Multinational Corporations and the Politics of Dependence
Copper in Chile
Publication Year: 2014
This study deals with a topic of increasing concern--the relations between multinational corporations and their host countries in the Third World. Theodore H. Moran describes how a reaction against dependencia, a realization that the fate of the nation hinges on the decisions made by uncontrollable outside forces, can spur a host country to opt for control of an industry, exposing the country to new dangers as well as new opportunities.
Originally published in 1983.
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Published by: Princeton University Press
Series: Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Cover
Title Page, Copyright
Preface and Acknowledgments
This book is the work of a skeptic trying to use training in the fields of political science and economics to carry out a study of the political economy of foreign investment. I have found that in fact there are tools in both of these disciplines to do a respectable job. If I had recognized this sooner, and got on with the job, as some of my friends ably suggested, I would have made...
1 Introduction
I η 1912, looking back over the history of nitrates and forward toward the future of copper, the celebrated Chilean writer and historian Francisco Encina regarded with despair the process which he called the "denationalization" of those industries that exploited the country's basic natural resources.1 He was distressed by the spectacle of the nation's vital industries...
2 Structure and Strategy in the International Copper Industry
I h e s u c c e s s of any o l i g o p o l i s t i c i n d u s t r y — w h e t h e r g e n erating private corporate profits, or generating funds for public welfare and national development—comes from exacting an economic rent from final consumers. Such rent is a higher-than-"normal" return that results from the restriction of competition.1 And the restriction of competition, in turn, is a function of three factors: barriers to the entry of newcomers into...
3 The Multinational Copper Companies in Chile and the Growth of Economic Nationalism, 1945-1954:Declining Terms of Trade and the Early Elaboration of a Framework for Dependencia
A satisfactory analysis of the development of economic nationalism in Chile, of the growth of the idea of dependencia, would require an essay in intellectual history. As the usage of the term dependencia grew in popularity after the Second World War, as diverse Chilean groups found the concept useful or accurate or convenient in describing their country's relations with...
4 "Good Investment Climate" and the Nuevo Trato Mining Legislation of 1955: Death and Rebirth of the Idea of Dependencia
1 he first round in the postwar growth of economic nationalism in Chile began with tensions aroused by the desire for industrialization after the Second World War and ended with the Chilean sales monopoly of 1952. During this period the course of the relations between the country and the multinational copper companies gave rise to a feeling of dependencia, a sense...
5 From Chileanization to Nationalization: Success andRevenge in the Movement away from Dependencia
1 he growth of economic nationalism in Chile began with frustration at the feelings of dependencia after the Second World War and reached an initial peak with the sales monopoly of 1952—as a first unsuccessful attempt to end that dependencia. A second phase in the growth of economic nationalism began with the failure of the sales monopoly and ended with the rejection of...
6 A Model of the Relations Between the Host Country and Foreign Investors: Balance of Power, National Interest, and Economic Nationalism
For twenty-five years after the end of the Second World War Chile mounted a drive, never long abated, to close in on and ultimately to take over the large foreign copper companies whose operations played such a central role in the development of the national economy. When President Eduardo Frei began the nationalization of Anaconda, he exclaimed: "This is the...
7 Chile and the Future of Dependencia
Chapter 2 traced the evolution of strategy in the international copper industry as a series of efforts to preserve and protect the ability of producers to exact an economic rent from final industrial consumers. Chapters 3 through 6 outlined the conflict between Chile's drive for sovereign control over a dynamic national development and the private decision-making processes...
8 Economic Nationalism and the Future
A national interest in building the economy, providing for the welfare of the society, and controlling national sovereignty propelled successive Chilean administrations and their opponents to push against the foreign copper companies. Despite ebbs and flows of confidence as elites from across the domestic spectrum tested their strengths and abilities against the uncertainties....
E-ISBN-13: 9781400854424
E-ISBN-10: 1400854423
Page Count: 300
Publication Year: 2014
Edition: Course Book
Series Title: Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
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