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 — Updated on 2025-03-14

How to Cite

Garrido-Lepe, M. (2025). 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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