State Ownership in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

Abstract This chapter presents a comparative analysis of the Brazil and Chile case studies, arguing for recognition of the significance of state ownership in understanding fundamental debates in the political economy that seek to address both critical real-world and normative questions: the relation between state capitalism and economic development, the role of state ownership in institutional capacity building and industrial policy expansion in the 21st century, and the political conditions necessary to maintain efficient, productive, and politically autonomous SOEs. It situates state ownership in a larger framework of reference by examining the challenges in pursuing SOE-based growth strategies in the rest of Latin America. The chapter explores and evaluates two other responses to economic globalization in the region: (1) Venezuela’s state ownership at the expense of the corporate autonomy of its NOC PDVSA in pursuing industrialization and the creation of alternative export industries; and (2) Peru’s full embrace of neoliberalism without any kind of state ownership, where the possibilities for structural transformation may have been closed due to the limited presence of industrial capabilities and overwhelming power of extractivist interests. In both cases, the balance between the pursuit of state activism and autonomy of SOEs had been difficult to achieve.