Resumen
Starting in the mid 1970s, Chile implemented comprehensive structural market
reforms. Using manufacturing plant-level data on Chilean firms for years 1980
to 2001, we estimate the role of reforms on efficiency. We analyze aggregate
productivity constructed from micro data to find that in the aftermath of the
reforms, efficiency gains were explained by within-plant improvements and
by the net entry of new units. We also find that plants producing traded goods
and plants facing liquidity constraints experienced the largest efficiency gains.
Trade openness and a superior access to external finance seem to have partially
accounted for the improvement in manufacturing performance.