Title: Dutch disease and the Chilean copper boom – an empirical analysis

Authors: Alex A. Ruehle, Kishore G. Kulkarni

Addresses: Daniels College of Business, University of Denver, 2201 South Gaylord Street, Denver, CO 80209, USA. ' Metropolitan State College of Denver, CB 77, P.O. Box 173362, Denver, CO 80217-3362, USA

Abstract: Dutch disease is the phenomenon that has its origins in the |immiserising growth hypothesis| which argued that increase in the export sector can lead to misery for the economy if the terms of trade deteriorate in a significant way. While Holland|s economy was the first to experience such a phenomenon, few other countries such as Venezuela, Brazil, Nigeria and Malaysia have had similar experiences in last 30 years. This paper applies the logic of Dutch disease to the case of Chile and investigates if the Dutch disease was spread to Chilean level. This was partly due to the tremendous rise in copper prices, and due to extraordinary dependence of economic growth on that sector. After reviewing the contemporary literature on the subject, the paper uses econometric as well as other techniques to apply the theory to the Chilean case. Our conclusion is that the Dutch disease was in fact contracted in the Chilean economy in the time period of our investigation.

Keywords: Dutch disease; international trade policy; copper exports; country studies; Chile; Chilean economy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEED.2011.037966

International Journal of Education Economics and Development, 2011 Vol.2 No.1, pp.61 - 80

Published online: 11 Oct 2014 *

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