Varieties of Capitalism and its Contributions to the Study of Development in Latin America

La literatura sobre variedades de capitalismo ha impulsado significativamente la investigación en economía política comparada a nivel global, y ha ido en aumento en América Latina como una manera de comprender los problemas y alternativas del desarrollo. Dadas las crecientes críticas, cabe preguntarse ¿cuáles —si es que existen— son sus contribuciones al estudio del desarrollo en la región? Revisando la adaptación de esta literatura a América Latina, y considerando críticas y limitaciones, argumentamos que ésta ofrece tres posibilidades significativas para impulsar el estudio de las alternativas del desarrollo latinoamericano: primero, abre nuevos frentes de investigación en políticas públicas comparadas; segundo, permite revitalizar viejos debates sobre el capitalismo regional; finalmente, vuelve a poner a la región en el centro del estudio sobre el capitalismo contemporáneo y su devenir.The literature on varieties of capitalism has significantly advanced the research on comparative political economy globally. In Latin America, this has been cited increasingly as a way to understand the development problems and alternatives for the region. Now, given the growing criticism, ¿which —if at all— are its contributions to the study of development in the region? In reviewing the adaptation of this literature to Latin America and considering its criticisms and limitations, we argue it offers three ways of advancing the study of Latin American development. First, it opens new research avenues in comparative public policy; second, it allows a revitalization of old debates on regional capitalism; finally, it puts Latin America back in the study of contemporary capitalism and its future

La Continuidad del Neoliberalismo en Chile

Desde la aplicación de la terapia de shock dirigida por Augusto Pinochet y sus Chicago Boys, Chile se transformó en un caso ejemplar para el estudio del neoliberalismo. A pesar de las correcciones introducidas a partir del regreso a la democracia, y contrario a una retórica que enfatiza el carácter reformista de los gobiernos democráticos de centroizquierda, Chile ha mantenido en lo fundamental su modelo económico basado en la herencia neoliberal de la dictadura militar. En este artículo, reviso los factores político-económicos que ayudan a explicar la experiencia de continuidad neoliberal en Chile desde los gobiernos de la Concertación, y poniendo particular énfasis en los gobiernos del "giro a la izquierda" de Ricardo Lagos y Michelle Bachelet. Para analizar la experiencia chilena, en este artículo construyo una explicación holística basada en los tres factores típicos que se utilizan en la economía comparada, ideas, instituciones e intereses, como los tres pilares de una explicación del neoliberalismo y su continuidad, y ofrezco una propuesta teórico-metodológica para observar empíricamente la operación de cada pilar

Varieties of Skills Profiles in Latin America: A Reassessment of the Hierarchical Model of Capitalism

Research on the politics of skills formation in Latin America is severely underdeveloped. This article offers a novel characterisation of the supply of skills in the region or ‘skills supply profiles’, taking inspiration from the comparative capitalisms literature. We identify four configurations of skills supply profiles – universalising, dual academic-oriented, dual VET-oriented and exclusionary – and analyse their historical dynamics. By doing this, we challenge general assessments of Latin America's skills formation systems as pertaining to one overarching type. This sets the stage for a deeper understanding of the politics of skills in the region and their connection with different development alternatives.Las investigaciones sobre las políticas de formación de habilidades en Latinoamérica se encuentran muy poco desarrolladas. Este artículo ofrece una caracterización novedosa de la oferta de habilidades en la región o ‘perfiles de oferta de habilidades’, inspirándose en la literatura comparativa sobre los capitalismos. Identificamos cuatro configuraciones de perfiles de oferta de habilidades – universalizadores, dual orientado a lo académico, dual orientado a la educación vocacional y capacitación (VET por sus siglas en inglés) y excluyente – y analizamos sus dinámicas históricas. Así, desafiamos las evaluaciones generales de los sistemas de formación de habilidades en América Latina como pertenecientes a un solo tipo. Esto prepara el terreno para un entendimiento más profundo de las políticas de habilidades en la región y su conexión con alternativas diferentes de desarrollo.Pesquisas sobre as políticas de formação profissional são pouco desenvolvidas na América Latina. Inspirado pela literatura sobre capitalismos comparados, este artigo oferece uma caracterização inovadora da oferta de competências na região, ou um ‘perfil de ofertas de competência’. Identificamos quatro configurações dos perfis de oferta de competência – universalizante, acadêmico dual, vocacional dual, e excludente – e analisamos suas dinâmicas históricas. Ao fazê-lo, desafiamos a visão comum de que o sistema de formação de competências na América Latina pertence a um tipo comum e dominante. Essa abordagem permite um entendimento das políticas de competência na região e suas conexões com diferentes alternativas de desenvolvimento

Understanding Policy Change through Bricolage: The Case of Chile's Renewable Energy Policy

Chile is a country where path dependency made energy policy change extremely difficult by international standards. However, the country has recently become a renewable energy poster child thanks to a gradual process of policy change. How was this possible? This article contributes to discussions about policy change driven by ideas and to explaining the puzzling case of Chilean energy policy change. It does so by discussing the mechanism of bricolage—the recombination of old and new ideas by policy entrepreneurs—and its capacity to produce policy change in contexts of high path dependency. The article develops the political manifestations and consequences of bricolage and problematizes how actors continue to contest and change ideas' meaning after they have been institutionalized, a key question when analyzing processes of bricolage. The analysis is based on an array of data sources including interviews with key actors, newspaper notes, and legislative proceedings.1 Introduction 2 Literature review 3 Chile: A least-likely case of energy policy change 4 Methods, data, and analysis 5 Results: Explaining the change in Chilean energy policy 6 Conclusions and discussion Acknowledgements Appendix A Reference

Bringing Development Back into (Economic) Sociology: Andrew Schrank Interviewed by Felipe González and Aldo Madariaga

Andrew Schrank (Olive C. Watson Professor of Sociology and International and Public Affairs at Brown University) is one of the few academics with a true interdisciplinary trajectory and an exceptionally wide variety of interests in economic sociology and adjacent fields working on Latin America. Although he defines himself as an organizational sociologist, Andrew has held positions in both sociology and political science departments and has written about issues ranging from supply chains to foreign investment and labor standards, from healthcare to industrial policy and urban studies, and from varieties of capitalism to the role of culture in development, doing both broad comparative work and more focused case studies of small Mesoamerican countries like the Dominican Republic. Andrew co-authored the article that became the manifesto for the re-foundation of Latin America’s political economy tradition in what is now the Red Economía Política America Latina (REPAL) and is currently working on a book on economic sociology and development. Andrew agreed to talk about his views on the discipline, the challenges of interdisciplinarity, and his focus on Latin America. This is the result of a deeply engaged discussion over a Skype conversation and several e-mail exchanges where he calls for a return to sociology’s early motivation of studying societies through the lens of development and claims that “what we need is an economic sociology that takes Latin America seriously.” We thank Andrew for his generosity in sharing his thoughts with us

Right-Wing Moderation, Left-Wing Inertia and Political Cartelisation in Post-Transition Chile

By examining the Manifesto Project data for post-transition Chile, we show growing convergence in the electoral competition strategies between the centre-left and centre-right coalitions. While the former is characterised by inertia, the latter is marked by gradual yet relentless programmatic moderation. To interpret these results, we rely not only on theories of salience and party adaptation, but also on the cartel party thesis. This contribution reinforces the findings of increasing literature on post-transition Chile that reveals growing collusion between the mainstream left-wing and right-wing coalitions, which have increasing difficulties channelling demands emanating from below and therefore providing adequate political representation.A través de un análisis de los datos del Proyecto Manifiesto sobre Chile en la post-transición, mostramos que hay una creciente convergencia en las estrategias electorales entre las coaliciones de centro-izquierda y de centro-derecha. Mientras que la primera se caracteriza por tener cierta inercia, la otra está marcada por una gradual, aunque persistente, moderación programática. Para interpretar estos resultados, nos apoyamos no sólo en teorías sobre la relevancia y adaptación partidarias, sino también en las tesis del partido-cartel. Nuestra contribución refuerza los hallazgos de una creciente literatura sobre la post-transición en Chile que revela una mayor colusión entre las coaliciones de izquierda y de derecha, las que han tenido cada vez más dificultades en canalizar las demandas emanadas desde abajo y por lo tanto en proveer una adecuada representación política.Ao examinar os dados do Projeto Manifesto no Chile pós-transicional, mostramos uma crescente convergência nas estratégias de competição eleitoral entre as alianças da centro-esquerda e da centro-direita. Enquanto a primeira se caracterizou pela inércia, a segunda foi marcada por uma gradual e ao mesmo tempo incansável moderação programática. Para interpretar estes resultados, contamos não somente com teorias de saliência e adaptação partidária, mas também na tese de partido-cartel. Este artigo reforça as descobertas das emergentes publicações sobre o Chile pós-transicional que revela um gradativo embate entre as alianças tradicionais de esquerda e de direita, sendo que essas têm encontrado crescente dificuldade em canalizar as demandas oriundas de baixo, providenciando representação política adequada.Introduction Theoretical Framework The MARPOR Project and its Application to Chile The Evolution of Political Competition in Post-Transition Chile The Dimensions of Electoral Convergence in Post-Transition Chile Cartelisation and Issue Competition in Post-Transition Chile Concluding Remarks Reference