Libro Blanco Vol I en Ingles

TOWARDS A NATIONAL INNOVATION STRATEGY FOR COMPETITIVENESSVOLUME 1II. THE LAGS THAT CONDITION GROWTHTHE FIRST CHALLENGE IS TO GROWOnce the central direction of the path towards development is defined, the next challenge is to set theobjectives. As such, for example, to once again double the per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over thenext fifteen years is a goal which should be common to both the efforts of the Government and the privatesector. It is an ambitious task, but it can be done.Reaching the level of 25,000 dollars per capita 11 over the next 15 years would take Chile to the thresholdof development and would mean attaining a standard of living comparable to that of Spain or New Zealandtoday, which are nations that lie among the less advanced third of the select group of countries that make upthe richest countries on earth.The historical evidence is telling. The countries that are developed today reached our present incomelevel growing at per capita growth rates of around 3%, but they maintained that rate for over 40 years tobecome developed. In contrast, despite its significant achievements over the last 20 years, the Chilean economyhas not succeeded in equalling the performance of the Asian tigers precisely because their growth dynamiclasted far longer than ours. [See Figure 1].Today, however, Chile must and can set itself demanding goals, such as those above. We know that LatinAmerica has never succeeded in doubling its GDP in such a short period of time; but Chile did achieve thisbetween 1990 and 2005, for the first time in its history, and can do so again if it commits itself and takes on thechallenge seriously.There is a broad consensus in the world today that the path to long-run growth lies in the evolution ofTotal Factor Productivity (TFP), and in Chile, during most of the last 20 years the contribution of TFP has beenimportant. However, the most recent data –even though possibly highly influenced by cyclical factors– seems toshow that this source of growth is declining in importance. This can become a problem in the medium termbecause the possibility of sustaining growth, based on capital and unskilled labour, does not last forever. In fact,the contribution to per capita GDP growth by labour tends to decrease 12 and investment has already reachedrecord levels.11 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) in 2005 dollars.12 This occurs, essentially, because employment cannot systematically grow more than the population.30