Exporter’s Intro to Chile

Flag of Chile

Chile has a fast growing market-oriented economy characterized by a high level of foreign trade – exports account for 40% of GDP, with commodities making up some three-quarters of total exports.

Its capital city, Santiago, is popular with tourists.  88% of Chile’s population is urban, and 25 Chilean cities have populations of over 100,000.

Despite substantial improvements in living standards and a GNP per capita of $10,108 in 2008, some 13.7% of Chileans live below the poverty line, with many millions precariously just above it.  The distribution of income is among the most unequal of any country in the world, and upward social mobility is scarce. The middle class, as well as the poor, remain highly vulnerable to shocks.

Fruit Cart Sangiago Chile

The United States and Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has been an impressive success, stimulating and supporting trade between these two nations since January 1, 2004.  90% of U.S. exports to Chile have been duty free since the agreement was signed, with the rest to be phased out by 2015.

More information on exporting to Chile and other South American countries is available here, and from the sites listed below (which were the sources of information for this article).

Skyline Santiago Chile

• U.S. Department of State’s Country Commercial Guides on each country. In about 100 pages, each guide covers these topics: Doing Business in <name of country>; Political and Economic Environment; Selling U.S. Products and Services; Leading Sectors for U.S. Export and Investment; Trade regulations and Standards; Investment Climate; Trade and Project Financing; Business Travel; Contacts, Market Research and Trade Events; and Guide to Our Services.
• The CIA’s World Factbook     Information here is updated bi-weekly and includes summary an statistics regarding the geography, people, government, economy, communications, transportation, and military of each country as well as a summary of “transnational issues.”
• The World Bank’s Country Briefs   These reports begin with encyclopedia-like sections of Quick Facts, General Overview, and Economy and also contain thorough information on development programs and progress.
•  Michigan State University’s globalEDGE website. The homepage describes the Country Insights pages as, “…your source for statistical data for 201… In addition to statistics, historical, economic, and political conditions are available”.
• UHY International’s Doing Business Guides (by country)  UHY is an international business advisory, consulting and accounting network, with teams operating across 211 offices in 72 countries worldwide.  This guides include nut and bolts information about the business environment, foreign investment, setting up a business, labor, taxation, accounting and reporting.

Related articles

• Exporter’s Intro to South America (elizabeththeblogger.wordpress.com)
• Exporter’s Intro to Chile (elizabeththeblogger.wordpress.com)
• Exporter’s Intro to Venezuela (elizabeththeblogger.wordpress.com)
• Exporter’s Intro to Colombia (elizabeththeblogger.wordpress.com)
• Exporter’s Intro to Brazil (elizabeththeblogger.wordpress.com)
• Exporter’s Intro to Peru (elizabeththeblogger.wordpress.com)
• Exporter’s Intro to Argentina (elizabeththeblogger.wordpress.com)

 

Getting Started as an Internet Auction Seller

eBay is the most popular Internet auction site, but not the only one!  TopTenReviews.com gives eBay 9 out of 10 points – the top score in its category.  With 8.85 points, WebStore is also highly recommended (and charges no fees), as is eBid, with 8 points.

There are overall scores.  For selling eBay has a perfect score: ten out of ten; WebStore has 9.4 points, and eBid, 8.8.

eBay is the best site for a beginner emptying their garage, not only because of the above ratings, but also because it is user friendly, with a wonderful array of help pages and tutorials, and because it has strong auctions in all the categories of garage sale items.  (Except guns: as an ethical issues, eBay does not sell firearms.)

Before going online, all merchandise should be cleaned, spruced and digitally photographed.  Then it should be packaged, ready to ship.

There are several methods for accepting payment on eBay, but the beginner is advised to choose the most popular: PayPal.  This is a secure method of paying via check, credit card, debit card, or with a balance from a PayPal account.  PayPal uses trusted fraud prevention measures; confirms addresses; and offers shipping and package tracking integration, dispute resolution, and seller protections in case of chargebacks, reversals, and other issues.  The standard fee is 2.9% plus $0.30 USD, with discounts to vendors accepting payments for over $3000.00 per month.

On the eBay website there are excellent tutorials to help the new Internet auction seller set up an account, choose the best categories for auctioning off merchandise, calculate shipping charges, set up an auction ad, and set up a PayPal account.  If you have several items, it may take half a day or more to set all this up, but because thousands of other have done these things successfully, the new seller should remain relaxed and confident of a good outcome!

THE HISTORY OF THE INTERNET

Today about 25% of the world’s people – including 74% of North Americans – are Internet users. (1)  These 1.7 billion people can thank the US Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) for developing ARPANET, the first Internet-like system, back in the 1960s.  Initially it was a top military secret, a Cold War solution for keeping computers in communication with each other in the event of nuclear attack.   In 1971 this private system had fifteen nodes and was accessed by military personnel, researchers, and a few others.

Logical map of the ARPANET, from April 1971. (2)

By 1973 the Internet had gone international, with connections in Norway and England.  The communication system, called email (and already using the @ sign) (3), was invented by Ray Tomlinson of Bolt, Berank and Newman; and Queen Elizabeth II of Britain sent the first royal email on March 26, 1976 (4).

Although many people think of the World Wide Web and the Internet as the same thing, the Internet actually existed for over twenty years before the Web was invented in 1991 by Tim Berners-Lee, initially to host a phone directory of CERN, the High-Energy Physics laboratory where he worked.  Berners-Lee is currently Director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) which sets standards for the Web, including defining all rules for XHTML, the current approved programming language for web pages. (5)

How do Americans use the Internet in today?  Here are the most popular online activities (6):

• Email
• Search engine
• Research of a product or service
• Check the weather
• Buy a product
• Get news

Who could have predicted the phenomena of the Internet connecting mankind, and thereby changing individuals, economies and cultures in ways too numerous to chronicle?  Interestingly enough, Baha’u’llah, the Prophet-Founder of the Baha’i Faith foresaw it in the 1800’s, prophesying that “A mechanism of world inter-communication will be devised, embracing the whole planet, freed from national hindrances and restrictions, and functioning with marvelous swiftness and perfect regularity.” (7)

SOURCES

1. Internet World Stats. Internet Usage Statistics The Big Picture. Internet World Stats. [Online] Septbember 2009. [Cited: January 22, 2010.] http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm.

2. Gromov, Gregory R. History of Internet and WWW: The Roads and Crossroads of Internet History. NetValley.com. [Online] 1995-2006. [Cited: January 23, 2010.] http://www.netvalley.com/intval1.html.

3. National Public Radio. The Man Who Made You Put Away Your Pen. NPR National Public Radio. [Online] NPR, November 15, 2009. [Cited: January 23, 2010.] http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120364591.

4. HistoryOrb.com. Historical Events on 26th March. HistoryOrb. [Online] HistoryOrb, 2000 – 2010. [Cited: January 23, 2010.] http://www.historyorb.com/events/march/26.

5. Berners-Lee, Tim. Tim Berners-Lee; also: Answers for Young People. W3C. [Online] W3C (MIT, ERCIM, Keio), 2010. [Cited: January 23, 2010.] http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/.

6. Pew Internet and Amnerican Life Project. Online Activities, 2000-2009. Pew Internet and American Life Project. [Online] The Pew Research Center, 2009. [Cited: January 23, 2010.] http://www.pewinternet.org/Trend-Data/Online-Activities-20002009.aspx.

7. Effendi, Shoghi. The World Order of Baha’u’llah. Wilmette, Illinois : Baha’i Publishing Trust, 1955. p. 203.

8. Computer History Museum. Exhibits: Internet History. Computer History Museum. [Online] 2006. [Cited: January 22, 2010.] http://www.computerhistory.org/internet_history/.

9. Boswell, Wendy. History of the Internet, About.com: Web Search. About:com. [Online] The New York Times Company, 2010. [Cited: January 22, 2010.] http://websearch.about.com/od/whatistheinternet/a/historyinternet.htm.

10. Gaskill, Dennis. Web Site Design Made Easy. Englewood, CO : Morton Publishing Company, 2008. 0-89582-735-2.

THE U.S. NATIONAL DEBT

 The US government, just like businesses and households, must choose between debt financing and equity financing to fund projects.  Most businesses are more profitable if the use a mixture of debt and equity financing, and the same is true for our government.  Many believe, however, that the current U.S. National Debt is unwisely large.

The following graph which shows the National Debt as a percent of Gross domestic Product, supports the argument that deficit spending can stimulate the economy to enable the government to then pay down the debt. (1)

The total U.S. National Debt is over sixteen trillion dollars.  Per citizen this comes to about fifty-two thousand dollars for each of us. (2)  “Interest on the debt was $454 billion in Fiscal Year 2011, the highest ever. That’s despite the lowest interest rates in 200 years. The interest on the debt in the Fiscal Year 2013 budget is $248 billion, the sixth largest budget item.” (3)

On its website, the US Department of the Treasury shares detailed information about the National Debt, current and historical, including “The Debt To The Penny And Who Holds It“, which is updated daily.

As the following pie charts show, this is owed mainly to the Federal Reserve and to government accounts.  The second largest category is to foreign sources, and other lenders include private pension funds, mutual funds, state and local governments, various financial institutions, government pension funds, savings bonds, insurance companies, and miscellaneous others.

Source: http://politicalcalculations.blogspot.com/2012/09/summer-2012-to-whom-does-us-government.html#.UMwEguR9Ldk

Source: http://www.defeatthedebt.com/understanding-the-national-debt/who-do-we-owe/

How do you make a contribution to reduce the debt?

Sometimes private citizens donate funds towards paying off the National Debt.  In 2008 these donations totaled almost three million dollars (4), which is a small percentage of even the interest on the National Debt.

There are two ways for you to make a contribution to reduce the debt:

• You can make a contribution online either by credit card, checking or savings account at Pay.gov
• You can write a check payable to the Bureau of the Public Debt, and in the memo section, notate that it’s a Gift to reduce the Debt Held by the Public. Mail your check to:Attn Dept G
  Bureau of the Public Debt
  P. O. Box 2188
  Parkersburg, WV 26106-2188

Sources

1. Stoft, Steven. National Debt Graph: Bush Goes for WWII Stimulus. zFacts.com. [Online] zacts.com, November 8, 2009. [Cited: January 31, 2010.] http://zfacts.com/p/318.html.

2. Hall, Ed. brillig.com. U.S. National Debt Clock. [Online] January 28, 2010. [Cited: January 31, 2010.] http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/.

3. Amadeo, Kimberly. The U.S. National Debt and How It Got So Big. http://www.about.com. [Online] The New York Times Company, December 21, 2009. [Cited: January 31, 2010.] http://useconomy.about.com/od/fiscalpolicy/p/US_Debt.htm.

4. Moran, Andrew. US treasury wants donations to pay off national debt . Digital Journal. [Online] digitaljournal.com, November 16, 2009. [Cited: January 31, 2010.] http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/282247.

How Does Podcasting Work?

The podcasting phenomenon came out of nowhere and has grown rapidly in the past few years.  One sign of this is the number hits from goggling “podcasting”.  In 2004 such a search yielded less than 6,000 results; in 2008, more than 17,100,000 (1).  Although it began with the techie people, podcasting is now widely used by the general public. (2)  Obviously podcasting is not a fad, but a technology that will continue to benefit us as consumers, as students, as professionals, and for enjoyment.

Podcasting is a  free service that allows listeners to pull audio files off the Internet to listen to according to their own schedule, or, alternately, subscribe to have a series of programs sent via an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed. (2)  Less commonly, enhanced podcasts may be offered, which have images and/or chapter markers.  Also, video podcasts are available – mostly using the MPEG-4 format. (3)

From the point of view of the listener using a fairly new computer, all it requires is a bit of clicking – the necessary software will be on the computer and in the web browser. “The term podcasting comes from a combination of the words iPod (a personal digital audio player made by Apple) and broadcasting. Even though the term is derived from the iPod, you don’t need an iPod to listen to a podcast. You can use virtually any portable media player or your computer.” (2)  Some people can even listen to podcasts on their cellular telephones!

Podcast audio files are compressed in the MP3 format.  When users subscribe to a podcast, podcatching software on their computers (known as aggregator software) automatically downloads new episodes, which can then be listened to on the computer or on a portable MP3 device. (4 pp. 324 – 325)

“The popular directory, Podcast Alley, has cataloged over 76,000 podcasts and over 5 million individual episodes.” (3)

Sources

1. Dwase, Daniel. How Podcasting Work. Best iPod Online. [Online] D3WebDesigns.com, December 19, 2008. [Cited: May 5, 2010.] Note: The title definitely ends with the word “work”, rather than “works”. http://www.best-ipod-online.com/how-podcasting-work.html.

2. Watson, Stephanie. How Podcasting Works. HowStuffWorks.com. [Online] March 26, 2005. [Cited: May 5, 2010.] http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/basics/podcasting.htm#.

3. Vincent, Tony. Podcasting. Learning in Hand. [Online] [Cited: May 5, 2010.] http://learninginhand.com/podcasting/.

4. Schneider, Gary P. and Evans, Jessica. The Internet. Boston, MA : Cengage Learning, 2009. 1-4239-2506-8.

MP3 Music Files

The MP3 format for recorded music stores the file compressed into one tenth the space of a CD, without noticeably sacrificing quality.  (1)

This means that an hour of music will take up only 64 MB; and that 1 GB can hold about 20 CD’s worth of music – 240 songs. (1)

An MP3 player doesn’t just store data , but can also port music in from digital sources, copy music from many sources (including web-pages and CDs), and, of course, can play the music back for you through speakers, ear phones, ear buds, or even your car’s sound system.  According to Maxwell Payne, of ehow.com, “If your car stereo has an audio-in jack, you can purchase a standard audio cable with 3.5 mm jacks on each end and listen to your MP3 player in the car. You can also buy radio transmitters… to hear music through the radio.” (2)

In addition to the option of organizing music by album, most users enjoy creating playlists inter-mixing the music of various artists.  For example, there could be a playlist for exercising, one for doing chores, another for romantic interludes and so on.

When you get an MP3 player, it generally has software already loaded and ready to go.  If you want to listen to MP3 files on your computer, you will use a media player software application.  There are many to choose from, but a beginner it may want to start off with iTunes by Apple or with Windows Media Player. (3)

Sources

1. Kevin Bonsor, Jeff Tyson, Craig Freudenrich. How MP3 Players Work. howstufworks. [Online] Discovery Communications, LLC. [Cited: February 1, 2010.] http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/mp3-player1.htm.

2. Payne, Maxwell. MP3 Player Definition. eHow.com. [Online] eHow, Inc., 1999 – 2010. [Cited: February 1, 2010.] http://www.ehow.com/facts_5468316_mp-player-definition.html.

3. PC Magazine. Definition of MP3. PC Magazine online. [Online] Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings, Inc, 1996 – 2010. [Cited: February 01, 2010.] http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=MP3&i=47286,00.asp.

Researching The Job Market

A search engine will identify many web sites with lists of the Top Ten Careers or the Top Ten Jobs for 2012.  Each of these articles may be interesting to read, but most either give no rational for their choices, or rely on US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics for data.

For decades the Bureau of Labor Statistics has annually published The Occupational Outlook Handbook, which every researcher agrees is essential for reviewing careers, jobs and the expected future job market.

The Occupational Outlook Handbook is an essential source of information about jobs and careers. Source: http://www.bls.gov/OCO/

The Occupational Outlook Handbook has this information about each job:

• the training and education needed
• earnings
• expected job prospects
• what workers do on the job
• working conditions

In addition, the Handbook gives you job search tips, links to information about the job market in each State, and more. You can also view frequently asked questions about the Handbook.” (1)

The entire Handbook, as well as tutorials on how to use it, is online at http://www.bls.gov/OCO/ .  An excellent overview of this year’s findings is at http://www.bls.gov/oco/oco2003.htm.  About.com summarizes the information most interesting to those making career plans here: http://jobsearch.about.com/od/cooljobs/a/topjobs.htm. (2)

Another About.com site of interest is http://jobsearch.about.com/od/jobsearchengines/a/jobsearchengine.htm which lists “The Top Job Search Engine Sites”. (3)

Some excellent links on choosing a suitable career, as well as a link to the Occupational Network (“a huge collection of occupational information, organized for exploration”) can be found at http://www.thejobmarket.org/youth/Career.asp, a webpage which primarily serves residents of Humboldt County, California. (4)

Accountants, bookkeepers and auditors have been listed in The Occupational Outlook Handbook as growing career fields every year for decades. Source: http://www.bls.gov/ooh/math/actuaries.htm

An example of a profession which has been growing consistently for decades is Accounting, including Bookkeeping and Auditing.  Every geographic location has numerous jobs in this field, and there is a lot of flexibility to work part time, or to move into teaching or management or writing as lifestyle and personal development motivate the accountant to change jobs.

Works Cited

1. US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition. United States Department of Labor. [Online] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections. [Cited: May 6, 2010.] http://www.bls.gov/OCO/.

2. Doyle, Alison. Top Jobs: The Top Jobs and Where to Find Them. About.com: Job Searching. [Online] The New York Times Company, 2010. [Cited: May 6, 2010.] http://jobsearch.about.com/od/cooljobs/a/topjobs..

3. —. Job Search Engine – Best Job Search Engine Sites. About.com: Job Searching. [Online] The New York Times Company, 2010. [Cited: May 6, 2010.] http://jobsearch.about.com/od/jobsearchengines/a/jobsearchengine.htm.

4. Employment Resources For Humboldt County. Career Exploration: Choosing the Right Career. The Job Market. [Online] 2003. [Cited: May 6, 2010.] http://www.thejobmarket.org/youth/Career.asp.

 

The US Prison System: Let’s Ask the Right Questions

Often questions (and rants) that are successful in journalism aren’t the right questions to ask in making decisions and setting policies.

Stirring up simple controversy and calling for clear-cut easily implemented decisions get attention.  We pay the media based not upon how responsibly it disseminates the information we need to be good citizens, but upon on successfully it gets the attention of large numbers of people – people who presumably will also be paying attention to the message of the advertisers.

For example, a journalist could say, “Why does the US have 25% of the prison population on the planet, but only 5% of the population?”, and proceed to denounce the expense and the wasted productivity.  However, a decision maker should also ask such questions as:

• How does the percentage of the US population in prison compare to that in other developed countries?  How does the percentage compare by category of crime?
• Is the US safer than other developed countries with smaller percentages of inmates?
• Do more US citizens have criminal tendencies than those elsewhere?

It is well known that US prison populations soared after a wave of reforms beginning in 1975 that resulted in mandatory sentencing, longer prison terms, and a reduction in paroles. During the current recession several states have taken measures to reduce prison populations in order to control spending.

There are three reasons for imprisoning criminals:

• To keep dangerous persons from committing further crimes,
• At a deterrent to others who may consider crime,
• Reformation.

It is generally agreed that fear of prison does reduce crime, and that tougher sentencing was a factor in the crime rate falling by 25%.  However this is only effective to a certain point.  It is obvious that other factors are also important.

Statistics overwhelmingly show that sociological factors predispose certain demographics to choose crime.  Reducing drug use and improving education are both proven methods for reducing crime.

Approaches that have worked to reduce imprisonment:

• A study reported in the American Economic Review on the effects of education on crime found that a one-year increase in the average year of schooling completed reduces violent crime by almost 30 percent. (5)
• From 1992 to 1997, during a time when the unemployment rate dropped 33 percent, the country also witnessed a 30 percent drop in robberies, a 15 percent drop in auto theft and burglary and a 4 percent drop in larceny. (6)
• A JPI study of drug treatment and imprisonment in Maryland from 2000 to 2005 found that eight of 12 jurisdictions that depended more on drug treatment saw crime rates fall by 10 percent or more, while only two of 12 jurisdictions that relied more on imprisonment experienced such a decrease. (7)

The above is excerpted from the Justice Policy Institute’s report “Concerns Over Rising Crime in Context” at this website http://prisonpolicy.org/scans/facts_crimeincontext_031507.pdf 

Sources

1. Liiptak, Adam. U.S. prison population dwarfs that of other nations. The New York Times. [Online] April 23, 2008. [Cited: May 6, 2010.] http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/world/americas/23iht-23prison.12253738.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1.

2. Director), Adam Gelb (Project. Public Safety, Public Spending: Forecasting America’s Prison Population 2007-2011. Pew Center on the States. [Online] June 2007. [Cited: May 6, 2010.] http://bit.ly/12qF31w

3. General), Laurie O. Robinson (Assistant Attorney. 2010 OJP Program Plan. Office of Justice Programs. [Online] 2010. [Cited: May 6, 2010.] http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ProgramPlan/toc.htm.

4. Cole, David. Can Our Shameful Prisons Be Reformed? The New York Review of Books. [Online] November 19, 2009. [Cited: May 6, 2010.] http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2009/nov/19/can-our-shameful-prisons-be-reformed/.

5. Lochner, L. and Moretti, E. (2004). “The Effect of Education on Crime: Evidence from Prison Inmates, Arrests, and Self-Reports.” The American Economic Review.

6. Raphael, S. and Winter-Ebmer, R. (2001).

7. Pranis, Kevin. 2006. “Progress and Challenges: An analysis of drug treatment and imprisonment in Maryland from 2000 to 2005.”Washington, D.C.: Justice Policy Institute.

Web Hosting

Before deciding on a web hosting strategy, a company needs to analyze the following:

Disk space:  “A small or medium web site will need between 10 and 100MB of disk space… Expect each HTML page to take up between 5 and 50KB of disk space on your web server… If you use a lot of images or graphic elements (or sound files or movies), you might need much more disk space.” (1)

Traffic and bandwidth:  How many are expected to visit the website each day and each week?  How many are expected at peak times?  How much bandwidth will be required?

Security and Stability:  Is it acceptable to have the website “down” on occasion?   How much protection does your site require from hackers and other evils?

Technical Support:  Will you rely on in-house talent, or do you need quality technical support from your web host provider?

Budget:  Is this project important enough to the company to warrant a large budget, or is thrift a priority?

Having decided on these points, the company can then determine which type of web hosting will best suit its needs:

Self hosting offers the most control, and costs the most.  It is mainly an option for large companies with large websites that justify the expenses of hardware, software and labor to run a server.  Dedicated housing is having your web site on its own dedicated server.  Colocated Hosting is having that server on the premises of a web hosting service provider. (2)

Most small and medium businesses, however, opt for an Internet Service Provider (ISP).  Most ISPs will have fast internet connections, powerful web servers and backup servers, excellent virus protection, the latest software patches and systems that are up 99% of the time (3).

Some ISPs offer free web hosting.  This is a reasonable choice for a smaller non-critical website since advertising will be added to your pages, and since the website may be down frequently, or slow. (4)

Most small and medium businesses will choose Shared Hosting, on a server shared with other companies.  Many various packages of services and add-ons are available. (5)

SOURCES

1. w3schools. Web Hosting Capacities. w3schools. [Online] w3schools, 1999 – 2010. [Cited: April 11, 2010.] http://www.w3schools.com/hosting/host_capacity.asp.

2. —. Web Hosting Types. w3schools. [Online] w3schools, 1999 — 2010. [Cited: April 11, 2010.] http://www.w3schools.com/hosting/host_types.asp.

3. w3schools.com. Web Hosting Providers. w3schools. [Online] 1999 – 2010. [Cited: April 11, 2010.] http://www.w3schools.com/hosting/host_providers.asp.

4. website.com. Types of Web Hosting Services. website.com Learning Center. [Online] 2007 – 2010. [Cited: April aa, 2010 .] http://www.website.com/beginnerguide/webhosting/6/2/Types-of-Web-Hosting-Services.ws.

5. Web Hosting Geeks. Web Housing Geeks. Different Types of Web Hosting. [Online] April 11, 2010. [Cited: April 11, 2010.] http://webhostinggeeks.com/articles/Different_Types_of_Web_Hosting.html.

An Exporter’s Intro to South America

South America has twelve nations, ranging in population from 191,908,000 in Brazil to 456,000 in Suriname.  All of these nations except two, Bolivia and Paraguay, have a sea coast.  The United States is a major trade partner for every country in South America.

Focusing on Emerging Markets

Experts categorize a country’s stage of economic development based on its citizens’ purchasing capacity, commercial infrastructure, and sophistication of the business sector. (1 pp. 256 – 269)  The three categories are:

Developing economies are countries with low per capita income, low growth, and limited infrastructure.  Such countries in South America include:

• Bolivia
• Ecuador
• Guyana
• Paraguay
• Suriname
• Uruguay.   (Uruguay is classified as a developing economy with the potential to become an emerging market.)

Emerging markets were formerly developing economies, but have achieved rapid economic growth.  Of 27 emerging markets worldwide, one, Mexico, is in North America, and these six are in South America:

• Argentina
• Brazil
• Chile
• Colombia
• Peru
• Venezuela

Advanced economies have high per-capita income, competitive industries, and well-developed commercial infrastructures.  There are no advanced economies in South America.

“Emerging markets are some of the fastest growing economies in the world and represent countries that are experiencing a substantial economic transformation. Such economies are home to approximately 80 percent of the world’s population,” according to S. Tamer Cavusgil, The John W. Byington Endowed Chair in Global Marketing at the Broad School (University of Michigan). “Their tremendous economic expansion has fueled much of the recent wave of globalization. They remain the primary destinations for not only exports but popular markets for direct investment and offshoring activity,” he says. (2)

Most export products target more affluent customers; therefore developing economies are not suitable export markets, and so this report will evaluate only the emerging market economies in South America.

Overview of Emerging South American Markets

South American nations in the emerging market category of economic development include two Atlantic coast countries, Brazil and Argentina; one on the Caribbean, Venezuela; two Pacific coast countries, Peru and Chile; and Colombia, which has both Caribbean and Pacific coastlines.

Click on the following links for more information on each country:

• Argentina
• Brazil
• Chile
• Colombia
• Peru
• Venezuela

 Table 1: Table of per capita GDP (PPP) and Stage of Economic Development for the Nations of South America  

Source: GDP data from the CIA World Factbook at https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/.  Economic Development Status from Cavusgil, Knight, and Riesenberger, International Business, Pearson Hall, 2008, p.258.

Name	GDP (PPP*) per capita (2008 est. in U.S. dollars)	Ranking by GDP (PPP*) per capita (2008 est. in U.S. dollars)	Stage of Economic Development
Chile	$14,900	1	Emerging
Argentina	$14,200	2	Emerging
Venezuela	$13,500	3	Emerging
Uruguay	$12,200	4	Developing**
Brazil	$10,100	5	Emerging
Colombia	$8,900	6	Emerging
Suriname	$8,900	7	Developing
Peru	$8,400	8	Emerging
Ecuador	$7,500	9	Developing
Bolivia	$4,500	10	Developing
Paraguay	$4,200	11	Developing
Guyana	$3,900	12	Developing
* The GDP (PPP) per capita is Gross Domestic Product (value of all goods and services produced) adjusted based on Purchasing Power Parity (cost of a certain basket of goods) and divided by the total population. (1 p. 267) ** Uruguay is classified as a developing economy with the potential to become an emerging market. (1 p. 261)

Table 2a: Overview of South American Nations

Name	Area	Population July 2008 est.	Currency
Argentina	2,766,890 km2 (1,068,302 sq mi)	40,677,348	Argentine peso
Bolivia	1,098,580 km2 (424,164 sq mi)	9,247,816	Boliviano
Brazil	8,511,965 km2 (3,286,488 sq mi)	191,908,598	Brazilian real
Chile	756,950 km2 (292,260 sq mi)	16,454,143	Chilean peso
Colombia	1,138,910 km2 (439,736 sq mi)	45,013,674	Colombian peso
Ecuador	283,560 km2 (109,483 sq mi)	13,927,650	United States dollar
Guyana	214,999 km2 (83,012 sq mi)	1,165,673	Guyanese dollar
Paraguay	406,750 km2 (157,047 sq mi)	6,831,306	Paraguayan guaraní
Peru	1,285,220 km2 (496,226 sq mi)	29,180,899	Peruvian nuevo sol
Suriname	163,270 km2 (63,039 sq mi)	475,996	Surinamese dollar
Uruguay	176,220 km2 (68,039 sq mi)	3,477,778	Uruguayan peso
Venezuela	912,050 km2 (352,144 sq mi)	26,414,815	Venezuelan bolívar

Source: Based on table from http://www.wikipedia.com which used data from the CIA World Factbook at https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

 Table 2b: Overview of South American Nations

Name	Form of Government	Capital	Official Language(s)
Argentina	Federal presidential republic	Buenos Aires	Spanish
Bolivia	Republic	La Paz	Spanish, Quechua, Aymara
Brazil	Federal presidential republic	Brasília	Portuguese
Chile	Republic	Santiago	Spanish
Colombia	Presidential republic	Bogotá	Spanish
Ecuador	Presidential republic	Quito	Spanish
Guyana	Semi-presidential republic	Georgetown	English
Paraguay	Constitutional presidential republic	Asunción	Spanish, Guaraní
Peru	Presidential republic	Lima	Spanish, Quechua
Suriname	Constitutional democracy	Paramaribo	Dutch
Uruguay	Constitutional republic	Montevideo	Spanish
Venezuela	Federal presidential republic	Caracas	Spanish

Source: Based on table from http://www.wikipedia.com which used data from the CIA World Factbook at https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

For more information on each of these markets, consult these websites (which were used to prepare these summaries):

• U.S. Department of State’s Country Commercial Guides on each country. In about 100 pages, each guide covers these topics: Doing Business in <name of country>; Political and Economic Environment; Selling U.S. Products and Services; Leading Sectors for U.S. Export and Investment; Trade regulations and Standards; Investment Climate; Trade and Project Financing; Business Travel; Contacts, Market Research and Trade Events; and Guide to Our Services.
• The CIA’s World Factbook.  Information here is updated bi-weekly and includes summary an statistics regarding the geography, people, government, economy, communications, transportation, and military of each country as well as a summary of “transnational issues.”
• The World Bank’s Country Briefs. These reports begin with encyclopedia-like sections of Quick Facts, General Overview, and Economy and also contain thorough information on development programs and progress.
•  Michigan State University’s globalEDGE website. The homepage describes the Country Insights pages as, “…your source for statistical data for 201… In addition to statistics, historical, economic, and political conditions are available”.
• UHY International’s Doing Business Guides (by country). UHY is an international business advisory, consulting and accounting network, with teams operating across 211 offices in 72 countries worldwide.  This guides include nut and bolts information about the business environment, foreign investment, setting up a business, labor, taxation, accounting and reporting.

Sources

1. Cavusgil, S. Tamer, Knight, Gary and Riesenberger, John R. International Business: Strategy, Management, and the New Realities. Upper Saddle River, NJ : Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008. ISBN-13: 978-0-13-173860-7.

2. Eli Broad College of Business, Michigan State University,. Broad College of Business. Michigan State University. [Online] 2007. [Cited: December 7, 2009.] http://www.bus.msu.edu/information/news.cfm?newsid=907.

Exporter’s Intro to South America