This PDF is a selection from an out-of-print volume from the National Bureau
of Economic Research
Volume Title: Trade and Employment in Developing Countries, Volume 1:
Individual Studies
Volume Author/Editor: Anne O. Krueger, Hal B. Lary, Terry Monson, and
Narongchai Akrasanee, eds.
Volume Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Volume ISBN: 0-226-45492-4
Volume URL: http://www.nber.org/books/krue80-1
Publication Date: 1980
Chapter Title: Alternative Trade Strategies and Employment Implications:
Chile
Chapter Author: Vittorio Corbo, Patricio Meller
Chapter URL: http://www.nber.org/chapters/c8732
Chapter pages in book: (p. 83 - 134)
3
Alternative Trade Strategies
and Employment
Implications: Chile
Vittorio Corbo and Patricio Meller
Introduction
Chile is an important case study for this volume because it provides a
clear example of the antiemployment biases of import substitution
strategies in developing countries. Since World War 11, Chile has consistently used an overvalued currency, tariffs, and quantitative restrictions to promote manufactured import substitutes at the expense of agricultural and mining activities-whether
for export or for domestic
consumption. Under these policies, manufacturing output has increased
at a modest pace, but manufacturing employment has shown little
growth. For example, while manufacturing output was growing at an annual average rate close to 6 percent in the 1960s, manufacturing employment grew by slightly more than 3 percent annually. In fact, manufacturing employment in recent years is about the same as it was in the
early 1950s.
A study of these policies is warranted to determine why they failed to
generate employment in Chile. More important, the Chilean experience
may provide a sobering lesson for policymakers in other developing
Vittorio Corbo is associated with Concordia University, Montreal, Canada;
Patricio Meller is associated with CIEPLAN, Universidad de Chile, Santiago.
We are especially grateful to Anne 0. Krueger and Hal Lary for detailed comments on earlier drafts of this study. We are also grateful to Narongchai
Akrasanee, Hossein Askari, Ricardo Ffrench-Davis, James M. Henderson, Charles
P. Kindleberger, Robert Lipsey, Constantine Michalopoulos, and Morton Stelcner
for their comments. Seminars at CIEPLAN, Universite de Montreal, University of
Texas at Austin, United States Agency for International Development, and the
Development Research Center of the World Bank provided many valuable insights. Skillful research assistance was provided by Veronica Corbo, AIireza
Mohajer Va Pessaran, and Josh M. Vrljicak.
This study has been made possible by financial support provided by various
institutions whose support is gratefully acknowledged: the USAID through funds
provided to the NBER for this project, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the
General Canada Council of Arts Research Funds of the Faculty of Arts and
Sciences of Concordia University.
83
84
Vittorio Corbo/Patricio Meller
countries whose employment problems are even more severe than those
of Chile.
The plan of this study follows that of other chapters in this volume.
Section 3.1 below provides a brief overview of the Chilean economy and
its trade regime;l section 3.2 presents the factor requirements estimates,
and sections 3.3 and 3.4 analyze the effects of commodity and factor market distortions upon these factor requirements. Section 3.5 presents a dynamic analysis of factor proportions to determine the extent by which factor proportions responded to changes in trade policies during the 1960s.
Our study focuses upon the period 1960-70, and within this period
the emphasis is upon the subperiod 1966-68. The major reason for this
choice was data availability, namely a census of manufactures for 1967,
which allowed us to make estimates of factor requirements. That year
is a typical one, and its data should adequately describe the import substitution regime,
3.1
General Characteristics of the Chilean Economy: An Overview
3.1.1 Post-World War I1 Policy Developments
The two main events that shaped Chile’s trade policies and industrialization patterns in the mid-twentieth century were the Great Depression
and World War 11. The fall in export earnings during the Depression
(due mainly to price decreases) and the increase in the real foreign
debt caused by the worldwide deflation created a strong drive for less
dependence on the world economy. The interruption in international
trade during and after World War I1 provided an additional incentive
to developing countries to reduce their reliance on international trade
through substituting domestic production for goods previously imported. A further impetus to this import substitution strategy (ISS) was
given during the 1950s by the influence of the Economic Commission
for Latin America (ECLA) under the leadership of R. Prebisch. Trade
policies were influenced by the “Prebisch doctrine” concerning the longterm deterioration of the terms of trade of primary products (Askari
and Corbo 1978). All of these events encouraged Chile and other Latin
American countries to pursue the goal of industrialization through
strong inducements for domestically oriented industrial programs.
In attempting to implement the import substitution strategy, a set of
policies was designed to shift the domestic terms of trade in favor of
industry as opposed to agriculture and mining. The trade policy pursued
was a combination of overvalued currency, tariffs, and quotas. This resulted in a structure of effective protection rates that, in addition to discrimirlating against exports (especially agricultural and mineral products) , was characterized by considerable dispersion in the rate of
protection of industrial activities.
Table 3.1
Sectoral Composition of Gross Domestic Product, 1950-70
Average Annual
Growth Rate
Percentage Distribution
Economic Sector
1950-54
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
15.5
Mining
6.2
Manufacturing
20.1
Construction
2.4
Electricity, gas, water, and sanitary services
0.9
Transportation, storage, and communication
6.0
Wholesale and retail trade
19.4
Finance
3.0
Ownership and dwellings
7.8
Public administration and defense
8.3
Services
10.4
Total
100.0
1955-59
1960-62
12.7
5.3
25.7
1.9
0.8
5.4
19.5
2.4
7.9
7.8
10.6
100.0
11.1
9.8
23.6
5.6
1.4
3.3
21.7
2.5
3.8
5.4
11.8
100.0
1963-65
10.4
10.1
25.0
5.8
1.6
4.3
20.9
2.4
3.7
5.0
10.8
100.0
1966-68
1969-70
1950-59
1960-70
10.3
9.9
25.0
4.8
1.7
4.4
21.1
2.7
3.5
5.0
10.8
100.0
9.3
10.6
25.3
4.9
1.6
4.6
21.3
4.1
3.2
4.8
10.3
100.0
-0.28
-0.11
8.14
-0.08
3.55
1.69
3.42
-1.19
3.74
1.83
3.21
3.35
2.55
4.87
5.42
2.38
6.28
8.62
4.13
9.35
2.34
3.15
3.09
4.40
Source: Instituto de Economia (1963, tables 7 and 8); ODEPLAN (1971b).
Note: 1950-59 data were processed at 1960 market prices; 1960-70 data at 1965 market prices.
86
Vittorio Corbo/Patricio Meller
3.1.2
Growth and Structure of Production
The effects of the ISS can be observed from changes in the relative
shares of the agricultural and manufacturing sectors since 1950 (see
table 3.1 ). Together these sectors maintained an almost constant share
of GDP from 1950 to 1970 (about 35 percent). However, the relative
share of manufacturing increased from 20 percent to about 25 percent
while that of agriculture fell continuously from 15 to about 9 percent.
Most of the increase in manufacturing’s relative share occurred in the
late 1950s. Since then it has remained relatively constant. The real rate
of growth of manufacturing output since World War I1 has been about
4 percent annually; that for agriculture has been about 2 percent.
Within the manufacturing sectors, those activities that, as of 1969-70,
had the largest share in manufacturing value added were food-processing, textiles, clathing and footwear, transportation equipment, chemicals,
and basic metals (see table 3.2). These six activities accounted for
about 55 percent of total value added. The growth rate for value added
in the entire manufacturing sector was 5.64 percent for the decade
1960-70.2 However, there was a wide range in growth rates for individual activities. Five manufacturing activities had growth rates higher
than 10 percent (paper and paper products, transportation equipment,
electrical machinery and appliances, metal products, and chemicals).
Five others had growth rates lower than 2 percent (clothing and footwear, printing and publishing, tobacco, leather and leather products,
and furniture and fixtures). Two of these latter five industries have had
negative growth rates.
The clothing and footwear industry was the largest employer in the
manufacturing sector in the 1960s, although its relative importance decreased over time. Other relatively important sources of manufacturing
employment were food processing, textiles, furniture and fixtures, metal
products, and transportation equipment. Together, these six industries
generated more than 63 percent of industrial employment.
The average annual growth rate of industrial employment was 3.14
percent during 1960-70. Six industries had employment growth rates
over 5 percent (beverages, rubber products, petroleum and coal products, basic metals, electrical machinery and appliances, and chemicals).
I n contrast, four industries had employment growth rates lower than 2
percent (clothing and footwear, furniture and fixtures, nonelectrical
machinery, and nonmetallic mineral products). The weight of the clothing and footwear industry in total employment, combined with its low
employment growth rate (0.26% ), has had a significant effect on the
overall low manufacturing employment absorption.
The low growth rate of manufacturing employment in Chile appears
to be due to the fact that industries that had high (value added) growth
Table 3.2
Sectoral Composition of Value Added and Employment in Manufacturing 1960-70
Average Annual
Growth Rate
Percentage Distribution (Annual Averages)
Chilean
Code Manufacturing Industry
Total
1960-62
1963-65
1966-68
1969-70
1960-70
EmploymentValue Employ- Value Employ- Value Employ- Value Employ- Value Employ- Value-Added
Added ment
Added ment
Added ment
Added ment
Added ment
Elasticitya
11.87 11.71
3.92 2.12
2.43 0.29
10.75 9.17
13.87 24.50
11.09 12.37
2.84
3.66
1.97 0.29
10.84 9.48
12.15 21.41
12.09 12.82
3.18
4.05
1.92 0.28
10.53 9.66
10.49 19.65
20
21
22
23
24
Food processing
Beverages
Tobacco
Textiles
Clothing and footwear
25
26
27
28
29
Wood and wood products
Furniture and fixtures
Paper and paper products
Printing and publishing
Leather and leather products
3.79
4.75
2.00
3.35
1.98
5.40
7.17
1.71
2.39
1.34
4.15
4.25
2.30
2.89
1.64
5.36
7.14
1.05
2.12
1.37
4.18
3.18
3.77
2.53
1.36
5.56
6.60
1.20
2.39
1.48
30
31
32
33
34
Rubber products
Chemicals
Petroleum and coal products
Nonmetallic mineral products
Basic metals
1.82
5.08
1.88
5.81
7.81
0.70
3.37
0.60
3.71
2.47
2.24
5.22
1.93
5.26
9.08
0.70
3.40
0.63
3.52
2.71
2.23
6.53
2.10
4.46
6.26
0.92
3.79
0.79
3.41
3.11
6.28
4.55
1.28
4.65
1.10
4.12
8.06
2.60
3.70
0.26
0.66
4.27
2.99
3.99
2.51
1.20
5.75
7.05
5.95 -0.53
1.27 15.86
1.79
2.57
1.36 -0.51
3.81
1.07
4.25
3.99
3.91
0.50
2.22
7.16
2.31
4.58
6.21
0.99
3.92
0.78
3.32
3.31
7.83
5.15
7.04
1.96
6.91
0.98
0.50
0.86
0.88
3.39
12.30 12.49
3.33 3.06
1.63 0.28
9.93 9.50
9.70 19.63
8.02
10.26
8.23
2.23
2.04
1.77
2.03
0.80
0.24
**
b
0.27
2.23
**
b
Table 3.2-continued
Average Annual
Growth Rate
Percentage Distribution (Annual Averages)
Chilean
Code Manufacturing Industry
Total
1960-70
Employment1960-62
1963-65
1966-68
1969-70
Value Employ- Value Employ- Value Employ- Value Employ- Value Employ- Value-Added
Added ment
Added ment
Added ment
Added ment
Added ment
Elasticitya
~~
35
36
37
38
39
Metal products
Machinery except electrical
Electrical machinery
and appliances
Transportation equipment
Other manufacturing
Total percentage
Total value added
(million 1965 escudos)
Total employment
(thousands of persons)
~
~~
4.32
2.48
6.42
3.67
5.30
2.81
7.18
3.84
6.02
2.98
6.67
3.48
6.05
2.97
7.26
3.24
10.31 4.22
8.22 1.53
0.41
0.19
3.54
5.63
2.93
2.84
7.81
3.16
3.93
6.28
3.01
3.41
7.96
3.22
4.83
7.57
2.94
3.76
8.47
2.79
5.27
8.53
2.84
3.62
8.51
3.18
11.13 6.56
11.14 4.50
5.38 2.27
0.59
0.40
0.42
100.00 100.00
3,540.33
100.00 100.00
4,357.67
100.00 100.00
5,186.67
100.00 100.00
5.64
5,507.50
0.56
434.23
483.03
Source io Table 3.2: CORFO (1972, pp. 10-11).
Note: Original data on value added were at 1965 market prices.
aPercentage increase in employment for each 1 percent increase in value added.
bNegative values ( * * ) have been omitted.
535.53
556.80
3.14
89
Alternative Trade Strategies and Employment Implications: Chile
rates had low employment-value-added elasticities. Basic metals, printing and publishing, tobacco, and beverages had high elasticities, but,
with the exception of beverages, value added in these industries grew by
2 percent or less annually. Conversely, industries with low employment
elasticities were nonelectrical machinery, paper and paper products, and
clothing and footwear, of which nonelectrical machinery and paper
products grew at annual rates over 10 percent.
3.1.3
Characteristics of Chile’s Foreign Sector
Despite its import substitution bias, trade is very important to Chile.
Both exports and imports increased from 10 percent of GDP in the
1950s to about 14 percent in the 1960s. The foreign trade sector plays
a crucial role as a source of tax revenues for the government (supplying
more than 25 percent of the total). Moreover, export earnings play a
crucial role in providing a continuous flow of imported raw materials,
certain basic consumption goods (sugar, coffee, meat, wheat, etc.), and
above all the bulk of the capital goods required for the smooth functioning and growth of the economy.
The Composition of Trade
A dominant feature of the Chilean trade is the high concentration of
export earnings in just one product, ~ o p p e r By
. ~ the end of the 1960s,
copper represented about 80 percent of exports and yielded about U.S.
$900 million in foreign exchange per year. Most of the increase in the
Table 3.3
Foreign Trade Indicators, 1950-70
Merchandise
Trade Surplus
Yearly
Average
Time
Exports/ Imports/ (Millions of
U.S. Dollars)
Periods GDP
GDP
Share of
Copper in
Commodity
Exportsa
Copper
Price (U.S. Terms of
Cents per Tradeb
Pound)
(1960 = 100)
1950-54
1955-59
1960-62
1963-65
1966-68
1969-70
50.4%
60.3
66.7
63.6
73.0
78.0
23.6
31.1
29.9
32.8
49.4
63.3
10.3%
9.9
13.5
13.7
13.6
13.7
8.9%
9.8
14.7
13.3
14.7
16.2
39.4
49.2
-79.9
- 2.1
116.3
157.9
92.8
99.5
100.4
104.4
133.4
153.3
Source: V. Corbo (1974, pp. 107-8); ODEPLAN (1971b).
Note: Underlying data for 1950-59 were expressed in 1960 prices, and those for
1960-70 in 1965 prices.
81950-59 includes only large-scale copper mining; 1960-70 includes total copper
mining exports. Manufactured copper goods are included in manufactured exports.
bExport price index divided by import price index.
90
Vittorio Corbo/Patricio Meller
export share from 10 to 14 percent of GDP was due to the increase in
copper’s share, in turn caused by abnormally high prices of copper in
the period 1965-70. The second important group of exports consists of
iron ore and nitrates. Their importance has declined over time from
close to a 30 percent share at the beginning of the 1950s to about 10
percent by the end of the 1960s (tabla 3.4).
Manufactured exports were not quantitatively of major importance
during 1950-70 either as a fraction of total Chilean exports (9.5 percent) or as a percentage of manufacturing output (less than 3 percent
in 1967). This suggests that the external market did not play a major
role in the Chilean industrialization of the 1950s and 1960s.
The relatively more important manufactured exports were processed
foods, paper and paper products, and basic metals. Together these three
industries provided more than 65 percent of manufactured exports (see
table 3.5). Within processed foods, meat products and fish products
(such as fish meal and frozen seafood) were the most important. Within
the paper industry, the most important export products were cellulose
and paper itself. Both of these export groups maintained a high level
throughout the period. On the other hand, exports of basic metals were
very unstable both in volume and in the type of goods exported. Iron
and steel products alternated with manufactured copper products as the
main goods exported by this industry.
Table 3.4
Composition and Growth of Commodity Exports,1950-70
Totalb
Time Period
Coppera
1950-54
1955-59
196&62
1963-65
1966-68
1969-70
Average annual
growth rate (based
on values in current US.Dollars)
1950-59
1960-70
50.35%
60.29
66.73
63.58
72.96
77.99
4.51
12.93
Rest of
Mining
28.60%
22.95
19.38
19.51
13.41
10.02
- 1.25
2.88
Agriculture and
Fishing
11.17%
7.98
5.48
4.28
2.64
2.55
-3.11
0.53
Manufacturing
9.55%
8.57
8.41
12.63
10.99
9.44
4.40
12.84
(Millions of
U.S. Dollars
at Current
Prices-Annual
Averages)
382.74b
439.18b
478.60
593.34
883.53
1,149.70
2.02
10.87
Source: Instituto de Economia (1963, p. 175); ODEPLAN (1971a, p. 421).
aSee table 3.3, note a.
bIncludes noncommercial exports which were 0.33 percent of total for years 1 9 5 s
54 and 0.21 percent for years 1955-59.
Alternative Trade Strategies and Employment Implications: Chile
91
The bias of the import substitution policies is clearly seen in the commodity composition of imports shown in table 3.6. Intermediate
products and investment goods had the highest shares, fluctuating around
50 percent and 30 percent during the 1960s; the share of consumer
goods imports was about 16 percent by the end of the 1960s. The
average annual growth rate for 1960-70, at current values measured in
United States dollars, was nonetheless substantial-6.73 percent. In
other words, even at the end of the 196Os, annual spending on consumer goods imports exceeded U.S. $150 million. About 45-50 percent
of these imports consisted of manufactured food and agricultural products, while motor vehicles accounted for 10-14 percent.
The Direction of Trade
During the 1960s, Chile succeeded in diversifying the destination of
its exports, although most (90 percent) exports still are destined for
developed nations. In the early 1960s, exports to the United States made
up 40 percent of total exports; by the end of the decade, the United
Table 3.5
Composition of Industrial Exports, 1960-70
Percentage Distribution
Chilean
Code Manufacturing Industry
1960-62
1963-65
1966-68
1969-70
25.69
1.03
25.83
1.32
31.53
0.97
26.97
1.42
0.34
0.18
0.03
0.00
5.86
3.59
3.81
7.42
Paper and paper products
Printing and publishing
Leather and leather products,
rubber products
Chemicals
17.84
0.26
10.03
0.77
21.97
1.70
26.59
1.89
2.41
7.41
1.59
3.68
1.14
3.64
1.51
5.72
Petroleum and coal products
Nonmetallic mineral products
Basic metals
Metal products and machinery,
except electrical
1.81
0.00
31.12
1.68
0.05
47.30
1.oo
0.14
26.82
0.85
0.99
12.56
2.59
1.59
2.26
2.74
0.86
0.17
2.59
100.00
0.9 1
0.23
1.32
100.00
1.70
1.94
1.32
100.00
1.32
8.03
1.98
100.00
38.67
73.43
96.20
105.85
Food processing
Beverages
20
21
clothing, and footwear
Ei1 Textiles,
Wood and wood products,
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
I
I
::1
37
38
39
furniture and fixtures
Electrical machinery
and appliances
Transportation equipment
Other manufacturing
Total
Total (annual average in
million US.dollars)
Source: C O W 0 (1972, pp. 14-15); ODEPLAN (1971a,.p. 160).
92
Vittorio Corbo/Patricio Meller
Table 3.6
Composition and Growth of Imports, 1950-70
Total
Time Period
1950-54
1955-59
1960-62
1963-65
1966-68
1969-70
Average annual
growth rate (based
on values in current US.Dollars)
1950-59
1960-70
Consumer
Goods
Investment
Goods
Intermediate
Products
(Millions of U.S.
Dollars at Current PricesAnnual Averages)
31.67%
29.73
15.14
13.11
13.16
16.11
25.38%
34.26
30.67
27.18
29.32
31.36
42.95%
36.01
54.19
59.71
57.52
52.53
342.46
417.24
535.30
588.20
760.93
955.75
3.61
6.73
9.62
7.50
0.93
6.52
4.26
6.83
~~
Source: 1950-59, Instituto de Economia (1963, p. 199); 1960-70, ODEPLAN
(1971a, p. 425).
States share fell to 15 percent. The United Kingdom, France, and West
Germany absorbed 33 percent of total exports in the early 1960s and 28
percent in the late 1960s. But the export share of other regions besides
Latin America (mainly Japan and other European countries) rose from
20 to 45 percent. Exports to Latin American countries ranged around
10 percent of total exports over the decade.
Similarly, most (75 percent) Chilean imports originate in developed
nations, although the origins have changed over time. The share of
United States imports in total imports fell from 50 to 35 percent between
1950 and 1970. Likewise, the share of imports from the United Kingdom, France, and West Germany fell from 25 to 20 percent in the same
period, while imports from countries outside Latin America rose from
1 to 20 percent. The share of Latin America imports fell from 23 to 17
percent in the 1950s, then increased over the 1960s to about 25 percent
of total imports.
Balance of Payments
Chile has had chronic balance of payments problems ever since World
War 11. Although its merchandise trade balance has frequently been in
surplus over this period (see table 3.3), its current account has continuously shown a deficit, largely because of repatriated profits on direct
investment (mainly in large-scale copper mining) . The current account
deficits have been financed by capital inflows, principally associated with
direct investment in large-scale mining (in the 1950s) and central gov-
93
Alternative Trade Strategies and Employment Implications: Chile
ernment borrowing (in the 1960s). As we will see (section 3.1.4), these
balance of payments problems contributed heavily to the development
of the Chilean import substitution strategy.
3.1.4
The Trade Regime
The chronological history of Chile’s trade regime can be divided
roughly into periods before and after 1955.4 Before 1955, policies were
highly restrictive and enacted as ad hoc reactions to balance of payments
problems. The policies after 1955 can best be described as “cycling,”
that is, switching back and forth from restrictive to more liberalized trade
regimes. Even in the more liberalized phases, however, import substitution remained the central policy focus.
The Pre-I955 Period
The effect of the Great Depression on the Chilean economy led to the
adoption of highly restrictive, ad hoc measures that reacted to balance
of payments problems within a context of fixed exchange rates and high
rates of inflation. Import and export procedures were often subject to
arbitrary, endless regulations. Furthermore, institutional changes, frequent policy alterations, and the numerous exceptions to established regulations provided very uncertain and unstable rules for importers and
exporters. In brief, the period before 1956 was characterized mainly by
( 1 ) quantitative restrictions (import and export quotas) applied with
varying degrees of intensity; ( 2 ) a large number of exceptions to the
general regime that affected an important proportion of total imports
(such exceptions being related to special regimes, bilateral trade and
compensation agreements, exemptions for government agencies, regional
accords, and so forth, and ( 3 ) the establishment of an exchange control
system with an overvalued domestic currency.
The Post-I955 Period
Policies after 1955 “cycled” back and forth from more to less restriction. There were three attempts to liberalize the trade regime:
1956-58, 1959-61, and 1965-70 (Behrman 1976, pp. 27-34). In all
three cases, liberalization was not a goal per se but was one of the components of an overall stabilization program. Internal concerns (mainly
related to inflation and income distribution) were paramount in causing
these changes, although the influences of foreign payment obligations,
speculation against the currency, capital flight, and donor and creditor
country pressures were also felt. As Behrman (1976, p, 300) states,
“Foreign-sector policy generally has been much more an appendage of
domestic policy, albeit an important appendage, rather than vice versa.”
In general, policies during 1956-70 gradually simplified and rationalized the trade regime and, toward the end of the period, decreased
94
Vittorio Corbo/Patririo Meller
some of the bias in favor of import substitution as opposed to exports.
Several measures were taken in this direction: (1 ) the bureaucratic and
administrative procedures of export and import regulations were gradually reduced; (2) steps were taken to unify and stabilize the exchange
rate in real terms and to keep the exchange rate close to its equilibrium
level (especially during the subperiod 1965-1970 when a sliding-peg
system was used); (3) import restrictions were reduced;5 (4) some
specific incentives for exports were introduced (e.g., a system of drawbacks up to 30 percent of the value of exports); and (5) improvements
were made in the system of forecasting foreign exchange reserves and the
balance of payments, thereby allowing more effective planning of external economic policies.
Owing to the important role of copper in export earnings, however,
developments in the world copper market frequently played the crucial
role in shaping the outcome of foreign trade policies. Furthermore, there
is some suggestion that changes in the trade regime in this period were
in response to fluctuations in real copper export revenues.
The Exchange Rate
During 1960-70, the Chilean escudo was always overvalued. Although the nominal exchange rate (escudos per unit of foreign currency)
was frequently increased, internal inflation quickly resulted in overvaluation of the currency. Even with the sliding-peg policy of 1965-70,
which provided a stable real exchange rate, the cost of foreign exchange
was below the long-run equilibrium level (Behrman 1976, pp. 60, 12930). Moreover, the wide dispersion in tariffs, quotas, and so on, disTable 3.7
PPP-PLD-EERs for Imports and Exports,
1952-70 (1969 Escudos per U.S. Dollar)
Exports
Time Periods
Imports
Copper Exportsa
1952-54
1955-59
1960-62
1963-65
1966-68
1969-70
9.12
10.60
3.39
7.58
8.37
8.42
8.63
8.95
10.29
10.57
10.59
10.84d
Other Exports
- b
8.91c
8.72
9.86
9.82
10.65
Source: Ffrench-Davis (1973, pp. 266, 269).
Note: See chapter 1 for definition of terms. These rates do
not include import premiums. See also note 7.
aOnly large-scale copper mining.
bNot available.
CExcluding 1955.
dData not available for 1970.
95
Alternative Trade Strategies and Employment Implications: Chile
Table 3.8
PLD-EERs for Major Production Sectors,
1950-70 (1965 Escudos per U.S. Dollar)
Manu-
Time Periods
Agriculture
and Forestry
Mining
facturing
1950-54
1955-59
1960-62
1963-65
1966-68
1969-70
5.11
5.14
4.70
4.46
4.01
3.91
4.17
3.99
3.56
3.35
2.95
2.20
7.92
8.19
6.96
6.45
5.70
5.14
Source: Behrman (1976, pp. 340-47).
Note: Data relate to imports. These rates are simple averages of exchange rates at a more disaggregate level (Behrman 1976, p. 347). See also note 7.
criminated against exports and shifted the domestic terms of trade in
favor of the manufacturing sector. The effective exchange rates shown
in tables 3.7 and 3.8 provide empirical support for these propositions.
Table 3.7 presents the effective exchange rates (EER) for imports
and exports during 1952-70. Import EERs, which do not include
premiums on import licenses, were higher than those for exports, although the difference decreased through time. Among exports there was
discrimination in favor of noncopper exports that had an EER about
17 percent higher than the EER for large-scale copper mining. This
rate applied only to the copper revenues used to buy domestic inputs
and was mainly used as a tax for revenue purposes rather than to exploit
any monopoly power in world copper marketss The gap between the
EER for imports and that for exports other than copper almost closed
by the end of the 1960s, when the Chilean government became a partner
in the copper corporations.
The EERs of table 3.8 show discrimination not only between exports
and imports, but also between major Chilean production sectors. There
was discrimination against mining and agriculture and discrimination in
favor of manufacturing over the entire period.? Furthermore, mining
was treated less favorably than agriculture, with EERs at least 20 percent lower than those of agriculture. These differences were undoubtedly
further aggravated by quantitative restrictions.
Eflective Rates of Protection
Effective rates of protection (ERP) and domestic resource cost
(DRC) estimates given in Behrman (1976, pp. 137-40) are summarized in table 3.9. Our estimates by trade category (discussed below,
section 3.2) are found in table 3.10.* Note first that ERPs were high
and varied widely not only from industry to industry but also over time.
96
Vittorio Corbo/Patricio Meller
Table 3.9
Nominal Protection Rates, Effective Protection Rates, and
Domestic Resource Costs in Chile, Twenty-eight Sectors,
1961, 1967, and 1968 (Percent)
Protection Rates
Nominal
(NPRs)
TradableGoodsSectors
1 Agriculture and forestry
2 Fishing
3 Coal mining
4 Iron mining
5 Copper mining
43
21
37
2
0
1
19
0
0
1
66
46
82
122
32
7
11 Tobacco
12 Textiles
13 Footwear and clothing
14 Wood and cork
15 Furniture
106
182
255
35
129
0
99
23 29
0 24
0 30
21 Petroleum
and coal products
22 Nonmetallic
mineral products
23 Basic metals
24 Metal products
25 Nonelectrical machinery
55
72
161
102
94
0
44
27
25 15
125
38 24
55
139
66
59
84
27
25
80
56
83
58
255
6
27
0
50
26 Electrical machinery
105
27 Transportation equipment 84
28 Other manufacturing
125
Equally weighted
arithmetic mean
Standard deviation
Range
Domestic
Resource
Costs (DRCs)
1961 1967 1968a 1961 1967 1968a 1961 19688
(1) (2) (3)
(1)
(2)
(3)
(1)
(2)
6 Nitrate mining
7 Stone, clay, and sands
8 Other mining
9 Food products
10 Beverages
16 Paper and paper products
17 Printing and publishing
I8 Leather and
leather products
19 Rubber products
20 Chemical products
Effective
Protection Rates
(EPRs)
50
25
31
- 7
- 14
-
7
250 111
- 12
- 10
180
60
- 6
-11
64
40
- 6
2,884 365
3
609 -23
141 -13
672 492
16
386
21 - 4
209 - 5
714
109
89
5
22
18
1,916 52
210 161
241 73
14
683 164
297
18 -20
304
64
14
12
1
35
92
76
162 26
150 21
18
111
101
164
18
11
30
82
97
47
2,109
77
356
55
75
47
45 1,140
28
253
259
b
41
95
82 -15
227
198
43
85
48
51
162
15
b
9
b
380
217
150 59
449
271
10
1
4
131 50
118 56
175 41
254 168
552 282
2,898 1,127
3
13
42
419 106
598 86
2,109 339
21
-
Source: Behrman (1976, pp. 138-39).
aFor subsectoral exports only.
bValue was negative, indicating that the total foreign exchange cost per unit exceeds the foreign exchange final product price.
97
Alternative Trade Strategies and Employment Implications: Chile
Table 3.10
Average Nominal and Effective Rates of Protection by Trade
Category, HOS Manufactures, 1967
Trade Category
ERP for
Domestic
Sales
Range
Exportables
Importables
Noncompeting imports
Total
37%
267
155
233
-25%
-15
-38
-38
ERP for
Export
Sales
Range
to 100%
to 1,830
to 741
to 1,830
0%
2
6
4
-23%
-23
- 9
-23
to 14%
to 21
to22
to 22
Source: Based upon estimates in Corbo and Meller (1978a, appendix table IVA).
Note: Averages are unweighted averages of estimates for activities within a category; for a discussion of trade categories, see section 3.2.
Of the twenty manufacturing industries studied by Behrman (sectors
9 to 28 in table 3.9), half had ERPs greater than 100 percent in 1961.
By 1967 the number of industries with such high E R P values had decreased to six. Manufacturing industries with consistently high ERPs
were food processing, textiles, rubber products, electrical machinery, and
transportation equipment. The relaxation of import restrictions during
the 1960s is reflected in the decrease in the average ERPs from 254 percent to 168 percent in table 3.9.
The bias against exports is clearly seen in table 3.10. There was no
effective protection on exports (for export sales) , whereas importables
received very high levels of protection (267 percent on domestic sales).
In fact, exportable production for domestic sales had lower ERPs than
importables, while export sales of importable production had positive
ERPs.
The DRC estimates (table 3.9) coincide with the ERPs. They are
systematically lower in 1968 than in 1961. This decrease probably indicates an improvement in the production efficiency of the Chilean manufacturing industries over time. Thus the years for which our estimates of
the employment-trade relationship are made, 1966-68, were probably
ones of greater efficiency and smaller variance in incentives than had
prevailed earlier.
3.1.5
The Chilean Labor Market
Among the countries in the project, Chile’s labor force bears the greatest resemblance to that of developed countries. Chile is a highly urbanized country. Even by 1960, 69 percent of the population (then 7.5 million) was urbanized. Population growth during the decade 1960-70 was
just over 2 percent annually so that, despite continued urbanization,
urban population grew at the fairly moderate rate of 3.7 percent annually. By 1970, 83 percent of the population was urban. That such a
high fraction of the population is already urban suggests that out-migration from rural areas cannot continue at past rates; so, in that sense,
98
Vittorio Corbo/Patricio Meller
Chile’s need to create new jobs is less pressing than the need of developing countries where the fraction of the population under labor force \age
is high, where the rate of population growth is more rapid, and where
the fraction in rural areas is so great that important future out-migration
to the cities can be expected.
During the 1960s, manufacturing output grew at an average rate of
about 5 percent. Manufacturing employment in Chile, however, was
virtually constant, as can be seen from table 3.11; it was at about the
same level in 1970 as in 1963, and currently it is below that level.
Chile’s employment problem, therefore, is the failure of employment opportunities to grow. This has been reflected first in a substantial expansion in employment in the public sector, which has been an employer of
last resort, and second in reported rates of open urban unemployment
over 5 percent throughout most of the 1960s and even higher rates at
Table 3.11
Year
Chilean Labor Market Data
Population
(Thousands)
(1)
Labor
Force
(Thousands)
(2)
Manufacturing
Employment
(1970 = 100)
Unemployment
Rate
(3)
Real Wage
Rate
( 1 9 7 0 ~100)
(4)
4.9%
-
7.1
8.0
7.9
7.0
55.7
59.2
62.0
56.9
59.2
106
104
104
104
98
6.4
6.1
4.7
4.9
5.0
64.1
75.6
81.7
86.9
92.5
2,950
3,021
3,094
3,168
3,244
100
97
108
111
107
6.1
3.8
3.1
4.8
9.2
100.0
119.3
108.2
71.3
67.6
3,321
3,405
3,490
3,578
100
91
94
93
14.5
13.7
12.7
10.9
65.7
70.3
88.3
99.4
1952
6,162
2,154
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
7,583
7,773
7,961
8.147
8,330
2,427
2,475
2,523
2,572
2,622
96
97
98
100
103
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
8,510
8,686
8,859
9,030
9,199
2,673
2,725
2,778
2,833
2,888
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
9,369
9,539
9,711
9,887
10,068
1975
1976
1977
1978
10,253
10,443
10,639
10,840
928
7.5
Sources: Columns 1 to 3-from Ministerio de Hacienda, Exposici6n sobre el estado
de la hacienda pcblica, January 1979; Column 4-from Departamento de Economia, Universidad de Chile, Comentarios sobre la situaci6n Econ6mica, second
semester, 1978.
EBased on manufacturing employment in Santiago, Valparaiso, and Vine del Mar.
99
Alternative Trade Strategies and Employment Implications: Chile
present. Only during the Allende years did the unemployment rate fall,
and that decline was accompanied by a growth of manufacturing employment not associated with output increases.
There is ample reason on a priori grounds to believe that much of the
failure of manufacturing and urban employment to grow in Chile may
have been attributable to policies surrounding the determination of urban
wages. As can be seen from table 3.1 1, urban wage rates in real terms
almost doubled between 1960 and 1970, and that increase undoubtedly
affected both the commodity composition of trade and the factor proportions with which outputs were produced. These subjects are discussed in more detail in section 3.4.
3.1.6
Inflation
Another chronic problem for Chile has been its very high rate of inflation. During 1950-70, the average annual increase in the GDP price
deflator was in the neighborhood of 35 percent. The various relaxations
of the trade regime after 1955 invariably were reactions to high rates of
inflation in the preceding years (see Behrman 1976, chap. 1, for discussion), and usually the annual rate of inflation improved during the
periods of relaxed restrictions. For example, during 1956-6 1 the annual
rate of increase in the GDP deflator fell from about 50 to 10 percent. As
restrictions were tightened in 1962, inflation rose to about 40 percent
per year, and with the loosening of restrictions in the late 1960s, inflation fell back to about 20 percent annually. Thus, lower rates of inflation appear to be related to more liberal trade policies. However, inflation outpaced the rather substantial devaluations throughout the period,
and the currency was continually overvalued (as mentioned earlier),
thus decreasing incentives to export and increasing the need for restrictions on imports.
3.1.7 Summary
In the postwar era, Chile has consistently applied policies to encourage (with varying degrees of emphasis) the domestic production of manufactured goods previously imported. These policies have included,
among other things, an overvalued currency, quantitative restrictions,
and tariffs. Although they have been moderately successful in increasing
domestic production of manufactures, they have not absorbed a significant amount of labor.
3.2 Trade Orientation, Factor Requirements, and Factor
Proportions in Chilean Manufacturing
In this section we estimate the factor requirements (labor, capital,
and skill) embodied in the production of Chilean HOS manufacturing
100
Vittorio Corbo/Patricio Meller
activities. For this purpose we first classify manufacturing industries at
the four-digit International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC)
level as being Heckscher-Ohlin-Samuelson (HOS) or natural resource
based (NREi) ,g then we separate the HOS manufacturing industries into
trade categories-that is, exportable, importable, or noncompeting import industries. Factor requirements and factor proportions are estimated
for the first two types of industries.lo
3.2.1
Classification of Industries by Trade Categories
The Ti statistic is used to separate activities into their respective trade
categories (see chap. 1 for discussion). Exportable industries are those
with a negative Ti; importable industries are those with a Tifalling between 0 and 0.75, and noncompeting imports have a Ti of more than
0.75.11 To eliminate the effects of trade fluctuations, we used a threeyear average for exports and imports over 1966-68 in our calculations.
With this procedure, seven four-digit industries were classified as exporting, sixty-six as import competing, and nine as noncompeting. That
there are so few exporting HOS manufacturing industries is a reflection
of the bias of the trade regime in favor of import-competing industries
that prevailed in Chile for most of the 1950s and 1960s. The seven
exporting industries are listed in table 3.12, which also gives a breakdown of exports by destination (DC and LDC) and estimates of factor
intensities. Note the predominant role of canned fish in exports to DCs
and pulp and paper in exports to LDCs. For both products, Chile had
the opportunity to export the unprocessed counterpart (raw wood in
the case of pulp and paper products, and fresh and simply preserved fish
in the case of fish products), and thus we have initially classified both
industries as HOS.12 However, two factor-requirements estimates for
exports are given below. One includes, and the other excludes, pulp
and paper. The separate estimates are made because pulp and paper
may be considered a borderline HOS good and because it receives special preferences in LAFTA. As we will see, the results are sensitive to
whether it is included. The principal importable industries are listed in
table 3.13. A full listing of industries in all categories is found in the
Appendix (table 3 .A. 1 ) , where their classification is indicated in each
case by their Tistatistic.
Using three-year averages centered on 1967, 46 percent of Chile’s
total exports of manufactures, excluding copper products, went to DCs,
and 54 percent went to LDCs. Within the LDCs, 99 percent went to
Latin American Free Trade Association (LAFTA) members, and of this
total 45 percent went to Argentina and 16 percent to Mexico.13 However, for the HOS exportables in table 3.9, only 16 percent went to
DCs (44 percent if pulp and paper are excluded).
Table 3.12
Characteristics of Chile’s HOS Export Industries
Expor tsa
(Thousands of U S. Dollars)
ISIC
Number Industry
3 113
31 14
3132
3133
331 1
341 1
3901
Canning and preserving of fruit and vegetables
Canning, preserving, and processing of fish,
crustaceans, and similar foods
Wine industries
Malt liquors and malt
Sawmills, planing, and other wood mills
Manufacture of pulp, paper, and paperboard
Manufacture of jewelry and related articles
Total
DVA per
Unit of
output
Factor Intensities
Developed Developing
Countries Countries Total
Laborb
Capitale
Skilld
.499
330
989
1,319
46.9
935.7
93.0
.582
.301
.623
,411
SO7
.543
1,868
518
413
848
67
4,044
31
416
1,363
1,334
16,945
21,078
1,899
934
1,363
1,747
17,793
67
25,122
69.5
55.1
21.5
121.2
22.4
112.7
1,575.9
2,218.7
487.4
934.9
1,846.1
208.5
93.6
143.9
87.1
223.1
147.4
480.9
Source: Corbo and Meller (1978a, appendix tables I11 A, I11 B, and I11 C ) .
BAverage for 1966-68. For the value in escudos of these flows, see Corbo and Meller (1978a).
bNumber of persons employed per million escudos of direct DVA.
Thousand escudos of fixed assets per million escudos of direct DVA.
dNumber of skill units per million escudos of direct DVA.
Table 3.13
Characteristics of Chile’s Main Import-Competing Industries
Importsa
(Thousands of U.S. Dollars)
ISIC
Number Industry
3513 Synthetic resins, plastic materials, and manmade fibers
3514 Basic industrial organic chemicals, except fertilizer
3710 Iron and steel basic industries
381 1 Cutlery, hand tools, and general hardware
3813 Structural metal products
3824 Special industrial machinery and equipment
3829 Machinery and equipment except electrical n.e.c.
383 1 Electrical industrial machinery and apparatus
3843 Motor vehicles
3845 Repairs of aircrafts and aircraft parts
Total
DVA per
Unit of
output
.562
.427
.465
.679
.488
.545
.615
.597
.587
.851
Developed Developing
Countries Countries Total
12,632
14,863
25,357
22,074
28,718
33,506
331208
23,307
28,715
14,753
237,113
1,608
2,645
1,780
2,838
766
654
2,846
420
1,757
0
15,314
Source: Corbo and Meller (1978a, appendix tables I11 A, 111 B, and I11 C).
aAverage for 1966-68. For the value in escudos of these flows, see Corbo and Meller ( 1 9 7 8 ~ ) .
bNumber of persons employed per million escudos of direct DVA.
Thousand escudos of fixed assets per million escudos of direct DVA.
dNumber of skill units per million escudos of direct DVA.
14,264
17,642
27,166
24,285
29,672
34,356
36,271
23,772
30,559
14,753
252,427
Factor Intensities
Laborb
Capitale
Skilld
28.7
38.7
34.4
67.7
71.5
66.1
42.5
54.0
20.3
83.0
1,173.4
3,204.6
1,914.4
542.4
773.2
626.8
642.4
379.7
237.0
127.4
103.6
245.2
243.8
198.0
235.1
202.2
160.3
190.3
90.1
348.7
103
Alternative Trade Strategies and Employment Implications: Chile
Of Chile’s imports of manufactures, 86 percent of the total (both in
the importable group and in other manufactures) came from DCs and
14 percent came from LDCs. For imports from developing countries, 85
percent came from LAFTA countries, of which 58 percent came from
Argentina and 11 percent from Mexico.
3.2.2 Procedures
In the estimates of factor requirements below, labor is measured by
the number of persons employed. Capital is measured by the book value
of fixed assets at 1967 prices less accumulated depreciation. Skill is
approximated by dividing the wage bill by the unskilled wage in manufacturing to estimate the “blue collar” equivalent of the labor employed,
then subtracting the number of persons actually employed (Corbo and
Meller 1978a, appendix 11, table XV) .I4
We encounter two problems related to weights in computing factor
requirements for a basket of tradables. The first centers on the proper
basket to use as weights. There are three alternatives: trade flows, domestic production, or total supply (production plus imports). The use
of a trade-flow basket assumes that an import substitution (export promotion) strategy is implemented by increasing importable (exportable)
production in proportion to actual imports (exports). The domestic production basket assumes that an import substitution (export promotion)
strategy increases importable (exportable) production in proportion to
current production. Finally, the use of a total supply basket for importables assumes that an import substitution policy increases domestic importable production in proportion to current consumption patterns.
The second problem is the choice of either value added or production
weights. Leontief used value-of-production weights in his pioneering
work on factors proportions of trade (Leontief 1953). But, since we
focus upon HOS activities only, value-added weights are more appropriate for our purposes. Only value added in a given HOS manufacturing
industry should be considered output of that industry, since the raw
materials entering into the production are the output of other activities,
principally NRB activities such agriculture and mining. Therefore using
value-of-production weights may introduce an important NRB content
into our HOS manufacturing activities. Value-added weights avoid this
problem.
We initially tried all three baskets for weighting factor requirements.
The results for importable production differed only marginally among
the three baskets. In contrast, the results for exportables did differ according to the weights used. Calculations using domestic production
weights generated labor requirements substantially higher and capital
and skill requirements substantially lower than for the other two baskets.
We thus opt for the trade weights, since neither domestic production nor
104
Vittorio Corbo/Patricio Meller
total supply weights can be used to study the implications of trade upon
factor requirements.
I n computing direct factor requirements in trade, as given in table
3.13, we use as weights the shares of each industry in the direct valueadded content of the basket of each tradable category considered. In
computing direct plus indirect requirements, as in table 3.14, the weights
are given by the shares of each industry in the direct plus home goods
indirect value-added content of each category. Correspondingly, factor
requirements cover only direct requirements in the first instance, whereas
in the second they also include requirements in the home goods producing sectors that provide inputs directly and indirectly into the different
tradable sectors.15
The results for labor requirements of importable products are very
similar for DC and LDC weights. This is a consequence of the small
variance in the sectoral labor to DVA coefficients and the large number
of import-competing sectors considered.
3.2.3
Factor Requirements by Commodity Category
The factor requirements estimates given in tables 3.14 and 3.15 generally conform to expectations of a multicountry, multicommodity model
(Jones 1977; Krueger 1977). Specifically, a basket of exportables to
DCs uses more labor (per unit of DVA) than any other tradable category. However, there is some ambiguity caused by pulp and paper. As
we will see below, the ranking of labor intensities is sensitive to whether
it is included.
A major difference to be noted at the outset when comparing the results of table 3.14 with those of table 3.15 is the increase in labor requirements per unit of value added in all tradable categories when the
computations include home goods indirect effects. This increase reflects
the relatively high ratio of labor to value added in commercial services,
which are an important supplier of inputs into the manufacturing sector.
By contrast, capital requirements are moderately increased, and skill
requirements are reduced, when measured on the broader basis.
A quick inspection of tables 3.14 and 3.15 suffices to show that the
most striking result is the very high capital/labor ratio (col. 5 ) of Chile’s
HOS exports to other LDCs, much higher than for any other tradable
category. It is more than twice as high as that for exports to DCs on a
direct basis and still almost twice as high on a direct-plus-indirect basis.
The difference stems from the much smaller labor inputs into HOS
exports to LDCs rather than from differences in capital requirements.
Like the capital/labor ratio, the skill/labor ratio is much higher in exports to LDCs than in exports to DCs, reflecting in this case both the
lower labor content and the higher skill content of this trade flow. We
also see that the results are heavily influenced by pulp and paper. In-
Table 3.14
Direct Factor Requirements and Factor Proportions in Exportables and Import Competing Products by Destination and
Origin of Trade Flows, 1966-68
Tradable
Category"
Weight$
( 1)
LaboF
(2)
Exportables
Exports
a. World
b. DCs
c. LDCs
34.09
61.00
28.92
Imports
d. World
e. DCs
f. LDCs
42.59
42.59
42.45
Import
competing
products
Ratio of
Exports and imports
g. World (a t d) 0.800
requirements
h. DCs (b t e) 1.432
i. LDCs (c t f) 0.681
Capitald
(3 1
(63.80)
(71.40)
(57.69)
1,642.6
1,555.6
1,659.3
(1,125.1)
(1,477.3)
(836.8)
851.5
793.2
1,151.2
(1.499)
(1.676)
(1.359)
1.929
1.961
1.441
Capital/Labor
Ratio
(5) = (3) + (2)
Skille
(4)
141.1
125.6
144.1
(125.0)
(119.8)
(129.4)
167.6
169.4
157.3
(1.321)
(1.862)
(.727)
0.842
0.741
0.916
48.18
25.50
57.37
(17.62)
(20.69)
(14.50)
19.99
18.62
27.12
(.746)
(.707)
(323)
Note: Values in parentheses exclude pulp and paper from the HOS exportables and treat it as NRB.
aSee tables 3.12 and 3.13 and appendix table 3.A.1 for composition of trade flows by major industries.
bWeights used are the value-added content of the trade flows specified.
CNumber of persons employed per million escudos of direct DVA.
dThousand escudos of fixed assets per million escudos of direct DVA.
eNumber of skill units per million escudos of direct DVA.
2.410
1.369
2.115
SkiWLabor
Ratio
(6) = (4) + (2)
4.14
2.06
4.98
(1.96)
(1.68)
(2.24)
3.93
3.98
3.71
(.881)
(1.111)
(.555)
1.053 (.498)
0.518 (.422)
1.342 (.604)
Table 3.15
Direct Plus Home Goods Indirect Factor Requirements and Factor Proportions in Exportables and Import Competing
Products by Destination and Origin of Trade Flows, 196-8
Tradable
Categorya
Weights&
( 1)
Laborb
(2)
Exportables
Exports
a. World
b. DCs
C. LDCs
58.46
98.64
49.56
Imports
d. World
e. DCs
f. LDCs
60.10
59.97
60.74
Import
competing
products
Ratio of
Exports and imports
requirements
g. World (a i d) 0.973
h. DCs ( b i e) 1.645
i. LDCs(c i f ) 0.816
Capitale
(3)
(95.73)
(111.03)
(84.61)
1,733.7
1,829.7
1,712.1
(1,438.5)
(1,815.7)
(1,164.2)
1.763
2,010
1.279
122.4
84.1
130.9
(83.8)
(71.9)
(92.4)
145.6
147.7
134.3
983.4
910.2
1,338.5
(1.591)
(1.851)
(1.393)
CapitaWLabor
Ratio
( 5 ) = (3) + (2)
Skill*
(4)
(1.463)
(1.995)
(0.870)
0.841
0.569
0.975
29.65
18.55
34.55
(15.03)
(16.35)
(13.76)
16.36
15.18
22.04
(0.576)
(0.487)
(0.688)
Note: Values in parentheses exclude pulp and paper from the HOS exportables and treat it as NRB.
aSee table 3.11 for composition of trade flows and for weights used in computing factor coefficients.
bNumber of persons employed per million escudos of direct plus home goods indirect DVA.
CFixed assets per million escudos of direct plus home goods indirect DVA.
dNumber of skill units per million escudos of direct plus home goods indirect DVA.
1.812 (0.919)
1.222 (1.077)
1.568 (0.624)
Skill/Labor
Ratio
(6) = (4) i (2)
2.10
0.85
2.65
(.88)
(.65)
(1.09)
2.42
2.46
2.21
0.868 (0.364)
0.345 (0.264)
1.199 (0.493)
107
Alternative Trade Strategies and Employment Implications: Chile
deed, when pulp and paper is excluded, the capital/labor ratio of
Chile’s HOS exports to other LDCs is the lowest among all tradable
categories. However, the skill/labor pattern does not change when pulp
is excluded.
It is also noteworthy that, when pulp and paper is included, the next
highest capital/labor ratio is again found in Chile’s trade with other
LDCs, this time in its imports or, more specifically, its production of
HOS goods competing with imports from LDCs. For such goods the
capital/labor ratio is almost 5 0 percent greater than that for HOS
products competing with imports from DCs. In this comparison, unlike
that for exports, the difference in the ratios stems entirely from the
capital side. The difference in labor inputs per unit of value added is
negligible. Moreover, in contrast to exports, skill requirements are lower
and therefore the skill/labor ratio is lower in goods competing with imports from LDCs than in those competing with imports from DCs. It is
interesting that, at least in the aggregated factor requirements of tables
3.14 and 3.15, skill requirements do not seem to be closely related to
capital inputs.
Observe next that Chile’s total exports of HOS goods (strongly influenced by the LDC component) embody far more capital and slightly
€ess labor and skill than do total imports, the latter bekg much more
heavily weighted by trade with developed countries. These results seem
anomalous for a less developed country like Chile. However, they are
somewhat more expected if we consider only its DC trade. In DC trade,
exports are far more labor-intensive than import-competing products, as
one would anticipate, although they also use much more capital per unit
of value added.16 These results again are sensitive to the inclusion of
pulp and paper. When this commodity category is excluded, Chile’s
total exports embody far more labor and capital and less skill than its
imports-this result is entirely due to the change in factor requirements
in Chile’s trade with LDCs. Chile’s exports to LDCs now embody more
labor and less capital and skill than its imports from LDCs.
Sections 3.3 and 3.4 will consider some of the influences determining
factor coefficients in Chile’s trade. More immediately, however, some
light is thrown on the question by examining the commodity composition of its trade. As we already noted with regard to table 3.12, exports
to LDCs and to the world as a whole are dominated by the value-added
content of the pulp and paper group, requiring heavy capital inputs and
little labor per unit of value added. On the import-competing side, the
results for LDCs, as table 3.13 indicates, are strongly affected by the
value-added content of the first three product groups-synthetic resins
and fibers, industrial chemicals, and iron and steel-all of which also
have high capital requirements and low labor requirements. It is likely
that the composition and factor requirements of Chile’s manufacturing
108
Vittorio Corbo/Patricio Meller
production and trade are strongly influenced by special trading arrangements within LAFTA, given the predominance of LAFTA trade in total
LDC trade.
3.2.4
Net Factor Content of Trade
Using the average composition of a basket of tradables, we estimated
factor requirements of a marginal change of one million escudos of
international value added (IVA) in import-competing goods and in exportables.17 In measuring the IVA content of exportables and importcompeting goods, we converted DVA values to IVA ones using effective
rates of protection for each four-digit ISIC industry. There are several
problems in this approach. We may find, for example, that within a fourdigit industry there are firms who export and firms who produce primarily for the domestic market. In a trade regime such as Chile’s in the
1960s, with tariffs and quotas on imports and without fully compensating subsidies to exports, the ERP for the importable firm would be
higher than that for the exportable firm. An industrywide value conceals
this variation. Second, there is no careful and complete study of ERPs
in the mid-sixties. The E R P estimates given earlier (section 3.1) are
taken from a variety of sources. For importable production, the only
study available for this period is De la Cuadra (1974), which covers
only ninety-two commodities, of which eighty-three are of industrial
origin. We use a procedure similar to Behrman’s (1976) to allocate these
commodities to a given four-digit ISIC sector.l*
For exportable production, we use the rates given by Taylor and
Bacha (1973), which pertain to the entire export production of a
given three-digit ISIC manufacturing activity.
Bearing these data problems in mind, we present the factor requirements of exportables by destination and of import-competing goods by
origin, distinguishing between developed and developing countries in
table 3.16. The most important result that emerges is that the local
production of HOS goods competing with imports from LDCs uses
more of each factor than the production of goods destined to exports
of LDCs. What this result shows is that Chile saves on all factors by
trading with LDCs. In effect, local production of HOS goods competing
with imports from LDCs would use more of each of the three factors
per unit of IVA than any of the other baskets. (This result should be
interpreted cautiously because of the weakness of the E R P rates used.)
Second, note that Chile’s total exports are more capital-intensive and
less labor- and skill-intensive than its total imports. In bilateral comparisons we now find that exports to DCs are more capital-intensive and
less labor- and skill-intensive than importable production competing
with imports from DCs. Another robust result is that, within exportables,
Table 3.16
Tradable
Category"
Direct and Direct Plus Home Goods Indirect Factor Requirements in Exportables and Import Competing Products by
Destination and Origin of Trade Flows: Tradables at International Prices, 1966-68
Direct
Laborb
Capitale
Skilld
Labore
Capital'
Skillg
Exports
a. World
b. DCs
c. LDCs
36.95
63.41
31.61
1,780.4
1,617.2
1,813.4
152.9
130.6
157.5
52.75
78.58
46.06
1,564.2
1,457.6
1,591.5
110.4
67.0
121.7
Import
competing
products
Imports
d. World
e. DCs
f. LDCs
78.74
75.21
104.34
1,574.1
1,400.6
2,829.7
309.8
299.1
386.6
94.34
90.77
116.70
1,543.4
1,377.8
2,571.5
228.5
223.6
258.1
Ratio of
requirements
Exports and imports
g. World (a + d)
h. DCs ( b -F e)
i. LDCs (c +- f )
Exportables
Weights"
Direct plus Home Goods Indirect
0.469
0.843
0.303
1.131
1.155
0.637
0.494
0.437
0.407
0.559
0.866
0.395
1.013
1.058
0.619
0.483
0.299
0.472
aSee tables 3.12 and 3.13 for composition of trade flows. Weights used are the international value-added content of the trade flows specified.
bNumber of persons employed per million escudos of direct IVA.
CFixed assets per million escudos of direct IVA.
dNumber of skill units per million escudos of direct IVA.
eNumber of persons employed per million escudos of direct plus home goods indirect IVA.
fFixed assets per million escudos of direct plus home goods indirect IVA.
gSkill units per million escudos of direct plus home goods indirect IVA.
110
Vittono Corbo/Patricio Meller
the basket with DC weights is more labor-intensive and less skillintensive than the one with LDC weights.
In terms of employment, we find that one million escudos of direct
plus home goods indirect IVA in exports to DCs generates 78.58 jobs.
Using an exchange rate of 5.132 escudos per dollar, the latter figure
implies 40,327 jobs per 100 million dollars of IVA. This figure represents 10 percent of the manufacturing employment and about 1 percent
of the total labor force in 1967.
3.3 Distortions in Commodity Markets: Protection and Factor Inputs
In this section we analyze the effects of distortions in commodity markets upon factor requirements and the factor proportions of exportables
and importables. Our approach to this problem is twofold. First, we
group industries in each of the two tradable categories according to
their level of protection, then compare factor requirements for industries above and below the median protection rate. Second, we undertake
an econometric analysis of the effect of the protection system on factor
requirements and proportions. This analysis also provides a test of the
implications of the Heckscher-Ohlin-Samuelson (HOS) theory for the
pattern of trade.
We use the structure of effective protection as a measure of incentives accorded by the trade regime to different industrial activities. However, in the context of a general equilibrium model one can only show
that the sector with the highest protection will attract resources. For the
other sectors, nothing can be said a priori (see especially Bruno 1973).
Nonetheless, empirical general equilibrium models built for some LDCs
have shown that there is a high correlation between the partial equilibrium measure of ERP and the ex-post ERP derived from these models
(Taylor and Black 1974; De Melo 1978). Thus the structure of effective
protection can be used to capture the effects of Chile’s trade regime.
Protection will generally affect factor requirements through two channels. First, it generates an overall import substitution or export promotion bias to the trade regime. Second, it may provide different incentives
to individual activities within a commodity category. It thus may
change the output mix of a given category, which in turn will change
the overall factor requirements of that category. Both effects occurred
during the period analyzed. The Chilean trade regime discriminated
strongly in favor of import-competing activities. Furthermore, the wide
range in ERPs within a category indicates that the regime affected the
output mix of the category.
Alternative Trade Strategies and Employment Implications: Chile
111
3.3.1
Factor Proportions in Above and Below Average
Protected Industries
In table 3.17 we present our calculations of factor requirements for
more and less protected exportable and importable activities. Less
(more) protected importables are those with ERPs below (above) the
median ERP of 76 percent. Less (more) protected exportables have
ERPs below (above) the median of 3 percent.
The most important conclusion emanating from this table is that labor
requirements in more protected activities are always below those of
less protected activities. This is true for both importable and exportable
categories and for both DC-LDC directions of trade. The trade regime
thus appears to have encouraged industries with low labor requirements
in both tradable categories.
Considering Chile’s total trade, it is apparent that the more protected
activities within each tradable category are more capital-intensive than
less protected activities. Furthermore, the highest capital requirement per
Table 3.17
Direct Plus Home Goods Indirect Factor Requirements and
Factor Proportions in Exports and Import Competing Products
by Destination and Origin of Trade Flows and Protection
Levels, 1966-68
~~~~~
Skill
(4)
Capital/
Labor
Ratio
(5)
Skill/
Labor
Ratio
(6)
Tradable
Category
Weights
(1)
Labor
(2)
Exportables
Exports
World
DCs
LDCs
44.39
64.45
42.95
Above Median Protection Level
1,852.6
151.8
41.73
1,682.3
189.2
26.10
1,864.8
149.1
43.42
3.42
2.94
3.47
World
DCs
LDCs
91.98
110.72
76.42
Below Median Protection Level
1,450.3
52.4
15.77
1,881.7
46.9
16.99
1,091.7
56.9
14.29
0.57
0.42
0.74
Imports
World
DCs
LDCs
53.81
53.32
55.99
Above Median Protection Level
1,066.0
117.7
19.81
931.4
116.7
17.47
1,514.9
121.6
27.06
2.19
2.19
2.17
World
DCs
LDCs
67.72
66.93
73.78
Below Median Protection Level
883.4
179.3
13.04
888.0
180.2
13.27
854.8
169.2
11.59
2.65
2.69
2.29
Import
competing
products
Capital
(3)
~
N o t e : See tables 3.12 and 3.13 for composition of trade flows and for weights used
in computing factor coefficients.
112
Vittorio Corbo/Patricio Meller
unit of DVA is for the most protected exports to developing countries.
This bundle also has the lowest labor requirements per unit of DVA.IQ
Another characteristic evident in table 3.17 is the high capital-intensity
of goods competing with imports from developing countries produced by
the industries with above-median protection level. These findings strongly
suggest that most of the trade within LAFTA countries is done in capitalintensive and highly protected commodities.
Exports with above-median protection are more skill-intensive than
exports with below-median protection. This result holds not only for
total exports but also separately for exports to developed and to developing countries. On the other hand, the opposite result emerges in importable activities; those with above-median protection level have skill
requirements on the average lower than sectors with below-median protection level.
These results pertain to direct plus home goods indirect effects.
Computations for direct effects alone show the same pattern, but the
differences in employment requirements in exportables between industries with above- and below-median protection levels are somewhat more
pronounced when indirect effects are included.20 This difference is due
to the simultaneous operation of two forces: ( a ) very high shares of indirect value added in home goods; ( b ) higher labor intensity in home
goods industries than in HOS industries and a differing importance of
home goods in more and less protected tradable products. For the other
primary factors, the pattern of results obtained for direct plus home good
indirect effects is not affected.
To generalize, these results indicate that the structure of protection
has created a bias in favor of the production of low labor-intensive and
high capital-intensive commodities in both trade categories.
3.3.2 An Econometric Study
Next we proceed to a more disaggregated econometric analysis of the
relation between net HOS imports (and also total imports), classified at
a four-digit ISIC level, and factor inputs and protection of domestic
production. The analysis is made separately for Chile’s total trade and
for its DC trade. In addition to searching for further evidence of the
influence of protection upon the composition of production, we want to
test the hypothesis that, in its trade with developed countries, Chile
is a net importer of skills and capital and a net exporter of (raw) labor.
We apply regression techniques in a manner similar to that of Hufbauer
(1970), Baldwin (1971), and Branson and Monoyios (1977). Our
initial model expresses factor inputs as stocks. Later the problem of
chosing the appropriate scaling is treated as a problem of testing for
heteroskedasticity .
The regression model is of the form:
Table 3.18
Commodity Composition of Trade: Regression Estimates for Chile’s Trade with the World and with Developed Countries
Explanatory Variables
Equation
Number
Dependent
Variable
Constant
1.1
NM
(World)
M
(World)
NM
(Developed )
M
(Developed )
12,124.1
(1.31)
15,505.9
(1.71)
14,277.3
(1.72)
15,757.7
( 1.87)
1.2
1.3
1.4
H*Constant
LM
LS
-9.01
K
-9.80
(-3.81)**
- 10.33
(-4.39)**
-10.17
(-4.26)**
4.47
(4.71 ) * *
4.75
(5.1 1) **
4.66
(5.47)**
4.63
(5.37)**
- .046
.81)
- .025
( - .45)
- .08
(- 1.52)
- .07
( - 1.34)
H*LM
H*LS
H*K
( -3.43) * *
(-
~
1.1’
1.3’
H”NM
(World)
H*M
(Developed)
11,632.6
(1.55)
11,169.6
(1.72)
-7.370
(-2.46)
-8.113
(-3.02)
*
**
3.84
(3.77) **
4.00
(4.40) **
- .03
.49)
- .06
( - .99)
(-
F Ratio
AVERP
R2
708.3
(53)
312.1
(.24)
35.0
~ 3
-75.96
(-.06)
.337
8.6
.390
10.8
.351
9.2
.351
9.2
H*AVERP
)
R2
~~
535.1
(.48)
68.22
~07)
.192
.224
Note: Terms in parentheses are t values. One asterisk and two asterisks indicate coefficients that, in a two-tailed test, are significantly different from zero at the .05 level and .01 level, respectively. The same convention applies for the testing of the whole model through F
ratio test of R2.
114
Vittorio Corbo/Patricio Meller
NMi = PI
where
+ PzLMi + p 3 L s ~+ p4Ki +
p5
+ ui,
A VERPC
NMi = Net imports (imports minus exports) in 1966-68 of
sector i (at the four-digit ISIC level) in thousands of
escudos, where each trade flow has been converted from
dollars to escudos using its own exchange rate.
L M , = Labor (raw) employed in sector i, in thousands of
persons.
LSC= Skill in sector i, in skill units.
Ki= Capital stock in sector i, in thousands of escudos.
AVERPC = Average effective rate of protection in sector i, as a percentage.21
i is a four-digit import-competing or exporting industry.22
To verify the hypothesis mentioned above, the signs of p2 and p5
must be negative and those of p3 and p4 positive.23 Table 3.18 summarizes our estimates. Equations 1.1 and 1.2 are estimated over
seventy-three industries, of which sixty-six are importables and seven are
exportables. The dependent variables are net imports and total imports.
Equations 1.3 and 1.4 are estimated over seventy-three industries, but
only DC trade is included. The dependent variables are the same as in
1.1 and l.2.24
All estimates yield highly significant coefficients (with proper signs)
for LM and LS. No pattern is observed on signs of the capital and ERP
variables. These results lead to the conclusion that, in trade in manufactures, Chile implicitly imports skill and exports labor. The results for
physical capital are ambiguous. The protection system, however, has no
effect upon net imports, according to these estimates. The “bad showing” of the protection variable may be due in part to a problem of
measurement errors for this variable. As we mentioned before, the ERP
estimates are imperfect. They may be used for ranking incentives for
individual sectors but not for accurately measuring the absolute levels of
protection.
The next problem is to determine if the factor inputs and net imports
should be scaled by some variable related to industry size. This question
was raised by Stern (1975) and Harkness and Kyle (1975). Here, as in
Branson and Monoyios (1977), we approach this question as an econometric problem of performing a constructive test for heteroskedasticity
on the disturbances of equation 1. We test for heteroskedasticity and
then reestimate-the equations using generalized least squares. This procedure is equivalent to deflating or scaling the data before performing
the regression. We proceed to test for heteroskedasticity in the disturbances in equations 1.1 and 1.3 following the procedure outlined by
Park ( 1966).25The scaling performed is equivalent to dividing the de-
115
Alternative Trade Strategies and Employment Implications: Chile
pendent variable and the regressors by a function of production to express all variables in terms of intensities.
The results incorporating the corrections for heteroskedasticity appear
at the bottom of table 3.18. Comparing the corresponding equations, we
see that our main conclusion is not affected by the scaling of the
variables.28 The variables for raw labor and skill are significant with the
proper signs; those for capital and protection are not significant.
3.4
Distortions in Factor Markets and Factor Requirements
in Trade
Here we analyze the effects of factor market distortions (caused by
the trade regime itself) upon factor requirements in Chilean manufacturing. We ignore factor market distortions resulting from other causes.
That is, any distortion in the price of labor or capital or both brought
about by public policies (including direct government intervention) not
associated specifically with the trade regime will be excluded. However,
the methodology developed here can be applied to evaluate factor market distortions not associated with the trade regime.
Our approach is to estimate production functions for each four-digit
ISIC industry, then simulate the factor intensity under an undistorted
factor price ratio. In the simulation, it is assumed that the only distortion is a subsidy to capital resulting from a preferential effective exchange rate for capital goods. For the period analyzed here, quantitative
and other restrictions on capital goods imports were very minor
(Ffrench-Davis 1973, pp. 96-107).
3.4.1
Technology in Chilean Manufacturing
Elsewhere27we have estimated production functions at the four-digit
ISIC level. Here our procedures and results are briefly summarized.
Translog functions with three factors (labor, skill, and capital) were
estimated for forty-four four-digit ISIC industriesz8 using cross-section
data from the 1967 Chilean census of manufactures, disaggregated at
the establishment level ( 11,468 establishments employing five or more
persons.) We then tested the general translog model for constant returns
to scale (CRTS). For forty-one out of forty-four sectors studied, the
CRTS hypothesis could not be rejected at the 1 percent level. For these
forty-one sectors, we tested further for a Cobb-Douglas technology. For
thirty-five out of the forty-one sectors the Cobb-Douglas technology
could not be rejected at the 1 percent level. For the six CRTS industries
for which the Cobb-Douglas technology was rejected, we proceeded
further to test for painvise linear and nonlinear ~eparability.~~
For the
three sectors for which the CRTS hypothesis was rejected, we tested for
complete global separability. In the three cases the null hypothesis was
116
Vittorio Corbo/Patricio Meller
not rejected. For these three sectors we proceeded further to test for a
Cobb-Douglas technology. In two cases the null hypothesis could not
be rejected.
In our simulations under CRTS for the thirty-five sectors for which a
Cobb-Douglas technology was not rejected, we use the estimated CobbDouglas function. For the six CRTS sectors for which the Cobb-Douglas
technology was rejected (ISICs 3211, 3311, 3420, 3812, 3824, and
3829), we approximated our technology by the estimated Cobb-Douglas
function. This was done to avoid the need for solving a nonlinear system
of equations.
For the simulations of the three non-CRTS sectors, we used a nonCRTS Cobb-Douglas function. Again, only for two of these sectors was
the Cobb-Douglas non-CRTS technology appropriate for use, based on
the test results. For the third case (sector 3 117), we used a non-CRTS
Cobb-Douglas as a local approximation to avoid the nonlinearities
involved.
Before we proceed to the simulation results, two complications should
be noted. First, Cobb-Douglas functions could not be estimated for all
seventy-three exporting and import-competing four-digit sectors because
of insufficient observations in some sectors. The second problem is that
the Cobb-Douglas function for sector 3559 was not well behaved; in
particular, it is not monotonic in the capital input (i.e., there was a negative marginal product of capital). As a solution for these two problems,
we approximated the technology for the sectors for which the function
could not be estimated and for sector 3559. This was done by using for
those sectors coefficients obtained as the simple average of the valueadded elasticities of primary factors of the four-digit Cobb-Douglas
functions belonging to the same three-digit industry. The value of the
elasticities used in the simulations appears in Corbo and Meller (1978a,
table 17).
3.4.2 Simulating the Efl'ect of Factor Market Distortions
Having obtained estimates of production functions in Chilean manufacturing, we solved for an expression relating factor intensities to factor
prices (see Appendix A ) , then used an estimate of the subsidy to capital
to adjust factor prices and trace the effects of the factor price adjustment
upon factor intensities.
All our estimates are for a cross section of 1967. Therefore, qc,i
= qm,i= 1.0 (see Appendix A for notation). We assume further that
ami = Pi and thus we obtain:
117
Alternative Trade Strategies and Employment Implications: Chile
The value of xi for each of the seventy-three four-digit tradable sectors was obtained from the 1967 census of manufacture^.^^ To estimate
e*/e, we need information on the equilibrium exchange rate and on the
average tariff rate. The e*/e ratio is equal to 1.30 X 1.0543 where 1.30
is the ratio between the equilibrium and the official exchange rate for
1967 as estimated by Taylor and Bacha (1973). The 1.0543 is the ratio
between the average exchange rate and the exchange rate on investment
goods. Thus, this last factor corrects for the lower tariffs on investment
goods than on other imports. On the other hand, the 1.30 factor corrects
for an absolute distortion between the price of tradables and the price
of home goods.31
Now we adjust the market price of capital for the subsidy, then make
new estimates of factor requirements and factor proportions under the
new factor price ratio. We have run simulations for both the direct requirements only and for direct plus indirect requirements of home goods.
Since the types of findings are very similar, we present in table 3.19 only
those for direct plus indirect requirements of home goods. A comparison
of these estimates with those actually observed (see table 3.16) shows
that, when the subsidy to capital is eliminated, capital requirements for
both exportables and import-competing products decrease about 19-23
percent, labor requirements increase about 6-8 percent, and skill
requirements increase about 6-8 percent. The decrease in the capital/
labor ratios is about 24-29 percent, and the skill/labor ratio remains
practically constant.32The results imply that eliminating the preferential
effective exchange rate on capital goods imports would have contributed
significantly to creating employment in Chile’s manufacturing sector.
3.5
Factor Requirements in Manufacturing: A Dynamic
Analysis of the 1960s
The analysis of sections 3.2-4 centered upon the period 1966-68. In
this section we extend our analysis to cover the entire decade of the
1960s. Two exercises are performed. First, we trace the evolution of
the wage/rental ratio to determine how changes in relative factor prices
might have affected factor requirements and altered the relative profitability of exportable and importable production. Second, we measure
factor requirements in other periods of the 1960s to evaluate the
robustness of our results for 1966-1968. In this regard our results indicate that the factor requirements for 1966-68 held, in general, throughout the decade.
The composition of tradables will be affected by changes in the wage/
rental ratio, via changes in the overall profitability of individual industries. The evolution of the wage/rental ratio in 1960s is given in table
Table 3.19
Direct Plus Home Goods Indirect Factor Requirements and Factor Proportions in Exportables and Import Competing
Products by Destination and Origin of Trade Flows: Simulation Experiment
Tradable
Category
Weights
(1)
Labor
(2)
Capital
(3)
Skill
(4)
Capital/Labor
Ratio
( 5 ) = (3) + (2)
Skill/Labor
Ratio
(6) = (4) f (2)
Exportables
Exports
a. World
b. DCs
c. LDCs
62.94
105.61
53.49
1,348.1
1,472.2
1,320.5
132.5
90.4
141.8
21.42
13.94
24.69
2.10
0.86
2.65
Import
competing
products
Imports
d. World
e. DCs
f. LDCs
64.11
63.95
64.87
789.2
730.6
1,072.7
155.6
157.9
143.8
12.31
11.42
16.54
2.43
2.41
2.22
Ratio of
requirements
Ratio of exports to
import requirements
g. World (a -+ d)
h. DCs (b + e)
i. LDCs (c + f )
0.982
1.651
0.825
1.708
2.015
1.211
0.852
0.573
0.986
1.740
1.221
1.493
0.864
0.348
1.194
Note: See tables 3.12 and 3.13 for composition of trade flows and for weights used in computing factor coefficients. See table 3.14 for
units used in factor coefficients.
119
Alternative Trade Strategies and Employment Implications: Chile
3.20. Observe that it fell from 1960 to 1964, started to rise at the
beginning of the Frei government (1965), declined slightly in 1967,
then increased substantially in 1968 as the Frei government's stabilization program collapsed, After 1968 the wage/rental ratio decreased.
From this evolution, we expect the production of labor-intensive goods
to have been encouraged in the early 1960s, discouraged in the mid1960s, and encouraged again in the late 1960s.
To evaluate the robustness of our results for 1966-68, we have calculated direct plus home goods requirements for trade flows in four of
the five periods outlined in table 3.20 (the evolution on a direct basis
is similar and is ignored here). These estimates are found by applying
the estimated 1967 factor requirements to actual trade flows in each of
these periods. The results of this exercise are given in table 3.21.
Observe that the main feature of these results is that our findings for
the period 1966-68 hold in general for the other three periods; namely,
exports have higher labor requirements than imports. Second, differences
in the factor intensity of exports reflect shifts in their composition as
trade policies were changed over the decade. Owing to space limitations,
we focus only upon baskets with world trade weights. For exportables,
when we compare the first two periods, there is a slight decrease in all
three factor requirements. Then, between the second and third periods,
there is a decrease in labor requirements and an increase in capital and
Table 3.20
Evolution of Wage/Reutal Ratio in
Chilean Manufacturing
Year
Wage Rate
(Escudos
per Worker)
Rental Price
of Capital
(Current Em
per Em of
Capital)
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
803.2
862.4
1,005.8
1,454.0
2,131.8
2,878.8
4,015.5
5,247.2
7,785.3
11,226.9
15,752.8
.0396
.0444
.0515
.0836
.I35
.160
.213
.292
.382
.585
.870
Wage/
Rental
Ratio
20,282.8
19,432.2
19,530.1
17,392.3
15,791.1
17,992.5
18,852.1
20,380.4
19,191.3
18,106.7
Period
Average
1
1
1
19,857'4
189461'2
167891.8
18y649.0
Sources: The wage rate in the industrial sector is taken from
ODEPLAN (1971a, p. 182), and the rental price of capital
is computed as described in M. Corbo (1974, pp. 154-55,
p. 224).
120
Vittorio Corbo/Patricio Meller
skill requirements. In terms of factor proportions, the capital/labor
ratio and the skill/labor ratio increased by 34.9 percent and 49.6 percent, respectively, from the second to the third period (this period coincides with the increase in the wage/rental ratio of the Frei government).
After 1968 there is an increase in the requirements of labor and skill
and a slight decrease in capital requirements.
Table 3.21
Direct Plus Home Goods Indirect Factor
Requirements in Exports and Import
Competing Products by Destination and
Origin of Trade Flows: Dynamic
Evolution
Periods
Weights
1962-63
Exports
World
DCs
LDCs
Imports
World
DCs
LDCs
1964-65
1966-68
1969-70
Exports
World
DCs
LDCs
Imports
World
DCs
LDCs
Exports
World
DCs
LDCs
Imports
World
DCs
LDCs
Exports
World
DCs
LDCs
Imports
World
DCs
LDCs
Labor
Capital
Skill
77.56
113.06
74.13
1,738.3
1,912.6
1,740.0
113.2
55.4
121.2
60.91
61.55
56.55
1,030.6
892.9
1,804.5
155.8
158.2
138.2
75.15
111.45
81.54
1,651.6
1,802.1
1,613.0
105.2
74.8
99.4
59.08
60.16
54.25
1,153.8
941.6
2,008.3
145.2
146.2
139.6
58.46
98.64
49.56
1,733.7
1,829.1
1,712.1
122.4
84.1
130.9
60.10
59.97
60.74
983.4
910.2
1,338.5
145.6
147.7
134.3
62.32
105.04
59.62
1,781.4
1,842.4
1,772.6
139.6
97.8
141.6
60.71
60.7 1
59.78
987.7
927.6
1,338.7
150.9
150.4
138.2
Note: See tables 3.12 and 3.13 for composition of trade
flows and for weights used in computing factor coefficients.
See table 3.14 for units used in factor coefficients.
121
Alternative Trade Strategies and Employment Implications: Chile
For importable goods, labor and skill requirements are more stable
throughout the four periods. Capital requirements for these goods increase from the first to the second period, then they decrease from the
second to the third period. After 1968 they become fairly constant. This
evolution is due to the changes in the composition of goods competing
with imports from the developing world and, hence, changes in their
capital requirements. Capital requirements of a basket of goods competing with imports from developing countries decreased substantially after
the mid-1960s.
These patterns are expected, given the “cycling” of the trade regime
in the period. As we mentioned earlier, Chile’s trade regime was relatively liberal in the early 1960s, became more restrictive in the mid1960s, and became liberal again in the late 1960s. Presumably, then,
factor requirements at the beginning and end of the decade ought to
have better reflected its comparative advantage than factor requirements
in the mid-1960s. That is, its labor requirements ought to have been
higher and skill and capital requirements lower in periods of trade
liberalization than in periods of trade restrictiveness. The estimates
shown in table 3.21 generally coincide with these expectations.
3.6
Concluding Remarks
The main conclusions of this study may be summarized as follows:
1. With regard to the composition and direction of Chile’s trade, one
important feature is its failure to develop a significant volume of HOS
exports, especially in trade with developed countries. This failure reflects
in considerable part the strong emphasis over the last several decades on
import substitution and hence on the production of import-competing
HOS goods. The small size of the HOS component in Chile’s exports
also reflects the country’s considerable endowment in natural resources
and their major contribution to its exports, as exemplified by refined
copper. Indeed, the natural resource factor plays also some role in the
production of goods here treated as HOS exports, notably pulp and
paper, which dominate exports to other LDCs-chiefly neighboring
countries in LAFTA-and various fish, meat, and vegetable products
figuring prominently in exports to developed countries.
2. The factor content of Chile’s trade in HOS goods is most strikingly
marked by the high capital and low labor requirements of its exports to
other LDCs and, therewith, the relatively small contribution made by
those exports to employment in Chile. In particular, comparing the factor
requirements and factor proportions of baskets of tradables with equal
DVA content we have found:
HOS exports to DCs are more labor- and capital-intensive and less
skill-intensive than Chile’s production of HOS goods competing with
122
Vittorio Corbo/Patricio Meller
imports from DCs. Thus, in its trade with DCs, Chile implicitly exports
labor and capital and imports skill.
HOS exports to LDCs are more capital-intensive and less labor- and
skill-intensive than Chile’s production of HOS goods competing with
imports from LDCs. The labor and capital requirements of Chile’s trade
with LDCs are strongly dominated by pulp and paper, a commodity
group that has had preferential treatment within LAFTA. Indeed, when
exports of pulp and paper are excluded, we found that Chile’s HOS
exports to LDCs are more labor-intensive and less capital- and skillintensive than its imports from LDCs. These results suggest that trading
arrangements within LAFTA may have been such as to place demands
on members’ scarce capital resources while giving less inducement to
creation of employment.
In exportables (including indirect effects), Chile’s exports to DCs are
more capital-intensiveand less skill-intensive than export to LDCs. These
patterns are not affected by the treatment of the pulp and paper sector.
In import-competing products, Chile’s imports from DCs are more
skill-intensive and less capital-intensive than imports from LDCs. Labor
requirements are almost the same for both baskets.
3. The measurement of factor coefficients in terms of international
value added is handicapped by lack of good data on effective protection
needed for this calculation. Subject to these qualifications, it appears that
Chile’s production of HOS goods competing with imports from other
LDCs would use more labor, capital, and skill per unit of IVA than
any of the other trade flows examined. Thus it appears that Chile saves
on all factors through its trade with LDCs.
4. Analysis of the effects of trade regime on factor requirements and
factor proportions, by major trade categories, indicates that in general
the structure of protection has created a bias in favor of the production
of low labor-intensive and high capital-intensive commodities. This applies to both exporting and import-competing industries.
5 . Concerning the effects of distortions in factor prices brought about
by the trade regime and related commercial policies, we estimated an
equilibrium price of capital services above the observed price. In studying the effect of this distortion on factor requirements, we find that, when
the distortion is present, labor and skill requirements are about 6-8
percent lower and capital requirements are about 19-23 percent higher
than without the distortion. The capital/labor ratio would thus be about
25 percent lower without distortions.
6. When we extend the study to other periods in the 1960s, we find
that our results and conclusions are still valid for the decade as a whole.
7. As a concluding observation, we judge that a significant, though
not spectacular, amount of employment could be created through export
123
Alternative Trade Strategies and Employment Implications: Chile
expansion. Chilean exportables to the developed world generated about
40,000 employment opportunities per $100 million of IVA, which is
probably a feasible annual increase in export levels; this would represent an annual increase in manufacturing employment of about 11 percent (equal to about 1 percent of the total labor force). The Chilean
basket of exportables to developed countries would generate about 20
percent more employment opportunities per unit of IVA than the basket
of exportables to LDCs.
Appendix A: Relationship of Factor Intensities to
Factor Prices
Start with an aggregate production function at the industry level given
by :
Y i = Ai LM?‘ L S p K i a 3 .
Then introduce the following first-order conditions for cost minimization:
(A3 1
is the price of a unit
where w is the wage rate of unskilled labor,
of
and
is the price of capital services. Using equations ( A l ) ,
(A2), and (A3), solve for K i / Y i , LMi/Yi,and LSi/Y$ as a function of
relative factor prices and the level of value added. These solutions are:
(A5 1
124
Vittorio Corbo/Patkio Meller
+
(E;
->*)+ +
(:;
+ + ,
a1
(A6)
Ki--c
Yi
-.
a2
a2
a1
a3
a2
>i)
a2
a1
a3
1 - a1 - a2 - a3
where
C r A i
1 - al
x yi
a1
- a2 - a3
+ +
a2
a3
Then, differentiating these expressions, we obtain the change in factor
intensity as a function of the change in factor prices:
+ a1
+
+ +
+ +
a2
a2
dln P8,i
a3
a3
a1
a2
a3
a2
+ +
+
a1 +
+
+ a1
a2
dln
a3
)
dln Pk,i .
a2
a2
a3
These expressions are local approximations (i.e., valid only for a
given level of output) around Yifor the non-CRTS case and global
(independent of the level of output) with al a2 a3 = 1.0 for the
CRTS case.
+ +
Distortions in Price of Capital Services
Next we must adjust the price of capital services upward to correct
for the subsidy resulting from the existence of a preferential effective
exchange rate for capital goods imports.
125
Alternative Trade Strategies and Employment Implications: Chile
The market price of capital services is given by:
+ +
+
(A101
ph,i
q c , i hi(ri
8s)
q m , i (1 - hi) (Ti
a$),
where & is the share of construction in the total capital stock, 1 - & is
the share of machinery and equipment in the total capital stock,
qe,%
(qm,i)is the price of one unit of construction (machinery and equipment), 8: (F)is the depreciation rate for construction (machinery
and equipment) capital, and ri is the cost of capital.
On the other hand, the distortion-free price of capital services is
given by :
e*
(A1 1)
p:,i = 4 c , i hi (Ti
83
q,n,i (1 - hi) ( Y i -I- a?) 7
+ +
7
where e* is the equilibrium effective exchange rate and e the effective
exchange rate for imported capital goods.
Finally, the percentage change in the rental price of capital services
resulting from eliminating the distortions is given by :
Table 3.A.1
Foreign Trade Participation of Chilean Manufacturing Industrie+Computation
Industry (ISIC)
311I Slaughtering, preparing and preserving meats
3112 Dairy products
3 113 Canning and preserving of fruits and vegetables
3114 Canning, preserving, and processing of fish, crustaceans,
and similar foods
3 115 Vegetable and animal oils and fats
3116 Grain mill products
31 17 Manufacture of bakery products
31 18 Sugar factories and refineries
3119 Cocoa, chocolate, and sugar confectionery
3121 Manufacture of food products n.e.c.
3 122 Prepared animal feeds
3131 Distilling, rectifying, and blending of spirits
3132 Wine industries
3133 Malt liquors and malt
3134 Soft drinks and carbonated waters industries
3140 Tobacco manufactures
3211 Spinning, weaving, and finishing of textiles
3212 Made-up textile goods except wearing apparel
3213 Knitting mills
3214 Manufacture of carpets and rugs
3215 Cordage, rope, and twine
of T Statistic
Exportsa
(Average,
1966-68)
(1)
Imports
(Average,
1966-68)
(2)
Net
Production
(1967)
(3)
Consumption
(4)
Trade
Classification
Coefficients
(4) - (3)
(4)
(5)
142,982
0
9,129
100,103
73,759
5,477
1,478,860
382,102
140,001
1,435,980
455,862
136,350
-.02986
.16180
-.02678
8,826
4,925
3,627
9
0
489
2,543
42
64,935
46,452
676
93,011
7,032
77,835
142,856
304,685
628,336
585,836
350,154
127,428
330,126
134,072
364,695
671,161
586,503
443,165
133,972
405,418
-.0655 1
0
26
8,205
11,935
0
0
48,909
132
13
0
0
907
2,662
114
26
9
263
171,440
69,419
1,877
1,493
20,391
87,247
153,225
432,174
161,916
171,246
172,548
1,278,940
26,524
413,309
22,281
22,723
88,153
155,861
424,083
150,007
171,255
172,811
1,401,470
95,811
415,172
23,775
43,114
.O 1028
.16454
.06390
.00113
.20987
.04884
A8571
.01691
-.O 1907
--.07938
.00005
.00152
.08743
.723 16
.00448
.0628 1
.47295
Table 3.A.1-continued
Industry (ISIC)
3219 Textiles n.e.c.
3220 Wearing apparel, except footwear
3231 Tanneries and leather finishing
3233 Products of leather and leather substitutes except footwear
3240 Footwear, except vulcanized or molded rubber or plastic
footwear
33 11 Sawmills, planing, and other wood mills
3312 Wooden and cane containers and small caneware
33 19 Wood and cork products n.e.c.
3320 Furniture and fixtures, except primarily of metal
3411 Pulp, paper, and paperboard
3412 Containers, and boxes of paper and paperboard
3419 Pulp, paper, and paperboard articles n.e.c.
3420 Printing, publishing, and allied industries
3511 Basic industrial inorganic chemicals, except fertilizers
3512 Fertilizers and pesticides
3513 Synthetic resins, plastic materials and man-made fibers
except glass
35 14 Basic industrial organic chemicals, except fertilizers
3521 Paints, varnishes, and lacquers
3522 Drugs and medicines
3523 Soap and cleaning products, perfumes, cosmetics, and
other toilet preparations
3529 Chemical products n.e.c.
Exports8
(Average,
1966-68)
(1)
Trade
Classification
Coefficients
*(4) - (3)
(4)
(5)
Imports
(Average,
1966-68)
(2)
Net
Production
(1967)
(3)
13
40
0
30
2,484
28,783
13
4,500
1,584
587,654
202,442
31,894
4,055
616,397
202,455
36,364
.60946
.04663
.00006
.12291
493
12,167
14
801
369
10,076
1,741
3,434
75,481
58,265
374,045
506,528
19,565
19,971
163,909
383,627
496,102
22,985
94,652
221,805
.02497
-.02101
.14877
.78900
.26102
141,180
0
2,110
13,266
40,196
750
37,862
3,896
5,332
92,671
82,383
2 1,204
316,845
42,645
9,838
421,550
112,191
34,719
213,527
46,540
13,059
500,954
154,377
55,173
--.48386
.08370
.24666
.15850
.27326
.37072
24,120
3,705
0
130
109,190
134,742
7,938
83,140
182,965
16,459
128,250
248,174
268,035
147,496
136,188
331,184
.31738
.88841
.05828
.25064
15
3,942
8,528
51,020
270,317
137,645
278,829
184,723
.03052
,25485
Consumption
(4)
Table 3.A.1-continued
Trade
Classification
Coefficients
(4) - (3)
(4)
(5)
Exportsa
(Average,
1966-68)
(1)
Imports
(Average,
1966-68)
(2)
Net
Production
(1967)
(3)
3530 Petroleum refineries
3540 Miscellaneous products of petroleum and coal
3551 Tire and tube industries
3559 Rubber products n.e.c.
3560 Plastic products n.e.c.
3610 Pottery, china, and earthenware
3620 Glass and glass products
3691 Structural clay products
3692 Cement, lime, and plaster
34
0
68
2,935
12,960
86
503
96
578
50,444
1,683
27,551
72,037
96,980
3,660
26,692
38,444
4,324
651,882
84,128
169,117
84,124
2 14,140
61,393
135,225
26,044
171,375
702,292
85,811
196,601
153,226
298,161
64,968
161,414
64,391
175,121
.07177
.01961
.13979
.45098
.28179
.05502
.16224
.59553
.02139
3695 Fiber-cement products
3699 Nonmetallic mineral products n.e.c.
3710 Iron and steel basic industries
3729 Nonferrous metal basic industries, except copper
38 11 Cutlery, hand tools, and general hardware
38 12 Furniture and fixtures primarily of metal
3813 Structural metal products
3814 Metal containers and metal housewares
3815 Cable, wire, and their products
3819 Fabricated metal products except machinery and
equipment n.e.c.
3822 Agricultural machinery and equipment
3823 Metal and woodworking machinery
0
268
52,046
87,772
822
0
1,529
20
0
867
26,607
290,745
98,924
165,033
2,929
201,641
11,553
3,208
49,685
90,141
697,687
17,466
40,464
102,244
160,244
272,287
97,424
50,552
116,480
936,386
28,618
204,675
105,173
360,356
283,8 19
100,632
.01714
.22612
.25491
.38969
30229
.02784
.55531
.04063
.03187
170
27
14
8,447
25,871
65,823
116,803
44,147
31,014
125,080
69,990
96,823
.06617
.36924
.67968
Industry (ISIC)
Consumption
(4)
Table 3.A.1-conlinued
Industry (ISIC)
3824 Special industrial machinery and equipment except metal
and woodworking machinery
3825 Office, computing, and accounting machinery
3829 Machinery and equipment except electrical n.e.c.
383 1 Electrical industrial machinery and apparatus
3832 Radio, television, and communication equipment and
apparatus
3833 Electrical appliances and housewares
3839 Electrical apparatus and supplies n.e.c.
3841 Shipbuilding and repairing
3842 Railroad equipment
3843 Motor vehicles
3844 Motorcycles and bicycles
3845 Repairing of aircraft and manufacture of aircraft parts
3849 Transport equipment n.e.c.
3851 Professional and scientific equipment n.e.c.
3852 Photographic and optical goods
3901 Jewelry and related articles
3902 Musical instruments
3903 Sporting and athletic goods
3909 Manufacturing industries n.e.c.
*Columns 1-4 are in thousands of escudos.
Exportsa
(Average,
1966-68)
(1)
Imports
(Average,
1966-68)
(2)
Net
Production
(1967)
(3)
Consumption
(4)
Trade
Classification
Coefficients
(4) - (3)
(4)
(5)
428
673
4,859
653
233,472
56,608
246,485
246.552
19,829
38,290
420,363
41,605
252,873
94,225
661,989
287,503
.92158
59363
.36500
35528
3,920
0
11,326
0
127,020
2,987
75,277
677
285,359
27,612
141,881
89,428
408,458
30,599
205,832
90,105
.30137
.09761
.3 1069
.00750
11
366
0
1,076
0
288
78
743
11
55
0
84,098
338,911
3,671
163,616
233
105,647
18,665
111
4,869
6,455
11,867
178,597
594,367
15,702
10,923
2,724
16,976
15,920
19,119
1,024
1,483
64,650
262,685
932,912
19,373
173,464
2,957
122,334
34,508
18,487
5,882
7,882
76,517
.32010
.36289
.18948
.93703
.07875
.86123
53865
--.03419
.82586
3 1 186
.15508
130
Vittorio Corbo/Patricio Meller
Notes
1. We recommend Behrman (1976) and Corbo (1974) to the reader interested
in greater detail on Chilean economic development. A more detailed analysis of
alternative trade strategies and employment in Chile and the complete set of data
used in this study are found in Corbo and Meller (1978a), available for the cost
of reproduction from the National Bureau of Economic Research.
2. Note that this value is slightly different from that given in table 3.1, owing
to different data sources.
3. Most studies indicate conclusively that Chile has a comparative advantage
in the production of this resource-based commodity. Hence there is need to design
a policy to stabilize copper earnings. This is readily seen by the fact that changes
in the price of copper have an important effect upon trade surpluses (see table
3.3). The high copper prices in the late 1960s allowed the banking system to accumulate, by 1970, the highest level of net international reserves in twenty years
(U.S. $343.5 million). Also, one should note the impressive improvement in
Chile’s terms of trade at the end of the 1960s (table 3.3). This behavior depends
in a very important way upon the trend in the price of copper.
4. For a more detailed analysis see Ffrench-Davis (1973) and Behrman (1976).
5. The main tools to control imports were: (1) import restrictions with a list
of “allowed goods”; (2) prior deposits on imports; and (3) tariffs, generally high
but with a wide range of rates.
6. The major reason for this type of discrimination was the foreign ownership
of large-scale copper mining. Thus the exchange rate was used as a device to tax
large-scale copper mining.
7. It will be noted that EERs in tables 3.7 and 3.8 show different levels and
different time trends. The difference in levels arises because table 3.7 is in terms
of 1969 escudos per dollar, whereas table 3.8 is in 1965 escudos. The difference in
trends arises because the EERs in table 3.7 are “purchasing-power-parity-adjusted”
( i s . , multiplied by the ratio of the foreign price level to the domestic price level),
whereas the EERs in table 3.8 are “price-level-deflated” (i.e., deflated by the
Chilean GDP deflator). Furthermore, the sources cited for the tables report quite
different methodologies for computing the EERs. Behrman’s EERs are based
on direct price comparisons for 220 commodities between Chile and the United
States. Ffrench-Davis’s EERs are based on comparisons of the total cost of imported commodities with their c.i.f. prices. Thus, he transforms each explicit
import cost into an ad valorem tariff equivalent that is added to the c.i.f. price.
8. All estimates use price comparisons to estimate nominal protection and the
Corden method to calculate ERPs.
9. See chapter 1 for a discussion of this distinction. Particularly important
among the products here classified in the NRB category are refined copper (ISIC
3721) and meat meal and fish meal (SITC 081.4, which, for Chile, consists mainly
of fish meal).
10. In Corbo and Meller (1978a) we also study the factor proportions and requirements of noncompeting import industries.
11. We also experimented with 0.90 as a cutoff point for the classification of
industries in the import-competing and noncompeting import categories. The factor
requirements in import-competing industries were only marginally affected when
this alternative was used.
12. Indeed, over the period studied Chile did export significant amounts of
both raw wood and fresh or simply preserved fish (such exports being here classified as NRB).
131
Alternative Trade Strategies and Employment Implications: Chile
13. For details of these trade flows by four-digit ISIC sectors and by countries,
see Appendix I, section 111, of Corbo and Meller ( 1 9 7 8 ~ ) .
14. This way of defining “skill” assumes that all differences in wage rates within
the manufacturing sector can be attributed to skill differences and that there i s
perfect substitution among different types of labor. The only evidence we have for
Chile on earnings within the manufacturing sector (M. Corbo 1974), shows that
a substantial proportion of the variance in labor earnings can be accounted for by
human capital characteristics of the labor force. This way of measuring skill has
been popularized by Grfliches and used extensively in the testing of trade theories
(see especially Stem 1975).
15. The treatment of home goods in computing factor requirements has been
discussed in the introductory chapter of this volume. For Chile a problem arises
because of the lack of a cost structure for each of the eighty-two four-digit ISIC
industries used in computing direct factor requirements. There is available, however, a fifty-four-sector input-output table for 1962. Of the fifty-four sectors,
twenty are manufacturing sectors that correspond closely to the ISIC classification
at the three-digit level. We use this source to compute value added and factor requirement multipliers at the level of disaggregation provided by the 1-0 table. For
details on the derivation of these multipliers see Corbo and Meller (1978a, chap.
3). Then we use the same multiplier for all four-digit industries belonging to a
given three-digit industry of the 1-0 table. This procedure assumes that each fourdigit industry belonging to a three-digit group has the same intermediate structure
with respect to home goods.
16. Initially (Corbo and Meller 19780, chap. 3 ) we treated Argentina and
Mexico separately, but the factor requirement of Chile’s trade with these two
countries was not too different from the ones for Chile’s trade with other LDCs.
Thus we decided to include these two countries in the LDC group.
17. This procedure assumes that the marginal basket uses the same technology
as the average one (see Lydall 1975, pp. 26-27, for a discussion of the validity
of this assumption) and that the output mix is the same. For effective rates of
protection see Corbo and Meller (1978a, Appendix I, table IV-A).
18. For effective rates of protection see Corbo and Meller (1978n, Appendix I,
table IV-A).
19. These results are again dominated by the ERP of, and factor requirements
in, the pulp, paper, and paperboard industry.
20. We also computed direct plus total indirect effects, and the pattern of
results is similar to the one for direct plus home goods indirect effects. The difference in labor requirements by protection level within a given tradable category
was even higher than for direct plus home goods indirect effects owing to the
greater labor intensity of agricultural products that have a heavier weight as inputs in the industries with lower protection level.
21. This variable is defined as the weighted average of the effective rate of
protection of import-competing industries (ERPM) and the effective rate of protection of exporting industries (ERPX) , where the weights are import-competing
production and exports, respectively.
22. We also used, as did Baldwin (1971), a concentration index as an explanatory variable, but it was never significant.
23. The simple eorrelation in the sample between LM and LS is 0.90, and between LS and K it is 0.63, both of which are significantly different from zero a t
the .01 level. Furthermore, N M is positively correlated with LM, LS, and K: the
simple correlation coefficients are 0.26, 0.46, and 0.32, respectively, all of them
significant at a .01 level.
132
Vittorio Corbo/Patricio Meller
24. On the other hand, when we ran equations using total exports as dependent
variables the results were very poor, and they are not reproduced in the table.
No coefficient was significantly different from zero a t the .05 significance level.
These results are due in part to the behavior of the dependent variable. In
nineteen out of the seventy-three exporting and import-competing tradable sectors,
total exports are zero, and in many other sectors they are very small. Furthermore,
it is meaningless to estimate this equation for exporting sectors only, because of
the small number of degrees of freedom available.
25. In the Park test, the squared residuals of the original regression are regressed on a function of some size variable. In our computations, we used as a
size variable the output of the sector and the consumption of the sector. The results were better for the first variable, and they are the ones we present here.
We proceed now with one equation at a time. When the residuals of equation
1.1 were regressed as a function of PRO, the best fit was for the following
equation:
R2 = .039,
e2$ = 1.396 x 100
6221.7 PRO
(1.05)
(1.69)
where e, is the residual of the regression and PRO is production. In the case of
the residuals of equation 1.3, the best fit was for the following equation:
e2%= 1.018 x lo9
5436.58 PRO
R2
.040.
( 9 01
(1.73)
The correction for heteroskedasticity is performed by creating a diagonal matrix
H whose ith diagonal element (&) is given by the reciprocal of the square root of
the right-hand side terms in the equations for e2, above. Then all the original
variables are premultiplied by the diagonal matrix H . This procedure is equivalent
to a deflation of the original variables.
26. We also used ERPM in the equation for imports, but the results were of
the same form; that is, the protection variable was never significant even at a .I0
level.
27. Corbo and Meller (1978q 6 ) . For a fuller discussion of the implications
of technology for the pattern of trade see Corbo and Meller (1978b).
28. We could not estimate a production function for all the seventy-three exporting and import-competing sectors owing to a lack of degrees of freedom for
some sectors.
29. For details of the results see Corbo and Meller ( 1 9 7 8 ~ ) .
30. Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas (1970, pp. 40-45).
31. In Corbo and Meller (1978a), we also simulate the joint effect of this
increase in the price of capital services together with a 10 percent decrease in the
minimum wage rate.
32. We have also studied the effect of distortions on factor requirements and
factor proportions measuring value added at international prices. When compared
with the results of table 3.16, the same pattern emerges: the removal of distortions
yields a 6-8 percent iiicrease in labor and skill requirements and a substantial
decrease in capital requirements. This pattern of results is found for both the
direct effect and the direct plus home goods indirect effect. As in section 3.3. we
also grouped the tradables by protection level and studied the factor requirements
and factor proportions of trade for two sets, one with tradables with rate of
protection above the median and the other with rate of protection below the
median. When we compare the results with those in section 3.3, the pattern is
again similar for corresponding baskets; we observe an increase in labor and skill
requirements and a substantial decrease in capital requirements and in the
capitalAabor ratios. For details of these results see Corbo and Meller ( 1 9 7 8 ~ ) .
+
+
133
Alternative Trade Strategies and Employment Implications: Chile
-
It should be mentioned that these simulation results correspond to the substitution effect, that is, movements along an isoquant. The full effect on factor
requirements, measured above, would therefore take time to materialize. Moreover,
output adjustments are neglected.
33. Skill is expressed in units of unskilled labor. Therefore its price is also
equal to the minimum wage.
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