ABSTRACT
Chile was the only one of the four developing American mineral economies which by the end of the 1980s had made substantial progress in growing out of debt. Indeed, by 1990, Chile had emerged as ‘best practice’ for Latin American economic performance and evoked favourable comparisons with the successful Asian countries on the Pacific Rim. In contrast with Peru, which drifted into and out of orthodox policies over 1975-85, Chile remained committed. Consequently, Chile provides an example of policy consistency which is rare in most developing countries. But that consistency needs to be qualified: Chile, like the other copper producer Peru, disadjusted under doctrinaire orthodoxy in 1978-82.
