Evolving Marketization, Societal Trends, and Indicators in Chile and the Andean Region

Markets, Globalization & Development Review Volume 7 Number 3 Article 2 2022 Evolving Marketization, Societal Trends, and Indicators in Chile and the Andean Region Cristian Andres Sepulveda Fort Lewis College Clifford J. Shultz Loyola University Chicago Mark Peterson University of Wyoming Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/mgdr Part of the Growth and Development Commons, Macroeconomics Commons, and the Marketing Commons Recommended Citation Sepulveda, Cristian Andres; Shultz, Clifford J.; and Peterson, Mark (2022) "Evolving Marketization, Societal Trends, and Indicators in Chile and the Andean Region," Markets, Globalization & Development Review: Vol. 7: No. 3, Article 2. DOI: 10.23860/MGDR-2022-07-03-02 Available at: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/mgdr/vol7/iss3/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Markets, Globalization & Development Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@URI. For more information, please contact . Evolving Marketization, Societal Trends, and Indicators in Chile and the Andean Region This article is available in Markets, Globalization & Development Review: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/mgdr/vol7/ iss3/2 Sepulveda et al.: Marketization: Chile and the Andean Region Evolving Marketization, Societal Trends, and Indicators in Chile and the Andean Region Introduction In this article, we report on an ongoing study of the evolving marketization of Chile, and the Andean Region more broadly. This article emphasizes political, social, economic, and ecological indicators and trends; the importance of prosocial leadership by catalytic institutions, their constructive engagement with all stakeholders – including, deliberate, purposeful, benevolent and goals-oriented cooperation and collaboration – and the reciprocal relationship between marketization and well-being, with implications for best/equitable/responsible practices, going forward. More specifically, we update and extend a stream of research in the wake of recent local and global political, social, and economic trends that have profoundly affected, and will continue to affect the development of the region and individual countries, and the well-being of the consumer-citizens who reside in it/them (Sepulveda, Shultz and Peterson 2020). Marketization is a dynamic process that evolves over time and space in many forms the world over and, of course, in the Andean Region as well. This socioeconomic phenomenon has enhanced the survival and well-being of our species (e.g., Lane 1991; McMillan 2002; see also Polanyi 1957), which now has carved out an existence that reaches every corner of the globe (Shultz et al. 2012). This process, however, has also come at some costs, including exploitation and destruction of ecosystems and their inhabitants – sometimes people and entire societies – on a large scale. Such a seemingly relentless march ultimately affects those of us who depend on the sustainability of those systems for our survival (e.g., Chaudhuri and Belk 2020; Shultz 2015; Shultz and Peterson 2019; Peterson 2021), in other words, all of us. Toward more humane, inclusive, equitable, and responsible forms of markets, marketing, and consumption, we share findings from research committed to a systemic approach – a macromarketing approach – which focuses on the understanding, coordination, and prioritization of several forces and institutions. This approach, we found, ultimately enhanced community well-being and individual quality-of-life (QOL) as both principal and aspirational goals, outcomes, and measures of marketization (e.g., Shultz 2007; Peterson 2021). These concerns, and our orientation and efforts, coincide with and complement longstanding scholarly interests within the International Society of Marketing and Development, and the Macromarketing Society (e.g., Arndt 1981; Dholakia and Fırat 1988; Kumcu Published by DigitalCommons@URI, 2022 1 Markets, Globalization & Development Review, Vol. 7 [2022], No. 3, Art. 2 and Fırat 1988; Laczniak and Shultz 2021), and the founding principles of this Journal, including appreciation for the multiple (if sometimes contentious) perspectives of the very nature of markets, globalization and development, and implicitly, marketization (Dholakia and Atik 2016). “Marketing as constructive engagement” (e.g., Shultz 2007 p. 293) is a perspective that logically emerges from and extends the existential nature of markets and marketing to which we allude above, and has been applied to study and to shape policies and practices in various distressed and developing countries, communities and regions around the world (e.g., Peterson 2021; Shultz 1994, 2015; DeQuero-Navarro et al. 2020). The Andean Region is of increasing interest to macromarketing and marketingand-development scholars (e.g., Barrios Fajardo, Ferreira Santos, and Godoy in press; Sepulveda, Shultz and Peterson 2020; Kharoubi Echenique and Pels in press), which brings the academy full circle, in some respects, by refocusing on and having a development vision for South America that emphasizes social consequences (Nason and White 1981 p. 4; Slater 1968; see also Nason, Dholakia and McLeavey 1987). The Andean Region The Andean Region is an especially compelling geological, political, and socioeconomic area profoundly affected by and affecting marketing and globalization. It is composed of countries that share the Andes Mountain Range: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela (Figure 1). These countries share similar topography (the Andes Mountains), common language, and colonial history. All mentioned countries are former Spanish colonies. Again, the aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the evolving trends in marketization and development in the region, with a focus on Chile, subsequent to sociopolitical events in 2019. Integral to this process, we will explore some indicators of statistical capacity as well as sustainable development, and offer plausible considerations for constructive engagement via policy and practice going forward. https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/mgdr/vol7/iss3/2 DOI: 10.23860/MGDR-2022-07-03-02 2 Sepulveda et al.: Marketization: Chile and the Andean Region Figure 1: The Andean Region Source: Adapted from mapswire.com (CC BY 4.0) Marketization and Development in the Andean Region The increase in marketization and private sector participation in many countries of the Andean Region over the past few decades is substantial and significant. This trend has been spurred by a number of factors, including global integration (through, for example, trade liberalization and Published by DigitalCommons@URI, 2022 3 Markets, Globalization & Development Review, Vol. 7 [2022], No. 3, Art. 2 foreign investment, the efficacy of markets and marketing to deliver an assortment of goods and services, information technologies) and risin (...truncated)