Libro Blanco Vol I en Ingles
Libro Blanco Vol I en Ingles
Libro Blanco Vol I en Ingles
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TOWARDS A NATIONAL INNOVATION STRATEGY FOR COMPETITIVENESSVOLUME 1economy. [see Figure 2]As a starting point on this journey –which is without a doubt more demanding– we propose combining theadvantages of the natural resource export model with the abilities created by a growing <strong>en</strong>deavour in thecreation of human capital and knowledge, which, applied to the transformation, ext<strong>en</strong>sion and linkage ofproduction processes, allows taking the leap to sectors based on competitive acquired advantages, as well asthe developm<strong>en</strong>t of service businesses or the externalization (outsourcing) of highly specialized functions.The Council therefore reaffirms its certainty that the synergy betwe<strong>en</strong> high level human capital,technological innovation and natural resources will permit Chile to successfully face the tough internationalcompetition, to continue growing in the global market and to each day create more and better jobs for a moreskilled labour force. However, before making any other analysis, it is ess<strong>en</strong>tial to pres<strong>en</strong>t the foundations thathave led to the conclusion that this path to developm<strong>en</strong>t is the right one for Chile to focus on over the nextyears.Historically Latin America and Chilehave turned their backs on naturalresource int<strong>en</strong>sive industries, in thebelief that they do not have a strongdynamism in terms of Total FactorProductivity, which is that part ofgrowth that is not accounted for by theaccumulation of production factors(capital and work) but instead byelem<strong>en</strong>ts such as the quality of humancapital, technology and knowledge.Two conflicting visionsId<strong>en</strong>tifying the best formula for growth has surely be<strong>en</strong> the most recurr<strong>en</strong>t discussion in Chile and aroundthe world, particularly in the last 60 years. In this respect, two sharply differing visions have confronted eachother: one, that holds that countries abundant in natural resources must base their growth on the r<strong>en</strong>tsg<strong>en</strong>erated through this advantage; and another, that claims that betting on developm<strong>en</strong>t based on this system isa sure path to stagnation, because manufactured products have a greater possibility than natural resourceint<strong>en</strong>siveindustries of adding value to products through the addition of knowledge and technology. The latestevid<strong>en</strong>ce indicates that an increasingly significant part of the growth of countries cannot be explained by thesimple accumulation of production factors (capital and work), establishing the idea that this differ<strong>en</strong>ce –termedTotal Factor Productivity or TFP, in which human capital, technology and knowledge are fundam<strong>en</strong>tal – t<strong>en</strong>ds tobe greater wh<strong>en</strong> the productive range of a country is more int<strong>en</strong>sive in industrial activity than in the productionof commodities.Thus, the presumption of a greater pot<strong>en</strong>tial for technical change in manufacturing activities linked tothe great volatility of commodity prices betwe<strong>en</strong> the First and Second World Wars, led many natural resourceabundant countries, especially in Latin America, to comm<strong>en</strong>ce a period in which protectionist policies – basicallythrough import tariffs – were used to foster the developm<strong>en</strong>t of local manufacturing industry that initially arose24