La producción agropecuaria chilena en la "Era del Salitre" (1880-1930)

Abstract

Using a variety of new statistical data series for the most important crops, this article analyzes the performance of the agricultural sector during the so-called Nitrate Era (1880-1930), a period of rapid economic expansion and modernization in Chile. The paper shows that throughout that period, and especially after the turn of the nineteenth century, the agricultural production and the real value of the output increased in the most important crops as well as in the livestock sector. In addition, there took place important improvements in land productivity, which reflected the impact of technological changes, such as biological innovations. In short, contrary to conventional accounts that popularized the notion of agricultural stagnation, this work demonstrates that Nitrate Era agriculture was a far more dynamic sector than generally supposed.