OECD Economic Surveys: Chile 2021
In the last decades, Chile has made tremendous progress towards greater economic prosperity and lower poverty. Per capita income more than doubled over the past 20 years and is now the highest in Latin America. These progresses have now come to a halt. Since October 2019 Chile has faced two unprecedented shocks, the social protests and the COVID 19 outbreak. Income convergence was already slowing before these shocks amid modest productivity growth and while the past growth performance has lifted many Chileans out of poverty over the last three decades, income inequality remains high by OECD standards. However, such unprecedented times gives the opportunity to create consensus among citizens around major pending reforms, strengthen common values around the importance of having strong public services and the relevance of belonging to the formal sector. Achieving such economic and social improvements will require further progress toward reducing inequalities and building a stronger middle-class, raising productivity and the dynamism of SMEs, that will be especially impacted by the outbreak. Moreover, during the pandemic digital technologies are being critical to sustain continuity in business and jobs. Digitalisation will play an ever important role in the recovery, while addressing the persistent low productivity.
SPECIAL FEATURE: DIGITALISATION, PRODUCTIVITY AND SKILLS
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Making digital transformation work for all in Chile
The sanitary crisis, created by the outbreak COVID-19, is accelerating the country’s digital transformation, which has seen a surge in e-learning, streaming, online shopping and marketing and teleworking. The digital transformation has the potential to revamp productivity and inclusiveness, although it comes with adoption barriers and transition costs. Connectivity has increased substantially in the last decades, and Chile is ahead of the region. However, fixed high-speed broadband adoption, essential for the digital transformation, lags behind. Firms have started to adopt digital technologies but micro firms and SMEs are well behind. Rural areas have lower connectivity and many workers lack the skills to thrive in the digital world. Lowering the entry barriers in the communication sector and making regulations simpler and clearer would ease infrastructure deployment. Targeted policies for SMEs, such as development of sources of financing or specific programmes for adopting digital tools, would help them access and use digital tools, increasing productivity. Reforms to the innovation ecosystem, competition and the regulatory framework are also needed. To reap the benefits of digitalisation for all, it is necessary to continue investing in quality foundational skills, adult and lifelong learning and in high-skilled ICT specialists. Labour market policies need to be adapted to face the challenges and exploit the benefits posed by the digital transformation. An effective safety net would address possible labour market disruptions.
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