Michiko Iizuka

Catching up in the 21st century: Globalization, knowledge & capabilities in Latin America, a case for natural resource based activities

The nature of the catching-up process has changed substantially at both the global and local levels over the last decade. The catching up process can no longer be disentangled from the rapid internationalization of science and technology and the globalization of innovation, in which the developing countries have an increasingly important role to play. In the first section, we focus on setting the global scene within which the catching up process operates today. In a second section we study the increasing complexity in the knowledge creation process caused by this dynamic interaction between the global and local levels. We then introduce the relevant types of capacities and explain why different capabilities are required in specific situations, times and locations. In section four, we place these theoretical discussions in a Latin American context to understand catching up opportunities from a regional perspective, focusing on activities based on natural resources.

Compliance with the private standards and capacity building of national institutions under globalization: new agendas for developing countries

There is a widely held view that global private standards would eventually replace the national regulatory institutions in developing countries. The purpose of our paper is to suggest an alternative view to the above. We consider the capacity of regulatory institutions in developing country can be strengthened in the global context. We will look at the quality and sanitation standards for food and agricultural products, with cases of salmon farming industry in Chile and the fresh agricultural products in Mexico. The national regulatory institutions have been traditionally strong for food and agricultural sector. Two cases illustrate that role of national regulatory institution is still important but performs different functions in the present-day context.

Environmental Collapse and Institutional Restructuring: The Sanitary Crisis in the Chilean Salmon Industry

The current export boom in natural resources is considered to be the ‘new window of opportunity’ for many developing countries endowed with natural resources. Recent studies (Blomstrom and Meller 1991; de Ferranti et al. 2002; Maloney 2002; Sinnoit et al. 2010; Perez et al. 2009; Iizuka and Soete 2011) indicate that natural resource-based activities can be knowledge intensive, which contrary to earlier understandings, would lead them to productivity-led development pathways.

The Development of Salmon Aquaculture in Chile into an Internationally Competitive Industry: 1985–2007

Since the mid-1980s, the Chilean salmon industry has steadily increased its annual production, propelled by a rapidly growing world demand for seafood (Montero 2004). The rapid expansion in production volume came hand in hand with the development of new institutions and new forms of social interaction among industry associations, universities, research institutions and other bodies. However, we can also observe that even at this incipient stage, there were already some imbalances in the co-evolutionary process. Chile achieved a successful ‘catch up’ in terms of nearing the production capacity of Norway (the largest exporter of salmon in the world) at the beginning of the first decade of the 2000s. However, this catch up was not comprehensive in all areas, particularly when we consider the aspects of innovation, development of local technological capabilities, sustainable production via monitoring of sanitation and environmental conditions, and overall institutions in general. Thus the process of industrial growth might not have been as successful as first impressions would suggest.

Transformation of Institutions: Crisis and Change in Institutions for Chilean Salmon Industry

Institutions matter for development but there is no clear consensus on how existing institutions can be transformed to better accommodate economic activities in an inclusive and sustainable manner (Acemoglu and Johnson 2012). Institutions can be defined in various ways. In this chapter, we consider institutions as mechanism that shape agents’ behaviors: “a system of social factors that conjointly generate a regularity of behavior” (Greif 2006, 30). Here, a system is considered as the combination of ‘rules of the game’, norms, beliefs, routines, organizations, and interactions that influence the outcome and the behavior of the various agents involved. It is also “self-sustaining salient patterns of social interactions, as represented by meaningful rules that every agent knows and are incorporated as agents’ shared beliefs about how the game is played and to be played” (Aoki 2007, 6). The common point in the above statements is the idea that institutions are the mechanisms that determine the individuals’ behaviors as well as the outcomes of complex interaction among stakeholders.

‘Discovery’ of non-traditional agricultural exports in Latin America: diverging pathways through learning and innovation

ABSTRACT Diversification of exports plays a critical role in economic growth and development, especially for countries endowed with natural resources. Successful cases often take advantage of a so-called natural resource knowledge idiosyncrasy, a unique combination of factor endowments and technological capabilities in a given natural environment. While building capabilities is fundamental, identification and exploitation of ‘windows of opportunity’ in the global market is of particular importance in establishing successful export industries. By examining four cases of non-traditional agricultural export products – cut flowers (Colombia and Ecuador) and blueberries (Chile and Argentina) – this paper identifies how the ‘self-discovery’ process of pioneers shapes the distinctive pathways through interacting with global, local and natural conditions using the adapted framework of functions of innovation systems.

Conclusions and Policy Implications

This book examines the development of the Chilean salmon farming industry, paying special attention to public goods, namely: ‘knowledge development’, ‘environmental sustainability’, ‘institutions’ and ‘inclusiveness/social welfare’. Normally, policy interventions in managing public goods are justified by the market failure argument. There are; however, several scholars who question assumptions made by neoclassical approach and extend their argument for the policy intervention in correcting systemic failure as well as coordination failure (for example, Cimoli et al. 2009; Stiglitz 1999).