Business power in the making of social policies: the case of old-age pensions in Chile, 1973-2017

Thesis

The 1980-1981 reform to the pension system in Chile represents the most notable case of pension privatisation as it pioneered private-oriented pension reforms worldwide. After almost four decades since its inception, the main pillars of this old-age pension system remain largely intact in spite of significant insufficiencies such as low effective coverage and low benefits. Hence, this dissertation aims to explain, in the first place, why and how pension privatisation took off during the authoritarian regime (1973- 1990). Secondly, it seeks to address the question of why the scheme has proved so resilient during thirty years of democracy dominated mostly by centre-left administrations, growing public opposition and increasing electoral competition. In so doing, this work combines a long-term historical approach (stretching back to the early 1960s) with an in-depth analysis of five pension policymaking processes developed during the 1973-2017 period. The research is based on extensive archival research and more than ninety interviews with key informants. In this context, I argue that in order to have a more accurate picture of the system’s inception in 1981 and the subsequent lack of paradigmatic changes in democracy, we need to pay more attention to the role played by the economic elite as a whole and by its different segments. Among other findings, this thesis shows the significance of including in the analysis ideational elements of power, which have been overlooked so far in the literature on business politics. Specifically, I show the significant influence of long-term, strategic investments carried out by the economic elite in order to avoid the overt exercising of power -which usually entails high costs and risks- through the dissemination of dominant ideological frameworks. At a more empirical level, this research shows the extraordinary adaptive capacity of the Chilean economic elite throughout the period under analysis. Through a vast repertoire of sources of power, this group has been able to overcome different challenges from below and safeguard their minority interests.

Authors: Schiappacasse, I

• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: economic elite; business; Latin America; social policies; power
• Subjects: Political Economy; Business Power; Development Studies; Political Science