Wednesday, January 25th 2012 – 21:32 UTC
Chile has emerged as the most globalized economy in Latin America and moved up to 25th place in the world, according to global consulting firm Ernst & Young. Chile is among the countries to improve their position despite global economic uncertainty, the firm’s annual Globalization Index found.
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“Unlike other countries, the policies of Chilean governments have promoted openness in times of turbulence, taking the sufficient precautions so the economic turmoil does not hit the country hard,” Cristián Lefevre, senior partner of Ernst & Young Chile, told El Mercurio.
The globalization measurement is based on five factors: foreign trade, capital movement, exchange of technology and ideas, labour movement, and cultural integration.
Chile’s greatest strength in 2011 was the arrival of foreign capital, which ranked fourth globally, behind Ireland, Hong Kong and Belgium. Chile also scored high in foreign trade.
Technology and cultural integration were cited as the country’s weakest points, with both ranking well below Singapore and Hong Kong, the leaders in those categories.
In Latin America, however, Chile remains the pacesetter. Mexico is the closest nation to Chile in terms of globalization, coming in the 36th position, followed by Colombia (43), Brazil (47), Ecuador (49) and Argentina (50).
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