State-led electrification. The role of the public sector in the electrification of the Chilean industry, 1939-1955

Authors

  • Martín Garrido-Lepe Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33231/j.ihe.2023.01.001

Keywords:

Electrification, Industrialization, Energy consumption, Industrial modernization, N66, N76, 013, Q43

Abstract

The industrial electrification of the mid-20th century was crucial for Chilean industrialization. Developing a
competitive industry required modernization through the adoption of the electric engine to production thereby
increasing the consumption of electricity. During this process, however, the electric companies went
through the worst crisis in their history, causing extensive periods of restrictions, concentrated in the provinces
that led industrialization: Santiago and Valparaíso. Notwithstanding this, substantial public sector investments
increased the supply of electricity in southern provinces, allowing a sustained increase in industrial
electricity consumption. Comparing the industrial performance in two southern provinces (Concepción and
Ñuble) and two central provinces (Santiago and Valparaíso), it is argued that the availability of electricity,
generated by the public sector, was decisive in the modernization of the southern industry, allowing it to reach
higher levels of labor productivity than the one in the center of the country.

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Published

2023-02-01

How to Cite

Garrido-Lepe, M. (2023). State-led electrification. The role of the public sector in the electrification of the Chilean industry, 1939-1955. Investigaciones De Historia Económica, 19(1), 45–61. https://doi.org/10.33231/j.ihe.2023.01.001

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Section

ARTICLES