The current global economic setting is turbulent, complex and fast-changing. Governments, businesses and societies are engaged in better understanding the ongoing technological, digital and industrial reorganisation processes and their profound potential impacts on the economy and the society. At a time in which is clear that growth is a necessary, but not exclusive, condition for development and that incentives are needed to guarantee that growth is inclusive and sustainable, planning and implementing strategies for economic transformation become paramount.

No unique pathway to development exists. Each country’s experience enriches our understanding of how development occurs in different contexts and of the role that institutions and polices play in shaping development outcomes.

Chile is a relatively stable and open economy. Sound macroeconomic management, coupled with effective penetration in global markets (trade equals 60% of GDP, a figure that is 20 percentage points higher than in Australia and 40 percentage points higher than in Argentina) and Chinese appetite for raw materials, enabled the country to enjoy sustained and relatively stable growth since the early 1990s. This reality also insulated Chile from the more volatile growth patterns of other economies in Latin America (Chile has been growing on average 4% since 2000 whereas Latin America at 2.8%). As a consequence, Chileans today are better off than in the past.

The Production Transformation Policy Review (PTPR) of Chile reviews the national agenda for growth and economic transformation and identifies game changers for future reforms. This overview summarises the PTPR’s main results and recommendations. The PTPR highlights the progress made by the country in maintaining relatively stable and high growth during the last decades, its effective macroeconomic management and its openness to the global economy. It identifies the country’s persistent structural weaknesses, including low productivity, limited knowledge base and persistent concentration of economic opportunities.

Chile has been growing in a sustained and relatively stable manner since the 1990s, thanks to effective macroeconomic management and its open economy. Today the Chilean model requires an “update” if it is to capture the gains offered by global technological and geopolitical changes and to meet the aspirations of its growing middle classes. Finding new sources of growth and broadening its economic base will be crucial for achieving shared prosperity. This chapter reviews Chile’s economic transformation and identifies four structural weaknesses that will need to be overcome to benefit from the window of opportunity opened in today’s global context.

Most countries around the world are defining and implementing new strategies to reap the benefits and minimise the risks of the ongoing technological and geopolitical changes. Chile, in line with global trends, has updated its strategy to sustain productivity and enable a shift towards a more knowledge-based growth. Chilean firms, entrepreneurs and society are revealing a new openness to thinking long term and to identify a shared vision for the future. The current policy approach builds on previous experiences and, in a spirit of continuity, presents novel elements that contribute to make Chile advancing in its path towards prosperity. This chapter starts with a brief overview of global trends in strategies foreconomic transformation, with a focus on China, Germany, Sweden and Emilia Romagna (Italy). It assesses the current Chilean strategy focusing on its governance and its anticipation and adaptation capacity, propensity to foster learning and its interconnectedness and embeddedness potential. It concludes by identifying three game changers for Chile and its future development agenda.

The shifting global geopolitical and technological landscape coupled with changes in consumers’ preferences is opening up a window of opportunity for Chile. The country could transform its economy, enlarge its knowledge base and increase productivity by leveraging on its natural assets in new, more innovative ways. However, the world is moving fast and opportunities will not be permanently available. To tap into them, a strategic approach and a shared vision between government, business and society is needed. Chile has started to do so through strategic initiatives that identify future opportunities and clarify gaps to be addressed. This chapter presents the Chilean experience in solar energy, mining and agro-food; in each case it presents a snapshot of key trends and future scenarios, developed through multi-stakeholder consultations, it describes the current policy approach and it identifies reforms to move forward.