starting to invest in these products. Some other Latin American countries have lost rather than gained from the rise of China, especially the countries that sought economic integration in the world market through the growth of maquiladoras (assembly factories for export to the United States). However, their attempts to slow down China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) did not succeed.The article discusses the causes, effects and prospects of these different experiences with China's global expansion.

The rapid expansion of China is one of the key economic and political issues at the start of the twenty-first century. China's importance in South-South trade (and competition) as well as in South-South investment has already brought about many changes for developing regions, and they are likely to be extrapolated in the years to come. The growing economic position of the biggest developing country in the world implies much greater political power, affecting all other countries as well as international relations and global politics. For Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Eastern and Central Europe, the effects are likely to be far reaching. This article first looks into the global expansion of China, providing an overview of some striking economic figures. It also reviews the economic development of China, explaining how its communist party has used neoliberal measures to cause an economic transformation. It then analyzes how this transformation has affected China's role in Asia and China's policies towards the 'Global South'. Finally, contemporary South-South relations in the context of globalized markets are discussed.