Three Reasons The Future Is Looking Bright In This Corner Of The World
While chatting with some friends from back home yesterday evening, I couldn’t help but realize just how different Chile’s future looks compared to so many other parts of the globe right now.
And it’s not just because of the physical location of the country either (although it is an influential factor).
Chile’s current upward trajectory really boils down to three things;
1. Food and Water Security
2. A Developing Economy with Clear Rule of Law
3. Low National Debt
If Chile was lacking in even one of these pillars of stability, the likelihood of the country’s future success would be much less certain.
Thankfully, that’s not the case.
Food Security
I’ll never forget the first time I arrived in central Chile after travelling overland through the country’s northern desert and coastal mountain range.
I'd heard that the Chilean customs department was very strict on letting people bring produce in from outside the region and as I descended into the valley just outside of Santiago, I finally started to understand why.
With desert to the north, Patagonia to the south, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Andes to the east, Chile’s fertile central valley is extremely well protected.
Between the geographic boundaries and a serious customs department, they're able to keep their agricultural production very secure.
Water Security
Chile is home to just over 17 million people and has a total landmass of a little over 750,000 square kilometers.
California on the other hand is home to close to 40 million people but has a landmass of just 450,000 square kilometers.
With nearly twice as much land and less than half the people, you might be tempted to do some quick napkin math and calculate that water resources are four times as secure in Chile as they are in California.
In reality, even that would be grossly underestimating the situation.
The fact that Chile has much taller mountains on its eastern border than California does and stretches into a much more extreme latitude means that Chile’s total amount of freshwater dwarfs that of much of the western United States.
Thanks to the enormous glaciers and snow fields located in Chile’s southern regions, the country’s freshwater resources are unlikely to be depleted anytime in the next couple hundreds of years.
Developing Economy with Clear and Transparent Rule of Law
One of the most devastating but all too common aspects of developing nations is unclear rule of law.
A region can have great infrastructure, vast mineral reserves, and an educated population but none of that really matters if incorporating and doing business in the country is like navigating a minefield.
It’s long been known that most African, Asian, and Latin American countries lack the legal framework and enforcement required for smooth industrial operations but these days doing business even in Europe and North America is becoming increasingly difficult.
Companies the world over are looking for greener pastures where they can start new projects without the risk of being taken down by corrupt bureaucrats, litigation, and regulation.
Thanks to Chile’s clear rule of law, a trend has already been forming as European energy and engineering firms and American and Asian agricultural conglomerates are moving a significant portion of their new projects down to this part of the Southern Cone.
Low National Debt
Chile’s low national debt has been an absolutely integral part of maintaining a competitive edge over the last several years.
Debt might not be the most exciting topic for most but at a time when so much of the world is busy indebting future generations and living on borrowed time, someday people are going to have to wake up and accept that runaway spending eventually leads to dire consequences.
While Chile’s national debt has been increasing recently, politicians here have been surprisingly responsible compared with their counterparts abroad and even keep a large reserve/stabilization fund for any future downturns.
With a trade war, a heated conflict between different branches of the US government, and the bursting of the largest asset bubble in the history of the world all looking like pretty serious possibilities this year, it’s nice to know that there are still some corners of the planet where the future seems to be quite bright.
And it’s not just because of the physical location of the country either (although it is an influential factor).
Chile’s current upward trajectory really boils down to three things;
1. Food and Water Security
2. A Developing Economy with Clear Rule of Law
3. Low National Debt
If Chile was lacking in even one of these pillars of stability, the likelihood of the country’s future success would be much less certain.
Thankfully, that’s not the case.
Food Security
I’ll never forget the first time I arrived in central Chile after travelling overland through the country’s northern desert and coastal mountain range.
I'd heard that the Chilean customs department was very strict on letting people bring produce in from outside the region and as I descended into the valley just outside of Santiago, I finally started to understand why.
With desert to the north, Patagonia to the south, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Andes to the east, Chile’s fertile central valley is extremely well protected.
Between the geographic boundaries and a serious customs department, they're able to keep their agricultural production very secure.
Water Security
Chile is home to just over 17 million people and has a total landmass of a little over 750,000 square kilometers.
California on the other hand is home to close to 40 million people but has a landmass of just 450,000 square kilometers.
With nearly twice as much land and less than half the people, you might be tempted to do some quick napkin math and calculate that water resources are four times as secure in Chile as they are in California.
In reality, even that would be grossly underestimating the situation.
The fact that Chile has much taller mountains on its eastern border than California does and stretches into a much more extreme latitude means that Chile’s total amount of freshwater dwarfs that of much of the western United States.
Thanks to the enormous glaciers and snow fields located in Chile’s southern regions, the country’s freshwater resources are unlikely to be depleted anytime in the next couple hundreds of years.
Developing Economy with Clear and Transparent Rule of Law
One of the most devastating but all too common aspects of developing nations is unclear rule of law.
A region can have great infrastructure, vast mineral reserves, and an educated population but none of that really matters if incorporating and doing business in the country is like navigating a minefield.
It’s long been known that most African, Asian, and Latin American countries lack the legal framework and enforcement required for smooth industrial operations but these days doing business even in Europe and North America is becoming increasingly difficult.
Companies the world over are looking for greener pastures where they can start new projects without the risk of being taken down by corrupt bureaucrats, litigation, and regulation.
Thanks to Chile’s clear rule of law, a trend has already been forming as European energy and engineering firms and American and Asian agricultural conglomerates are moving a significant portion of their new projects down to this part of the Southern Cone.
Low National Debt
Chile’s low national debt has been an absolutely integral part of maintaining a competitive edge over the last several years.
Debt might not be the most exciting topic for most but at a time when so much of the world is busy indebting future generations and living on borrowed time, someday people are going to have to wake up and accept that runaway spending eventually leads to dire consequences.
While Chile’s national debt has been increasing recently, politicians here have been surprisingly responsible compared with their counterparts abroad and even keep a large reserve/stabilization fund for any future downturns.
With a trade war, a heated conflict between different branches of the US government, and the bursting of the largest asset bubble in the history of the world all looking like pretty serious possibilities this year, it’s nice to know that there are still some corners of the planet where the future seems to be quite bright.