The main problem of Latin American countries under an ‘open regime’ is said to be its low growth in ‘technological capability’, since foreign imports replace domestic technology. On the other hand, several recent theoretical contributions to the literature have demonstrated that, under the current global production system, developing countries have a better chance to acquire ‘competitiveness’. This paper will look at a successful export sector in Chile, the salmon farming industry, to examine whether the above propositions are valid, and explores the factors needed for further development in developing countries, using preliminary results from a firm-level survey conducted by the author together with some secondary information.
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