The Distributive Impact of the New Economic Model in Chile

As compared to the other case studies, the Chilean experience is characterised by two distinctive features. First, the transition to the New Economic Model (NEM) began ata much earlier date This can be fixed precisely to the immediate aftermath of the military coup which overthrew the Popular Unity government in September 1973. Secondly, and largely as a result of the country being ruled by a military dictatorship, the reforms which put in place the NEM in Chile were implemented at a speed and with a scope and ideological coherence which is unparalleled in Latin America. The new model constituted a major rupture with the former politico-economic regime of democratic government characterised by extensive state intervention in the economy, and its successful introduction represents a major discontinuity in Chilean history.