Description

This article provides empirical background on the evolution of the import content of Chilean exports. Estimates at current and constant prices for the series 1986-2005 are performed for 27 branches of activity. The basic data for the estimates comes from the national accounts of benchmark compilation 1986, 1996, and 2003 and the yearbooks containing yearly series for said base years. The methodology used is based on the measurement of direct and indirect effects of applying conventional input-output techniques, and of estimations based in the backward interpolation and splicing series according to the methods used in the national accounts. An increasing tendency of the coefficient of imports of intermediate inputs and imported capital goods contained in each exported unit is observed in the results at constant prices. At current prices, however, the irregular behavior of the terms of trade introduces fluctuations to that trend. In that regard, the imports to exports ratio has decreased in the past few years due to the gain in the terms of trade in relevant mining and manufacturing products.