sample case studies in higher education

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Teaching excellence & educational innovation, case studies, what are case studies.

Case studies are stories. They present realistic, complex, and contextually rich situations and often involve a dilemma, conflict, or problem that one or more of the characters in the case must negotiate.

A good case study, according to Professor Paul Lawrence is:

“the vehicle by which a chunk of reality is brought into the classroom to be worked over by the class and the instructor. A good case keeps the class discussion grounded upon some of the stubborn facts that must be faced in real life situations.” (quoted in Christensen, 1981)

Although they have been used most extensively in the teaching of medicine, law and business, case studies can be an effective teaching tool in any number of disciplines. As an instructional strategy, case studies have a number of virtues. They “bridge the gap between theory and practice and between the academy and the workplace” (Barkley, Cross, and Major 2005, p.182). They also give students practice identifying the parameters of a problem, recognizing and articulating positions, evaluating courses of action, and arguing different points of view.

Case studies vary in length and detail, and can be used in a number of ways, depending on the case itself and on the instructor’s goals.

• They can be short (a few paragraphs) or long (e.g. 20+ pages).
• They can be used in lecture-based or discussion-based classes.
• They can be real, with all the detail drawn from actual people and circumstances, or simply realistic.
• They can provide all the relevant data students need to discuss and resolve the central issue, or only some of it, requiring students to identify, and possibly fill in (via outside research), the missing information.
• They can require students to examine multiple aspects of a problem, or just a circumscribed piece.
• They can require students to propose a solution for the case or simply to identify the parameters of the problem.

Finding or creating cases

It is possible to write your own case studies, although it is not a simple task. The material for a case study can be drawn from your own professional experiences (e.g., negotiating a labor dispute at a local corporation or navigating the rocky shoals of a political campaign), from current events (e.g., a high-profile medical ethics case or a diplomatic conundrum), from historical sources (e.g., a legal debate or military predicament), etc. It is also possible to find published cases from books and on-line case study collections. Whatever the source, an effective case study is one that, according to Davis (1993):

• tells a “real” and engaging story
• raises a thought-provoking issue
• has elements of conflict
• promotes empathy with the central characters
• lacks an obvious or clear-cut right answer
• encourages students to think and take a position
• portrays actors in moments of decision
• provides plenty of data about character, location, context, actions
• is relatively concise

Using case studies

How you use case studies will depend on the goals, as well as on the format, of your course. If it is a large lecture course, for example, you might use a case study to illustrate and enrich the lecture material. (An instructor lecturing on principles of marketing, for example, might use the case of a particular company or product to explore marketing issues and dilemmas in a real-life context.) Also in a large class you might consider breaking the class into small groups or pairs to discuss a relevant case. If your class is a smaller, discussion-format course, you will be able to use more detailed and complex cases, to explore the perspectives introduced in the case in greater depth, and perhaps integrate other instructional strategies, such as role playing or debate. Regardless of the format in which you employ case studies, it is important that you, as the instructor, know all the issues involved in the case, prepare questions and prompts in advance, and anticipate where students might run into problems. Finally, consider who your students are and how you might productively draw on their backgrounds, experiences, personalities, etc., to enhance the discussion. While there are many variations in how case studies can be used, these six steps provide a general framework for how to lead a case-based discussion:

• Give students ample time to read and think about the case. If the case is long, assign it as homework with a set of questions for students to consider (e.g., What is the nature of the problem the central character is facing? What are some possible courses of action? What are the potential obstacles?)
• Introduce the case briefly and provide some guidelines for how to approach it. Clarify how you want students to think about the case (e.g., “Approach this case as if you were the presiding judge” or “You are a consultant hired by this company. What would you recommend?”) Break down the steps you want students to take in analyzing the case (e.g., “First, identify theconstraints each character in the case was operating under and the opportunities s/he had. Second, evaluate the decisions each character made and their implications. Finally, explain what you would have done differently and why.”). If you would like students to disregard or focus on certain information, specify that as well (e.g., “I want you to ignore the political affiliation of the characters described and simply distinguish their positions on stem-cell research as they are articulated here.”)
• Create groups and monitor them to make sure everyone is involved. Breaking the full class into smaller groups gives individual students more opportunities for participation and interaction. However, small groups can drift off track if you do not provide structure. Thus, it is a good idea to make the task of the group very concrete and clear (e.g., “You are to identify three potential courses of action and outline the pros and cons of each from a public relations standpoint”). You may also want to designate roles within each group: for example, one individual might be charged with keeping the others on task and watching the time; a second individual’s role might be to question the assumptions or interpretations of the group and probe for deeper analysis; a third individual’s role might be to record the group’s thoughts and report their decision to the class.  Alternatively, group members could be assigned broad perspectives (e.g., liberal, conservative, libertarian) to represent, or asked to speak for the various “stake-holders” in the case study.
• Have groups present their solutions/reasoning: If groups know they are responsible for producing something (a decision, rationale, analysis) to present to the class, they will approach the discussion with greater focus and seriousness. Write their conclusions on the board so that you can return to them in the discussion that follows.
•  Ask questions for clarification and to move discussion to another level. One of the challenges for a case-based discussion leader is to guide the discussion and probe for deeper analysis without over-directing. As the discussion unfolds, ask questions that call for students to examine their own assumptions, substantiate their claims, provide illustrations, etc.
• Synthesize issues raised. Be sure to bring the various strands of the discussion back together at the end, so that students see what they have learned and take those lessons with them. The job of synthesizing need not necessarily fall to the instructor, however; one or more students can be given this task.

Some variations on this general method include having students do outside research (individually or in groups) to bring to bear on the case in question, and comparing the actual outcome of a real-life dilemma to the solutions generated in class. 

Sources referenced:

Barkley, E. F, Cross, K. P. & Major, C. H. (2005) Collaborative Learning Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty. San-Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Christensen, C. R. (1981) Teaching By the Case Method. Boston: Harvard Business School.

Davis, B. G. (1993) Tools for Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

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The Case for Case Studies in Higher Ed

As the classroom becomes more student-centered by the day, educators across higher ed are looking for new ways to engage learners and encourage student ownership over the learning process. From podcasting to video tutorials, technology has unlocked new potential for content types across higher ed, and the introduction of blended learning has changed the way that educators and their learners interact.

But despite all of the changes happening across higher learning, there’s one classic content type that is gaining speed beyond its traditional use cases. While business schools and law schools are used to working with this long-form content type, the case study offers a unique opportunity for active learning across every discipline - not just the ones that come with a professional degree.

Keep reading to learn more about the benefits of using case studies in education, and how you can go beyond the expected to bring your examples to life.

The Benefits of Using Case Studies in the Classroom

There’s no doubt that students learn more effectively when they’re actively involved in the learning process, and case studies are a great way to get the wheels turning in the classroom. Some of the top benefits of incorporating case studies into your classroom include:

• Connecting Theory to Practice: Case studies offer a unique way for students to transfer the theoretical concepts that they learn in class to an applied setting.
• Encouraging Problem Solving: Providing students with real-world examples of how they can apply what they’re learning in practice expands the context in which students apply their knowledge.
• Simplifying Decision Making: Using case studies is a great way for students to practice making decisions without the worry of real-world consequences.
• Fostering Analytical Skills: Using case studies in the classroom encourages the development of analytical skills, targeting the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive learning.

Using Case Studies in the Classroom

A good case study is a versatile way to support the transfer of abstract concepts into real-life experiences, and just like real life, they come in many shapes and forms. While some educators and facilitators incorporate case studies into the classroom to support key concepts at the end of daily lectures, others build their entire course around the case method approach to teaching.

The style, length, and format that your case studies take will depend on the goals of your content and the needs of your learners. They can be used to support individual learning by providing content for reflection or be used as a tool to stimulate classroom discussions and debate. What’s most important is that case studies introduce a sense of ownership over learning, and encourage students to think outside of the traditional box.

Best Practices for Introducing Case Studies in Your Classroom

Whether you’re teaching a college classroom or looking to engage lifelong learners, case studies are a valuable tool to help students transfer what they are learning in theory into practice. But creating custom case studies can take time, effort, and energy. Below are the best practices for incorporating case studies into your classroom plan:

• Identify Your Objectives - Like all good instructional design, creating an effective case study starts by aligning it to your learning objectives. Since case studies can be as simple or complex as you would like, starting with learning objectives helps to narrow down variables like what types of questions you should be asking your learners, or how long your case study should be.
• Pay Attention to Storytelling - According to the Center for Applied Special Technology, a good case study captures our attention and improves the learning experience because of its storytelling . Choose a topic, example, or experience that grabs your learners’ attention and encourages them to participate in the problem-solving process. Using the fundamentals of storytelling in your case study will help your learners retain more information, which is particularly helpful when you’re dealing with lots of content and intricate details.

Classroom activities like role-playing the people in the case study, or even taking a field trip to the venue where the case study is situated can help students insert themselves in these real-world scenarios and troubleshoot their problem-solving skills without the risk of making real-world mistakes.

Include External Sources - Including external sources in your case study is a great way to add insight and variety to the learning experience. Look for industry professionals that can relate to your topic, and don’t be afraid to reach out and include them in your content creation process. If inviting them in to meet your students in person isn’t an option, look for creative ways to capture what they know so that you can use it again and again. Incorporating interviews, podcasts , and video content are great ways to leverage external knowledge without having to orchestrate an in-class event.

Make it Multimedia  - Above all, make sure that your case study content meets the needs of the 21st-century learner . Gone are the days of passive learning styles, as the modern day learner expects to be engaged and included in the education process, and is looking to access real-world learning opportunities that support their performance and decision-making in real-time. Provide your learners with rich multimedia experiences that incorporate added interactivity and encourage active learning. Get creative with your content types, and don’t be afraid to ask your students what they would like to see to make this teaching method most impactful.

No matter what approach you take when creating your case studies, the important thing is to remember to meet your learners where they are. Case studies provide learners with the opportunity to test their skills in theory by troubleshooting solutions with the support of their peers before having to make similar decisions in the professional world. The more engaging, memorable, and realistic they are, the more likely they are to be of use in today’s classroom.

To learn more about how MyEcontentFactory can help you create engaging, effective, and memorable case studies, contact a member of our team today and schedule your free demo!

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The New Ventures in Higher Education

Starting a university from scratch takes courage. Learn about the leaders across the globe who are doing it.

Twelve years ago, Noah Pickus , a Duke ethics professor, and Bryan Penprase, an astronomer at Pomona College, found themselves discussing the state of higher education at a bar in Chicago. “Over hazy IPAs we discovered a mutual frustration with the ways in which colleges and universities imitate each other in a race for improved college rankings and prestige,” wrote the two in a recent issue of University World News .

They felt there was a need for innovative, high-quality educational ventures, with new types of curricula and teaching, across the globe. They weren’t all talk: Since that meeting, each helped launch new universities in Asia. Pickus, now associate provost at Duke, helped launch Duke Kunshan University (DKU) in China, where he is dean of academic strategy; Penprase is a founding faculty member of Yale-NUS College in Singapore.

In their book “ The New Global Universities: Reinventing Education in the 21 st Century ” (Princeton University Press), published in December 2023, the two built on their experiences  to chronicle the efforts of like-minded leaders in the development and launching of eight innovative colleges and universities in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and North America.

Innovations in Teaching

Bryan Penprase says many of the innovations at new global universities offer new types of curricula and teaching in undergraduate education that can be replicated elsewhere: Here are examples:   --Yale-NUS College, which merges both natural and social sciences and Asian and Western philosophical and political ideas --a four-year course at Ashesi University in Ghana designed for developing entrepreneurial and ethical leaders for Africa --a Vietnam studies course at Fulbright University Vietnam that presents both American and Vietnamese views of the war

“We think that our colleagues in higher education will find value in the courage and intellectual chutzpah that it takes to start a new college or university from scratch,” Pickus said about the book to Princeton University Press .  They also wanted to share stories and lessons learned with other entrepreneurs who had similar goals to reinvent higher education.

Most recently, Pickus has taken the concept of the book a step further. For a day and a half in June at the Duke in D.C. office, Pickus hosted the “The New Global Universities Summit,” where 48 founders and current leaders of new universities around the globe could gather in one place to learn from their experiences. 

The summit marked the global launch of the Institute for Global Higher Education at DKU and was produced in collaboration with Learning Innovation and Lifetime Education (LILE) at Duke.

“It brought together innovators, leaders and change agents around education,” said summit participant Gilda Barabino, president of Olin College of Engineering, based in Needham, Mass..

Olin College , founded in 1997, aims to integrate engineering, humanities and entrepreneurship through design- and project-based learning.

Barabino added: “We were all driven by our purpose and mission to do things differently and create new ways of educating, thinking and doing. (The summit) was an exciting way to share.”

Yakut Gazi, vice provost and leader of LILE at Duke, noticed that at the summit there was an absence of conversation about technology, particularly A.I. “This might seem paradoxical,” said Gazi, “But the institutions at the event were primarily addressing issues central to traditional establishments, such as reevaluating mission statements, curriculum, faculty governance, brand impact, and the skills and knowledge required for the new century.”

An example of this can be seen in the new African Leadership University , which provides a mix of in-person, experiential and peer-based learning at a cost as low as $3,000 per year, aimed at a booming young population in Africa. 

Chief executive officer of African Leadership University Veda Sunassee said in an interview after the summit that new universities shouldn’t come at the expense of old universities, but that more distinct types of universities are needed to meet some of today’s challenges.

“In some parts of the world, (old universities) are just not enough,” Sunassee said, citing Africa as an example. There, only 9.2% of those eligible to be in higher learning currently are. “You need more universities in that context. There is room for innovation across the board.”

Sunassee added that disseminating knowledge does not require a ton of resources. “You don’t need a fancy building or a lecture theater that operates at 10 percent capacity,” he said. “Identify the critical pieces and suddenly you’re opening yourself to possibilities to bringing costs down.”

Sunassee called it a privilege to learn about other universities in the same movement. “We could see the common themes, be validated and offer advice to younger ones,” he said.

William Kirby, professor of China studies and faculty chair of Harvard Center Shanghai (opened in 2010), said that one of the constant themes that came up during discussion at the summit was that new universities are being founded for older universities’ lack of capacity to address 21 st century concerns across the globe.

“There is a grain of truth to that,” said Kirby, who served as a senior adviser to Duke on the creation of DKU. “Everyone who works at a leading American university knows the limits of what we do.

“We won’t be number 1 if we don’t continue to try to reinvent ourselves and learn from others outside the United States,” he said.  “The summit was an opportunity to share views and perspectives from all over the world.”

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9 Case Study Examples, Plus a Useful Case Study Template

Writing a case study can help you pitch your services to prospective clients. Learn how to write one by studying successful examples and using a free template.

If you can write a résumé, you can write a case study. Just as a résumé shows potential employers how your experience can benefit their team, a case study highlights an existing client’s success story to demonstrate your business or product’s value to prospective clients.

A compelling case study includes relevant data without overwhelming your reader, considers the customer’s perspective, and demonstrates how you handled a specific challenge.

The best way to learn how to write one is by reading a stellar business case study example.

What is a case study?

A case study is a document business-to-business (B2B) companies use to illustrate how their product or service helped a client achieve their goals. A winning case study introduces the featured client, gives a brief description of their challenge or goal, and showcases the results they achieved with your help.

Businesses that provide software, tools, or consulting services often provide case studies to potential customers trying to choose between several options.

A company’s marketing team is typically responsible for writing case studies, but if you have a small business without a dedicated marketing team, don’t worry. Anyone can write a case study, and it’s a straightforward process if you use a template.

Why should you create a case study?

A case study brings your product or service to life for future customers with real-world examples. These success stories offer tangible results. Case studies are, thus, a form of social proof , but their power goes beyond a mere testimonial or review.

Since B2B services often are expensive and require approval from multiple decision-makers, typical forms of social proof often aren't enough to convince potential customers. Business customers want to be able to share compelling data with their teams, and that’s where the case study is beneficial.

How to write a case study

• Choose a template
• Interview your client or customer
• Describe the situation
• Identify the solution
• Present the results

1. Choose a template

You don’t necessarily need a template to write a case study, but it can make the process easier—especially if you haven’t written one before or need to write several at once.

You’ll notice that most business case studies take the same general format; after inputting the basics into the template, you can add your own personal flair. (That is, your branding and voice.)

2. Interview your client or customer

The client or customer interview is the heart of the case study. Identify several current or past clients willing to chat with you about their experiences. Look for repeat customers and those who reached out independently to tell you how much they enjoyed your product or service.

A phone interview is the best way to get conversational quotes, but you can correspond via email if your subject is short on time. Not sure what to ask? When social advertising agency Biddyco interviewed the VP of Marketing at Fellow , they asked him the following questions , according to their case study:

• What were the obstacles that would have prevented you from choosing/hiring Biddyco?
• What have you found as a result of hiring Biddyco?
• What specific feature or thing do you like most about Biddyco’s services?
• Would you recommend Biddyco and why?

The goal of the interview is to better understand your client’s experience with your product or service and grab a soundbite you can use as a testimonial in your case study. If you didn’t work directly with the client, you may also want to interview someone on your team who did to get more context.

3. Describe the situation

Give context to your case study with a brief description of the client’s business and the desired outcome that led them to seek your product or service. You can follow this general formula:

[Client’s name] is a [type of business] with [unique feature]. [Client’s name] came to [your business] seeking [client’s desired outcome] while [requirement].

Here’s an example of a one-sentence situation summary in the case study for Sharma Brands ’ client Feastables:

“Feastables, a better-for-you snacks company, came to us in need of a team to take the DTC setup off their plate.”

Advertising company Adgile, which created moving billboards for the non-alcoholic aperitif brand Ghia , has a longer description in its case study that provides background on the marketplace, but the heart of it is this:

“Ghia was seeking creative ways to break through the clutter of a crowded—and big-budgeted—adult beverage market, all while managing customer acquisition cost (CAC).”

4. Identify the solution

This section can vary depending on your field. Also described as “the action,” “the work,” or “the strategy,” the solution describes the strategic insights your company brought to your client’s problem or how your customer used your product to achieve their goals.

The basic formula: [Client’s name] partnered with [your business] to [service received].

Here’s an example from email marketing software Klaviyo’s case study featuring olive oil brand Graza:

“Graza uses Klaviyo’s granular segmentation tools to send automated flows and promotional campaigns to small, targeted groups of customers based on purchase frequency.”

This section describes exactly which of Klaviyo’s features Graza used (granular segmentation) and how they used it (to send automated flows to small, targeted groups), without getting into any outcomes or results yet.

5. Present the results

This section is where you’ll win over prospective customers and build trust. The basic formula is:

[Client’s name] used [service received] to [desired outcome].

Share how your product or service positively affected the client’s business, whether that’s cost savings, more clients, or improved company culture. According to a case study from community platform TYB, the results it delivered for skin care company Dieux were as follows:

“Dieux was able to create thousands of authentic, personalized referrals ahead of its new product launch plus live out its brand promise of transparency.”

Depending on your product or service, your results may include quantifiable outcomes (like thousands of referrals), intangibles (like living out your brand promise), or both, as in the case of TYB.

Real-world examples of case studies

Sharma brands for feastables, adgile media group for ghia, meta for lulus, tyb for dieux, biddyco for fellow, outline for heyday canning, klaviyo for graza, culture amp for bombas, kustomer for thirdlove.

A great way to write a case study is to look at a sample case study—or better yet, many. You’ll notice that wildly different businesses have case studies that follow roughly the same structure, which is why we recommend using one of our free case study templates to write yours. Learn from this mix of business, design, and marketing case study examples:

Sharma Brands is a branding agency founded by Nik Sharma , “The DTC Guy.” Sharma Brands keeps its case study featuring snack company Feastables short and sweet, breaking it down into three chronological sections: the situation, the work, and the outcome.

The Sharma Brands case study is a good example of how to incorporate meaningful results without sharing actual numbers (which the client may not wish to make public) or getting into an in-depth analysis.

Instead of metrics, Sharma Brands lists the tasks it executed: 

• “Successfully launched their DTC site.” 
• “Simultaneously launched on GoPuff with no downtime.”

It also lists some general achievements: 

• “Broke Shopify records in the first 24 hours of launch.” 
• “All revenue and engagement metrics were highly exceeded.”

Adgile Media Group creates outdoor advertising by providing brands with mobile billboards. Unlike traditional outdoor advertising, Adgile also tracks the digital impact of its IRL campaigns.

Adgile’s case study featuring the non-alcoholic beverage brand Ghia is the perfect place to show off the metrics it collects, like:

• 78% homepage visit lift
• 91% conversion lift
• 82% lift on its Find Us page
• Increase in brand awareness and recall, more than 75% over the competition

Meta, the social media and digital advertising platform, does something in its case studies that every company can replicate. Instead of saving the numbers for the results section, Meta provides a brief overview near the top. This breaks up the text visually, provides a quick snapshot for anyone who doesn’t want to read the full case study, and intrigues those curious to know how they achieved those numbers.

Meta’s case study for the clothing company Lulus starts by teasing its most impressive stat:

“The women’s fashion ecommerce company compared the performance of a Meta Advantage+ shopping campaign with Advantage+ catalog ads versus its usual ad campaign setup and saw a 47% increase in return on ad spend using the Advantage+ products.”

It then presents three key figures in a visually appealing design, drawing clear attention to the impact it had on this customer.

TYB is a community platform that rewards fans for creating user-generated content . TYB’s case study for Dieux details how the skincare brand used its platform to involve customers in product testing.

It also does something small worth noting: Instead of sticking the call to action at the bottom of the case study, TYB places a “request demo” button at the top of the page. That way, anyone compelled by the results of the case study can take the next step immediately.

Advertising agency Biddyco took a unique approach to its case study for the coffee- and tea-gear company Fellow . Unlike other business case study examples that use the typical situation-solution-results format, Biddyco structured its case study as an extended testimonial, with a series of questions like, “What specific feature or thing do you like most about Biddyco’s services?”

In addition to client feedback, Biddyco also highlights a few key accomplishments under the heading “All You Really Need to Know.”

A branding studio like Outline won’t approach case studies in the same way an advertising platform like Meta would. What matters here isn’t cost per impression or ROAS, it’s how everything looks.

That’s why Outline’s case study for ​​ Heyday Canning is relatively light on words and heavy on imagery. If your work is more visual than numerical, your case study is a great place to show your behind-the-scenes process.

For example, Outline shows the label design alongside images of the cans on the shelf and provides a brief description of the design inspiration. This example shows how you can have a design-focused case study that still tells a compelling story.

Klaviyo , an email marketing software company, puts numbers front and center in its case study for the olive oil company Graza . If your product or service involves tracking metrics like email open rates, revenue, and click rates, highlight those stats in a larger font size, as Klaviyo did.

Klaviyo’s case study for Graza also shows you don’t necessarily need to fix a problem to create a great case study; you can also simply help your client achieve their goals. According to Klaviyo’s case study, Graza’s challenge was to create strong customer relationships.

How do you write a compelling case study if your service doesn’t involve tangible metrics or flashy design? For the performance management software company Culture Amp , it’s highlighting key statistics about the subject of its case study , sock company Bombas .

Like Meta and Klaviyo, Culture Amp highlights three numbers in large font. But these numbers are stats about their client Bombas, not Culture Amp’s services: “120+ employees,” “25M+ items donated,” and “$100M+ in revenue for 2018.”

Instead of showing off the results it achieved for Bombas, these numbers let prospective clients know that Culture Amp works with big, important companies on their performance management process.

Choosing a customer relationships management ( CRM ) platform is a big decision. Switching platforms—as bra company ThirdLove did in this case study from customer support platform Kustomer—can involve lengthy data migration, customization, and employee onboarding.

That’s why it makes sense that Kustomer’s case study for ThirdLove is a four-page-long PDF and not a blog post. If your case study involves a long, detailed analysis, follow Kustomer’s example and make two versions of your case study.

The first page is an executive summary, with about a paragraph each describing the challenge and results. If after reading the first page, you want to learn more, you can dive into the rest of the case study, but you don’t have to read the entire thing to get a sense of how Kustomer collaborated with ThirdLove.

Case study examples FAQ

How do you write a simple case study.

To simplify the case-study writing process, download a template. Shopify’s fill-in-the-blanks case study template can help you share your customers’ success stories in an easily digestible, well-designed format.

Why are case studies important for businesses?

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How and when employee mindfulness influences employees’ knowledge sharing behavior: A resource conservation perspective

• Published: 22 July 2024

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• Jing Zhang 1 ,
• Limei Chen   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3510-3977 2 &
• Xiaoming Zheng 3  

Despite research has identified several social resources to promote employees’ knowledge sharing behavior, studies on the effect of personal resources are limited. Thus, our research intends to contribute by examining the role of employee mindfulness as an essential personal resource in influencing their knowledge sharing behavior. Based on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, we propose that employee mindfulness can promote employees’ knowledge sharing behavior through enhancing their thriving at work, and this effect is moderated by abusive supervision. Using a field study with multi-wave data, we found that employee mindfulness was positively related to employees’ knowledge sharing behavior through their thriving at work, and this positive effect was stronger when abusive supervision was high than low.

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Zhang, J., Chen, L. & Zheng, X. How and when employee mindfulness influences employees’ knowledge sharing behavior: A resource conservation perspective. Curr Psychol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06339-0

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2024 Investment Climate Statements: Chile

• EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

With the third highest GDP per capita in Latin America, Chile has historically enjoyed significant economic stability and prosperity. After a wave of civil unrest in 2019, Chile’s political leadership launched a constitutional rewrite process to address social concerns. Although Chileans rejected the proposals of two constitutional referendums, the government’s use of peaceful and democratic tools was largely credited for diffusing social tension. Chile’s solid macroeconomic policy framework gives the country one of the strongest sovereign bond ratings in Latin America and provided fiscal and monetary space to reactivate the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic. According to its Central Bank, Chile’s economic growth was 0.2 percent in 2023 and is projected between 2 and 3 percent in 2024.

Despite its relatively small domestic market, Chile has successfully attracted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), with an FDI to GDP ratio of nearly 85 percent. The country’s market-oriented policies create significant opportunities for foreign investors to participate in the country’s economic growth. Chile has a sound legal framework and there is general respect for private property rights. Sectors that attract the most FDI are mining, financial services (including pensions and health insurance), and utilities (including electricity, energy, water, and telecommunications). Mineral, hydrocarbon, and fossil fuel deposits within Chilean territory are restricted from foreign ownership, but companies may sign resource extraction contracts with the government. According to Transparency International’s 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index, Chile ranked 29 out of 180 countries worldwide and second in Latin America – behind Uruguay which ranked 16th.

Although Chile is an attractive destination for foreign investment, challenges remain. Some government reform proposals caused concern about potential impacts on investments in the healthcare, insurance, and pension sectors. Despite a general respect for intellectual property (IP) rights, Chile has not fully complied with its IP obligations set forth in the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement. Environmental permitting processes, indigenous consultation requirements, and cumbersome court proceedings have made large project approvals increasingly time consuming and unpredictable, especially in cases with political sensitivities. The current administration prioritizes attracting foreign investment, especially into technological sectors and natural resource extraction associated with the green transition (lithium, copper, and green hydrogen), and continues to implement measures to streamline the investment process.

1. Openness To, and Restrictions Upon, Foreign Investment

• Policies Towards Foreign Direct Investment

For more than four decades, promoting FDI has been an essential part of the Chilean government’s national development strategy. The country’s market-oriented economic policies create significant opportunities for foreign investors to participate. Laws and business practices do not discriminate against foreign investors, who receive treatment no less favorable than Chilean nationals and domestic companies. Chile’s business climate is generally straightforward and transparent, and its policy framework has remained consistent despite administrations of different political leanings, episodes of social unrest, and two unsuccessful attempts to rewrite the Chilean Constitution. However, permitting processes for infrastructure, mining, and energy projects are lengthy and outcomes are less predictable in cases involving politically sensitive environmental impact assessments, water rights issues, and indigenous consultations. InvestChile is the government agency responsible for promoting the entry and retention of FDI into Chile. InvestChile carries out programs and services to attract investment, provide legal and sectorial information, facilitate the establishment of new businesses, and provide export and reinvestment assistance.

• Limits on Foreign Control and Right to Private Ownership and Establishment

Foreign investors have access to all industries, except for the domestic maritime freight sector, where companies are subject to a 49 percent foreign ownership limit. Since 2019, transit between domestic ports was allowed for foreign cruise vessels with over 400 passengers. Some international reciprocity restrictions exist for fishing.

With few exceptions, enterprises in Chile may be 100 percent owned by foreigners. Chile only restricts the right to private ownership or establishment in what it defines as certain “strategic” sectors, such as nuclear energy and mining. The current Constitution establishes the “absolute, exclusive, inalienable and permanent domain” of the Chilean state over all mineral, hydrocarbon, and fossil fuel deposits within Chilean territory. However, Chilean law allows the government to grant concession rights and enter into lease agreements with individuals and companies for exploration and exploitation activities, and to assign contracts to private investors, without discrimination against foreign investors.

Chile does not have an investment screening mechanism. FDI formal approval procedures are expeditious, and investments are usually approved. Some transactions require an anti-trust review by the office of the national economic prosecutor (Fiscalía Nacional Económica) and possibly by sector-specific regulators.

• Other Investment Policy Reviews

The World Trade Organization (WTO) conducted its sixth Trade Policy Review for Chile in December 2023. The full report is available here: https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp551_e.htm   . The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) latest Investment Policy Review for Chile is from 1997, available here: http://www.oecd.org/daf/inv/investment-policy/34384328.pdf . On March 27, 2023, the OECD published a new report named “FDI Qualities Review of Chile: Boosting sustainable development and diversification,” which contains an updated assessment of Chile’s FDI policy framework as well as policy recommendations. Chile is not part of the countries covered to date by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) Investment Policy Reviews.

• Business Facilitation

The Chilean government has taken significant steps towards facilitating business transactions over the past decade. Starting in 2018, the government introduced an updated electronic and online systems for providing tax information, submitting complaints related to contract enforcement, and completing online registration of closed corporations (i.e., non-public corporations). In June 2019, the Ministry of Economy launched the Unified System for Permits (SUPER), an online single-window platform that brings together 182 license and permit procedures, simplifying the process of obtaining permits for investment projects. However, as noted previously, the private sector still considers the permitting process lengthy and overly cumbersome. Chile participates in the WTO Joint Initiative on Investment Facilitation for Development, which is coordinated by the country’s Permanent Representative to the WTO.

According to the World Bank, Chile has one of the shortest and most user-friendly processes among Latin American and Caribbean countries – 11 procedures and 29 days – to establish a foreign-owned limited liability company (LLC). Drafting statutes of a company and obtaining an authorization number can be done online at https://www.registrodeempresasysociedades.cl/   . Electronic signature and invoicing allow foreign investors to register a company, obtain a taxpayer identification number and get legal receipts, invoices, credit and debit notes, and accountant registries. A company typically needs to register with Chile’s Internal Revenue Service, obtain a business license from a municipality, and register either with the Institute of Occupational Safety (public) or with one of three private nonprofit entities that provide work-related accident insurance, which is mandatory for employers. In addition to the steps required of a domestic company, a foreign company establishing a subsidiary in Chile must authenticate the parent company’s documents abroad and register the incoming capital with the Central Bank. This procedure, established under Chapter XIV of the Foreign Exchange Regulations, requires a notice of conversion of foreign currency into Chilean pesos when the investment exceeds $10,000. The registration process at the Registry of Commerce of Santiago is available online.

• Outward Investment

The Government of Chile does not have active policies to promote or incentivize outward investment, nor does it impose restrictions on FDI.

• 2. Bilateral Investment and Taxation Treaties

Chile has signed 55 bilateral investment treaties (BITs), 34 of which are in force to date. Currently Chile has agreements in force with Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czechia, Denmark, El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong SAR, Iceland, Italy, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Chile has 32 free trade agreements (FTAs) with 66 countries. On January 1, 2004, the United States and Chile brought into force the investment chapter in their bilateral FTA. Chile has additional investment chapters in force under FTAs, or supplementary investment agreements to the FTAs with Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Republic of Korea, Peru, the Pacific Alliance (composed of four countries: Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru), and the Comprehensive and Progressive Transpacific Partnership (CPTPP). Chile is currently negotiating investment dispute resolution chapters that are part of FTA negotiations between the Pacific Alliance and Associated States (Australia, Canada, and New Zealand), and signed on January 26, 2022, the FTA between the Pacific Alliance and Singapore. Chile signed the Advanced Framework Agreement with the European Union on December 13, 2023. As of April 4, 2024, it has not yet entered into force.

The U.S.-Chile Bilateral Tax Treaty, signed in 2010, entered into force December 19, 2023. Chile has 36 other double taxation treaties in force with Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Ecuador, France, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay. Chile also signed a double taxation agreement with the Pacific Alliance countries (Colombia, Mexico, and Peru), that has not yet entered into force.

Since the 2014 Tax Reform, the total income tax rate on dividends or profits earned by Chilean firms’ shareholders who are residents in other countries at 44.45 percent (a result of adding the 35 percent “retention tax” on dividends and profits to a 9.45 percent corporate income tax). Residents in countries, such as the United States, with a tax treaty in force with Chile are subject to a 35 percent retention tax rate, and no corporate income tax. Chile’s 2020 Tax Modernization bill reformed real estate and income taxes and applied Chile’s 19 percent value-added tax to foreign digital services.

3. Legal Regime

• Transparency of the Regulatory System

Chile’s legal, regulatory, and accounting systems are transparent, generally provide clear rules for competition and a level playing field for foreigners and are consistent with international norms. However, environmental regulations, which include mandatory indigenous consultation required by the International Labor Organization’s Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention (ILO 169), and other permitting processes have become lengthy and unpredictable, especially in politically sensitive cases.

Chile does not have a regulatory oversight body. Four institutions play key roles in the rule-making process: the General-Secretariat of the Presidency (SEGPRES), the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy, and the General Comptroller of the Republic. Most regulations come from the national government; however, some, particularly those related to land use, are decided at the local level. Both national and local governments are involved in the issuance of environmental permits. Regulatory processes are managed by governmental entities. NGOs and private sector associations may participate in public hearings or comment periods.

In Chile, non-listed companies follow norms issued by the Accountants Professional Association, while publicly listed companies use the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Since January 2018, IFRS 9 entered into force for companies in all sectors except for banking, in which IFRS 15 will be applied. IFRS 16 entered into force in January 2019. On January 1, 2022, Chile’s Financial Market Commission (CMF) began implementation of the IFRS 17 accounting standards in the Chilean insurance market.

The legislation process in Chile allows for public hearings during discussion of draft bills in both chambers of Congress. Draft bills submitted by the Executive Branch to the Congress are readily available for public comment. Ministries and regulatory agencies are required by law to give notice of proposed regulations, but there is no formal requirement in Chile for consultation with the public, conducting regulatory impact assessments of proposed regulations, requesting comments, or reporting results of consultations. For lower-level regulations or norms that do not need congressional approval, there are no formal provisions for public hearing or comment. As a result, Chilean regulators and rulemaking bodies normally consult with stakeholders, but in a less formal manner.

All decrees and laws are published in the Diario Oficial (similar to the Federal Register in the United States), but other types of regulations are not always found there. There are no other centralized online locations where regulations in Chile are published.

According to the OECD, regulatory compliance rates in Chile are generally high. The approach to enforcement remains punitive rather than preventive, and regulators still prefer to inspect rather than collaborate with regulated entities on fostering compliance. Each institution with regulation enforcement responsibilities has its own sanction procedures. Law 19.880 from 2003 establishes the principles for reversal and hierarchical recourse against decisions by the administration. An administrative act can be challenged by lodging an action in the ordinary courts of justice, or by administrative means with a petition to the Comptroller General of the Republic. Affected parties may also make a formal appeal to the Constitutional Court against a specific regulation.

Chile still lacks a comprehensive, “whole of government” regulatory reform program. The OECD’s April 2016 “Regulatory Policy in Chile” report asserts that Chile took steps to improve its rule-making process, but still lags the OECD average in assessing the impact of regulations, consulting with outside parties on their design and evaluating them over time. According to the World Bank´s Global Indicators of Regulatory Governance, Chile has made limited progress on transparency, impact assessment and ways to appeal and challenge regulations. In a recent positive step, the government submitted to Congress on January 10, 2024, a bill that aims to reduce timeframes for obtaining permits, by imposing deadlines on permit procedures, with default decisions in case of no reply by authorities.

Chile’s level of fiscal transparency is excellent. Information on the budget and debt obligations, including explicit and contingent liabilities, is easily accessible online.

• International Regulatory Considerations

Chile does not share regulatory sovereignty with any regional economic bloc. However, several international norms or standards from multilateral organizations (UN, WIPO, ILO, among others) are referenced or incorporated into the country’s regulatory system. As a member of the WTO, the Chile notifies draft technical regulations to the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).

• Legal System and Judicial Independence

Chile’s legal system is based on civil law. Chile’s legal and regulatory framework provides for effective means for enforcing property and contractual rights.

Laws governing issues of interest to foreign investors are found in several statutes, including the Commercial Code of 1868, the Civil Code, the Labor Code, and the General Banking Act. Chile has specialized courts for dealing with tax and labor issues.

The judicial system in Chile is generally transparent and independent. The likelihood of government intervention in court cases is low and state-owned enterprises or other government institutions are not given favorable treatment. If a state-owned firm is involved in the dispute, the Government of Chile may become directly involved through the State Defense Council, which represents the government interests in litigation cases related to expropriations. Regulations can be challenged before the court system, the National Comptroller, or the Constitutional Court, depending on the nature of the claim.

• Laws and Regulations on Foreign Direct Investment

Chile’s framework for foreign investment is set by Law 20848 of 2015, which created InvestChile and the Agency for the Promotion of Foreign Investment (APIE), the successor to the former Foreign Investment Committee. The InvestChile website ( https://investchile.gob.cl/   ) provides relevant laws, rules, procedures, and reporting requirements for investors. For more on FDI regulations and services for foreign investors, see the section on Policies Towards Foreign Direct Investment.

Competition and Antitrust Laws

Chile’s anti-trust law prohibits mergers or acquisitions that would prevent free competition in the respective industry. An investor may voluntarily request a ruling by an anti-trust court that would state a planned investment would not have competition implications. The national economic prosecutor (FNE) is an active institution in conducting investigations for competition-related cases and filing complaints before the Free Competition Tribunal (TDLC), which has jurisdiction over those cases.

In February 2023, the FNE approved the sale of Soprole –a Chilean dairy products firm – by New Zealand-based Fonterra to Gloria – a Peruvian holding. The FNE found that, even though the overlap between Gloria’s and Soprole’s operations in some dairy products would increase market concentration, the presence of other competitors and potential entry of imported products meant there were no significant risks to competition in the sale.

In April 2023, the FNE ordered the TDLC to fine TWDC Enterprises 18 Corp. – owned by Disney Group – US$ 3.6 million for submitting false information when it notified FNE about a merger with 21st Century Fox in the cable television services market in 2018.

In July 2023, the FNE approved Germany-based holding Hapag Lloyd’s acquisition of SAAM Ports y SAAM Logistics, integrating shipping services with port operations and extra-port services. The FNE estimated that current regulations in the ports sector reduce risks of anti-competitive behavior such as blocking supplies, blocking clients or conglomerate risks.

In December 2023, the FNE approved, OnNet Fibra’s (partially owned by U.S.-based investment fund KKR) acquisition of Chile-based Entel’s fiber optic infrastructure assets subject to mitigation measures. The measures include eliminating exclusivity and non-competition clauses in the services contract between both companies, and Entel selling part of its fiber optic assets to a third company.

• Expropriation and Compensation

Chilean law grants the government authority to expropriate property, including property of foreign investors, only on public interest or national interest grounds, on a non-discriminatory basis and in accordance with due process. The government has not nationalized a private firm since 1973. Expropriations of private land take place in a transparent manner, and typically only when the purpose is to build roads or other types of infrastructure. The law requires the payment of immediate compensation at fair market value, in addition to any applicable interest.

Dispute Settlement

• ICSID Convention and New York Convention

Since 1991, Chile has been a member state to the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID Convention). In 1975, Chile became a signatory to the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (1958 New York Convention).

National arbitration law in Chile includes the Civil Procedure Code (Law Num. 1552, modified by Law Num. 20.217 of 2007), and Law Num. 19.971 on International Commercial Arbitration.

Investor-State Dispute Settlement

Apart from the New York Convention, Chile is also a party to the Pan-American Convention on Private International Law (Bustamante Code) since 1934, the Inter-American Convention on International Commercial Arbitration (Panama Convention) since 1976, and the Washington Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States since 1992.

The U.S.-Chile FTA, in force since 2004, includes an investment chapter that provides the right for investors to submit claims under the ICSID Convention, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) arbitration rules, or any other mutually agreed upon arbitral institution. Under the U.S.-Chile FTA, companies have the option to initiate a claim if they do not achieve a resolution in a previous consultations process with the Chilean government. One U.S. investor filed an arbitration claim against the State of Chile on January 31, 2024, under ICSID, invoking the U.S.-Chile FTA after ending a consultations process in 2023 with no agreement. According to the investor’s claim, the Chilean government breached the terms of a school food program’s public procurement contract by imposing arbitrary discounts in the price set for their services between 2019 and 2021. Another case involves three U.S.-based insurance companies that alleged financial losses because of the pension withdrawal bills of 2021 (Law 21.330), which allowed some retirees to seek an “advance payment” against their annuity accounts. In the case of these insurance companies, the consultations stage expired and there was no agreement with the government of Chile. The companies may still decide to initiate a case before ICSID.

Over the past 10 years, there were only four investment dispute cases brought by foreign investors against the state of Chile before the World Bank’s International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) tribunal. In the first case, a Spanish-Chilean citizen demanded US$ 338.3 million in compensation for the alleged expropriation of Chilean newspaper El Clarín in 1975 by Chile’s military regime. ICSID issued a final ruling on January 7, 2020, in favor of the Chilean state and rejecting the claimant’s case. The second case was brought in 2017 by a Colombian firm, which held concession contracts as operators of the public transportation system in Santiago de Chile. The firm claimed US$ 347 million for Chilean government actions that allegedly created unfavorable operating conditions for the claimants’ subsidiaries and resulted in bankruptcy proceedings. On January 7, 2021, ICSID ruled in favor of the Chilean state, rejecting the claims. Two more cases pending resolution were brought by foreign investors in 2021. On April 13, 2021, a Chilean subsidiary of a Colombian power company filed an arbitration request against Chile related to an electrical transmission project. The authorities fined US$ 72.8 million for construction delays that the firm argues were due to unforeseeable circumstances. Hearings took place during 2023, and the ruling is expected in the first half of 2024. On August 13, 2021, two French firms operating the Santiago International Airport filed an arbitration request against the Chilean state for allegedly not taking measures to alleviate the temporary drop in their revenues from the decrease in air traffic and commercial airport activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the sanitary measures taken by the State, such as border closures and imposition of quarantines. In this case, the arbitration tribunal was constituted in 2022 and the Chilean state filed a request to address the objections to jurisdiction as a preliminary question.

Local courts respect and enforce foreign arbitration awards, and there is no history of extrajudicial action against foreign investors.

• International Commercial Arbitration and Foreign Courts

Mediation and binding arbitration exist in Chile as alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. A suit may also be brought in court under expedited procedures involving the abrogation of constitutional rights. The U.S.-Chile FTA investment chapter encourages consultations or negotiations before recourse to dispute settlement mechanisms. If the parties fail to resolve the matter, the investor may submit a claim for arbitration. Provisions in Section C of the FTA ensure that the proceedings are transparent by requiring that all documents submitted to or issued by the tribunal be available to the public, and by stipulating those proceedings be public. The FTA investment chapter establishes clear and specific terms for making proceedings more efficient and avoiding frivolous claims. Chilean law is generally to be applied to all contracts. However, arbitral tribunals decide disputes in accordance with FTA obligations and applicable international law. The tribunal must also accept amicus curiae submissions.

The Chilean Judiciary Code and the Code of Civil Procedure govern domestic arbitration. Local courts respect and enforce foreign arbitral awards and judgments of foreign courts. Chile has a dual arbitration system in terms of regulation, meaning that different bodies of law govern domestic and international arbitration. International commercial arbitration is governed by the International Commercial Arbitration Act that is modeled on the 1985 UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration. In addition to this statute, there is also Decree Law Number 2349 that regulates International Contracts for the Public Sector and sets forth a specific legal framework for the State and its entities to submit their disputes to international arbitration.

No Chilean state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have been involved in investment disputes in recent decades. A Chilean government agency filed an arbitration case in February 2021 against a U.S. firm at the International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration which remains pending.

• Bankruptcy Regulations

Chile’s 1982 Insolvency Law was updated in October 2014. The current law aims to clarify and simplify liquidation and reorganization procedures for businesses to prevent criminalizing bankruptcy. It also established the new Superintendence of Insolvency and created specialized insolvency courts. Creditors’ approval is required to select the insolvency representative and to sell debtors’ substantial assets. The creditor also has the right to object to decisions accepting or rejecting creditors’ claims. However, the creditor cannot request information from the insolvency representative. The creditor may file for insolvency of the debtor, but for liquidation purposes only. The creditors are divided into classes for the purposes of voting on the reorganization plan; each class votes separately, and creditors in the same class are treated equally.

4. Industrial Policies

• Investment Incentives

The Chilean government generally does not subsidize foreign investment, nor does it issue guarantees or joint financing for FDI projects. There are, however, some incentives directed toward isolated geographical zones and to the information technology sector. These benefits relate to co-financing of feasibility studies as well as to incentives for the purchase of land in industrial zones, the hiring of local labor, and the facilitation of project financing. Other important incentives include accelerated depreciation accounting for tax purposes and legal guarantees for remitting profits and capital. The 2020 Tax Reform, contained in Law 21.210 from 2020 established a Value Added Tax (VAT) exemption on capital goods (machines, vehicles, equipment, and accessories) for investments of at least US$5 million. Additionally, the Start-Up Chile program provides selected entrepreneurs with grants of up to US$80,000, along with a Chilean work visa to develop a “startup” business in Chile over a period of four to seven months. Chile has other special incentive programs aimed at promoting investment and employment in remote regions, as well as other areas that suffer development lags. All these opportunities are available in the same terms for both domestic and foreign investors.

• Foreign Trade Zones/Free Ports/Trade Facilitation

Chile has two free trade zones: one in the northern port city of Iquique (Tarapaca Region) and the other in the far south port city of Punta Arenas (Magallanes Region). Merchants and manufacturers in these zones are exempt from corporate income tax, value added taxes (VAT) – on operations and services that take place inside the free trade zone – and customs duties. The same exemptions also apply to manufacturers in the Chacalluta and Las Americas Industrial Park in Arica (Arica and Parinacota Region). Mining, fishing, and financial services are not eligible for free trade zone concessions. Foreign-owned firms have the same investment opportunities in these zones as Chilean firms. The process for setting up a subsidiary is the same inside as outside the zones, regardless of whether the company is domestic or foreign owned.

• Performance and Data Localization Requirements

Chile does not follow “forced localization.” A draft bill that is pending in Chile’s Congress could result in additional requirements (owner’s consent) for international data transfers in cases involving jurisdictions with data protection regimes below Chile’s standards. The bill, modeled after the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) also proposes the creation of an independent Chilean Data Protection Agency that would be responsible for enforcing data protection standards.

Neither Chile’s Foreign Investment Promotion Agency nor the Central Bank applies performance requirements in their reviews of proposed investment projects. The investment chapter in the U.S.–Chile FTA establishes rules prohibiting performance requirements that apply to all investments, whether by a third party or domestic investors. The FTA investment chapter also regulates the use of mandatory performance requirements as a condition for receiving incentives and spells out certain exceptions. These include government procurement, qualifications for export and foreign aid programs, and non-discriminatory health, safety, and environmental requirements.

Chile does not apply requirements for foreign IT providers to turn over source code and/or provide access to encryption, nor are there restrictions for the free transmission of customer or business-related data outside the country. As a rule, there are no local data storage requirements. Chile’s Intellectual Property Law protects computer programs “whatever the mode or form of expression, as source program or object program, and the preparatory documentation, its technical description and user manuals.”

5. Protection of Property Rights

• Real Property

Property rights and interests are recognized and generally enforced in Chile. There is a recognized and generally reliable system for recording mortgages and other forms of liens.

There are no restrictions on foreign ownership of buildings and land, and no time limit on the property rights acquired by them. The only exception, based on national security grounds, is for land located in border territories, which may not be owned by nationals or firms from border countries, without prior authorization of the President of Chile. There are no restrictions to foreign and/or non-resident investors regarding land leases or acquisitions. Unoccupied properties can always be claimed by their legal owners and, as usurpation is a criminal offense, several kinds of eviction procedures are allowed by the law, though they can sometimes be onerous and lengthy.

• Intellectual Property Rights

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s International IP Index, Chile’s legal framework provides for fair and transparent use of compulsory licensing; extends necessary exclusive rights to copyright holders and maintains a voluntary notification system; and provides for civil and procedural remedies. However, IP protection challenges remain. Chile’s framework for trade secret protection has been deemed insufficient by private stakeholders. Pharmaceutical products suffer from relatively weak patenting procedures, the absence of an effective patent enforcement and resolution mechanism, and some gaps in regulation governing data protection.

The Government submitted to Congress in 2018 a bill to reform to Chile’s pharmaceutical drugs law called “Ley de Fármacos II”. A mixed committee tasked to reconcile conflicting amendments made by the Senate and the Lower Chamber indefinitely postponed its final review due to deadlock in Congress. While the pharmaceutical industry reports that the reconciliation process addressed some of their concerns regarding the new regulations, it identified the lack of coverage being offered in price regulations as an outstanding issue of concern.

In addition to Law 21.335 that modernizes certain aspects of Chile’s patent and IP regime, Law 21.426 against trade in illicit and counterfeit goods entered into force in 2022. Chile enacted two laws in 2023 that may strengthen IPR enforcement: Law 21.577 against organized crime established special investigative techniques and bolstered the confiscation of illicit profits, and Law 21.595 created new categories of “economic crimes,” new penalties, such as the confiscation of profits, and new criminal liability for legal entities. Chile also issued Decree 7/2023 on Information Security and Cybersecurity Policy compliance for government agencies. Right holders understand that this Decree will prevent government computer systems from having unlicensed software.

The Intellectual Property Brigade (BRIDEPI) of the Chilean Investigative Police (PDI) reported that it seized 51,312 counterfeit products in 2023, worth a total of US$ 13.6 million, and arrested 194 individuals on charges related to IPR infringement. Additionally, the National Customs Service reported that it seized more than 4.2 million counterfeit products in 2023.

Chile’s IPR enforcement remains relatively lax, particularly in relation to piracy, copyright, and patent protection, while prosecution of IP infringement is hindered by gaps in the legal framework and a lack of expertise in IP law among judges. Rights holders indicate a need for greater resources devoted to customs operations and a better-defined procedure for dealing with small packages containing infringing goods. The legal basis for detaining and seizing suspected transshipments is also insufficiently clear.

Since 2007, Chile has been on the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) Special 301 Priority Watch List (PWL). In October 2018, Chile’s Congress successfully passed a law that criminalizes satellite piracy. In December 2021, the Government of Chile submitted legislation to implement a legal framework to penalize the circumvention of technology protection measures (TPM) by amending Chile’s existing IPR law. This legislation remains pending in Congress. However, other challenges remain related to longstanding IPR issues under the U.S.-Chile FTA: the pending implementation of UPOV 91; the implementation of an effective patent linkage in connection with applications to market pharmaceutical products; adequate protection for undisclosed data generated to obtain marketing approval for pharmaceutical products; and amendments to Chile’s Internet Service Provider liability regime to permit effective action against Internet piracy.

On December 13, 2023, Chile signed the updated Association Agreement with the European Union, accepting the protection of 222 product terms as Geographic Indicators (GI), including mostly cheeses and processed meats. The EU and Chile also agreed to give GI protection for some common product names such as parmesan, feta, and gruyere, which are also produced in many countries globally, including the United States and Chile. Chile’s broad acceptance of EU GIs and the inclusion of common names affects market access for U.S. dairy exports to Chile as provided for in the U.S.-Chile FTA. There is an ongoing engagement between the United States and Chile to preserve market access for U.S. products marketed in Chile using common names.

Chile is not listed in the USTR’s Notorious Markets List. For additional information about national laws and points of contact at local IP offices, please see WIPO’s country profiles at http://www.wipo.int/directory/en/   .

6. Financial Sector

• Capital Markets and Portfolio Investment

Chile developed capital markets and keeps them open to foreign portfolio investors. Foreign firms offer services in Chile in areas such as financial information, data processing, financial advisory services, portfolio management, voluntary saving plans and pension funds. Under the U.S.-Chile FTA, Chile significantly opened its insurance sector, with very limited exceptions. The Santiago Stock Exchange is Chile’s dominant stock exchange, and the third largest in Latin America. However, when compared to other OECD countries, it has lower market liquidity.

The free flow of financial resources into Chile’s real economy allows its commodity export-dependent economy to adjust to external shocks. Chile accepted the obligations of the International Monetary Fund’s Article VIII (sections 2, 3 and 4) and maintains a free-floating exchange rate system, free of restrictions on payments and transfers for current international transactions. Credit is allocated on market terms and its various instruments are available to foreigners. The Central Bank of Chile (CBC) reserves the right to restrict foreign investors’ access to internal credit in case of a credit shortage but has not exerted this authority to date.

• Money and Banking System

Chile has the highest banking services penetration rate in Latin America: 92 percent of residents older than 18 have a bank account. There are 13.5 million credit cards and 27.3 million debit cards in the Chilean banking system, along with 10.8 million current accounts and 20.7 million savings accounts. State-owned Banco Estado supports financial inclusion through CuentaRut, a commission-free card with an electronic account available for all Chilean residents (national and foreigners) with a RUT (national ID number). As of December 2023, nearly 14.6 million people (82 percent of Chilean residents) had a CuentaRut account.

The Chilean banking system is healthy and competitive. The 2019 General Law of Banks (LGB) provides general guidelines for establishing a capital adequacy system in line with Basel III standards and gave the Financial Market Commission (CMF), the regulator for banks, insurance companies and the stock market, the authority to establish its framework. All Chilean banks meet Basel III requirements, even though its implementation process ends on December 1, 2025. The system’s liquidity position (Liquidity Coverage Ratio) is on average above 200 percent, more than twice the regulatory limit (100%). Capital adequacy ratio of the system was 16.16 percent as of December 2023 and remains robust even when including discounts due to market and/or operational risks. As of December 2023, non-performing loans (i.e., loans 90 days past due) were 2.13 percent compared to 1.68 percent in December 2022. This result was influenced by the end of the expansive fiscal and monetary policies implemented in 2021 in response to the economic shock from the COVID-19 pandemic, and currently higher interest rates.

As of December 2023, the total assets of the Chilean banking system amounted to US$ 458.9 billion, according to the CMF. The largest six banks (Banco de Crédito e Inversiones, Banco Santander-Chile, Banco Estado, Banco de Chile, Scotiabank Chile, and Itaú Chile) accounted for 87.4 percent of the system’s assets. Chile’s Central Bank conducts the country’s monetary policy, is constitutionally autonomous from the government, and is not subject to regulation by the CMF.

Foreign banks have an important presence in Chile, comprising three out of the six largest banks of the system. Out of 17 banks currently in Chile, five are foreign owned but legally established banks in Chile and three are branches of foreign banks. Both categories are subject to the requirements of the Chilean banking law and to supervision by the CMF. There are also 25 representative offices of foreign banks in Chile, six of them from the United States. There are no reports of correspondent banking relationships withdrawal in Chile.

To open a bank account in Chile, a foreigner must present his/her Chilean ID Card or passport, Chilean tax ID number, proof of address, proof of income/solvency, photo, and fingerprints.

Foreign Exchange and Remittances

• Foreign Exchange

Law 20.848, which regulates FDI (described in section 1), prohibits arbitrary discrimination against foreign investors and guarantees access to the formal foreign exchange market, as well as the free remittance of capital and profits generated by investments. There are no other restrictions or limitations placed on foreign investors for the conversion, transfer or remittance of funds associated with an investment.

Investors, importers, and others have access to foreign exchange in the official inter-bank currency market without restriction. The Central Bank of Chile (CBC) reserves the right to deny access to the inter-bank currency market for royalty payments more than five percent of sales. The same restriction applies to payments for the use of patents that exceed five percent of sales. In such cases, firms would have access to the informal market. The Chilean tax service reserves the right to prevent royalties of over five percent of sales from being counted as expenses for domestic tax purposes.

Chile has a free floating (flexible) exchange rate system since 1999. Exchange rates of foreign currencies are fully determined by the market. The CBC reserves the right to intervene under exceptional circumstances to correct significant deviations of the currency from its fundamentals. These interventions are not designed to maintain a determined exchange rate level, which results from the currency market supply and demand, but instead aim to preserve financial stability when there is an excessive volatility in the foreign exchange market. This authority has been used seven times since 1999, the latest being an announcement in July 2022 when the CBC injected US$ 25 billion into the foreign exchange market following an unusual depreciation of the Chilean peso (CLP) due to external shocks.

• Remittance Policies

Remittances of profits generated by investments are allowed at any time after tax obligations are fulfilled; remittances of capital can be made after one year following the date of entry into the country. In practice, this permanency requirement does not constitute a restriction for productive investment, because projects normally need more than one year to mature. Under the investment chapter of the U.S.–Chile FTA, the parties must allow free transfer and without delay of covered investments into and out of its territory. These include transfers of profits, royalties, sales proceeds, and other remittances related to the investment. However, for certain types of short-term capital flows, this chapter allows Chile to impose transfer restrictions for up to 12 months, as long as those restrictions do not substantially impede transfers. If restrictions are found to impede transfers substantially, damages accrue from the date of the initiation of the measure. In practice, these restrictions have not been applied in the last two decades.

• Sovereign Wealth Funds

The Government of Chile maintains two sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) built with savings from years with fiscal surpluses. The Economic and Social Stabilization Fund (FEES) was established in 2007 and was valued at US$5.1 billion as of February 2024. The purpose of the FEES is to fund public debt payments and temporary deficit spending to keep a countercyclical fiscal policy. The Pensions Reserve Fund (FRP) was built up in 2006 and amounted to US$8.6 billion as of February 2024. The purpose of the FRP is to anticipate future needs of payments to those eligible to receive pensions, but whose contributions to the private pension system fall below a minimum threshold.

Chile is a member of the International Working Group of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IWG) and adheres to the Santiago Principles.

Chile’s government policy is to invest SWFs entirely abroad into instruments denominated in foreign currencies, including sovereign bonds and related instruments, corporate and high-yield bonds, mortgage-backed securities from U.S. agencies, and stocks. Approximately 65.5 percent of the FEES (US$2.7 billion), as well as 50.3 percent of the FRP (US$4.3 billion), were invested in assets based in the United States as of January 2024.

7. State-Owned Enterprises

Chile had 28 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in operation as of 2022. Twenty-seven SOEs are commercial companies and the newest one (FOINSA) is an infrastructure fund that was created to facilitate public-private partnership projects. At the same time, 25 SOEs are not listed and are fully owned by the government, while the remaining three are majority government owned. Ten Chilean SOEs operate in the port management sector, six in the services sector, three in the defense sector, three in the mining sector (including CODELCO, the world’s largest copper producer, and ENAP, an oil and gas company), two in transportation, one in the water sector, one is a TV station, and one is a state-owned bank (Banco Estado). The state holds a minority stake in four water companies after a privatization process. In 2022, total assets of Chilean SOEs amounted to US$ 81.8 billion, while their total net income was US$ 3.0 billion. Chilean SOEs employed 47,669 people in 2022.

Twenty SOEs in Chile fall under the supervision of the Public Enterprises System (SEP), a public agency that oversees SOE governance. The rest – including the largest SOEs such as CODELCO, ENAP and Banco Estado – have their own governance and report to the Executive Branch. Allocation of seats on the boards of Chilean SOEs is determined by the SEP or outlined by the laws that regulate them. In CODELCO’s corporate governance, there is a mix between seats appointed by recommendation from an independent high-level civil service committee, and seats allocated by political authorities in the government.

The Budget Directorate published an updated list of SOEs, including their financial management information, available in the following link: http://www.dipres.gob.cl/599/w3-propertyvalue-20890.html   .

In general, Chilean SOEs work under strict budget constraints and compete under the same regulatory and tax frameworks as private firms. The exception is ENAP, which is the only company allowed to refine oil in Chile. The main Chilean SOEs compete in the domestic market according to commercial terms. TVN (national TV broadcaster) and Banco Estado (Chile’s third biggest bank) operate in very competitive markets. Several other SOEs operate in sectors with characteristics of natural monopoly such as water, infrastructure, ports, and transportation, in some cases in public-private partnerships or join ventures with private firms. In general, Chilean SOEs operating in the domestic market provide non-discriminatory treatment in their purchases. CODELCO competes internationally as one of the world’s biggest copper producers, and it is developing a lithium division to operate Chile’s largest deposits in partnership with private companies. ENAP has oil and gas investments abroad with branches in Argentina, Ecuador, and Egypt. There are no significant investments from Chilean SOEs in the United States. As an OECD member, Chile adheres to the OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance for SOEs.

• Privatization Program

Chile does not have a privatization program.

8. Responsible Business Conduct

Awareness of the need to ensure corporate social responsibility has grown over the last two decades in Chile. However, NGOs and academics who monitor this issue believe that risk mapping and management practices still do not sufficiently reflect its importance.

On November 12, 2021, the CMF published new annual reporting requirements for publicly traded companies on policies, practices, and metrics adopted to meet environmental, social, and governance goals. The new regulation will require companies to restructure their annual reports to integrate sustainability issues throughout the report. The new annual report structure includes sections on company profile, corporate governance (including sustainability risks, particularly climate change), strategic objectives, personnel (include diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, workplace and sexual harassment, training, and benefits), business model, supplier management, regulatory compliance (related to customers, workers, environment, and free competition), and sustainability indicators (in line with international standards). The requirements went into effect for large businesses (of consolidated total assets of approximately $850 million or higher) for reporting year 2022, published in March 2023. For companies with less than $45 million consolidated assets, the requirements go into effect for reporting year 2023.

The government of Chile encourages foreign and local enterprises to follow generally accepted Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) principles and uses the United Nations’ Rio+20 Conference statements as its principal reference. Chile adheres since 1997 to the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. It also recognizes the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy; the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; the UN Global Compact’s Ten Principles, and the ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility. The government established a National Contact Point (NCP) for OECD MNE guidelines located within the Undersecretariat for International Economic Relations, and has a Responsible Business Conduct Division, whose chief is also the NCP. In August 2017, Chile released its National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights based on the UN Guiding Principles. Separately, the Council on Social Responsibility for Sustainable Development, coordinated by Chile’s Ministry of Economy, is currently developing a National Policy on Social Responsibility.

Regarding procurement decisions, ChileCompra, the agency in charge of centralizing Chile’s public procurement, incorporates the existence of a Clean Production Certificate and an ISO 14001-2004 certificate on environmental management as part of its criteria to assign public purchases.

No high profile or controversial instances of corporate impact on human rights have occurred in Chile in recent years.

The Chilean government effectively and fairly enforces domestic labor, employment, consumer, and environmental protection laws. There are no dispute settlement cases against Chile related to the Labor and Environment Chapters of the Free Trade Agreements signed by Chile.

Regarding the protection of shareholders, the Superintendence of Securities and Insurance (SVS) has the responsibility of regulating and supervising all listed companies in Chile. Companies are generally required to have an audit committee, a directors committee, an anti-money laundering committee and an anti-terrorism finance committee. Laws do not require companies to have a nominating/corporate governance committee or a compensation committee. Compensation programs are typically established by the board of directors and/or the directors committee.

Independent NGOs in Chile promote and freely monitor RBC. Examples include NGO Acción Empresas Inicio – Acción Empresas (accionempresas.cl)   , Chilean chapter of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD); the Catholic University of Valparaiso’s Center for Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development VINCULAR: http://www.vincular.cl/;   ProHumana Foundation; and the Andres Bello University’s Center Vitrina Ambiental.

Chile is an OECD member but is not participating actively in the implementation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Afflicted and High-Risk Areas.

Chile is not part of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). Chile joined The Montreux Document on Private Military and Security Companies in 2009. However, there are no private security companies based in Chile participating in the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers’ Association (ICoCA).

• Additional Resources

Department of State

• Country Reports on Human Rights Practices ( https://www.state.gov/reports-bureau-of-democracy-human-rights-and-labor/country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/ )
• Trafficking in Persons Report ( https://www.state.gov/trafficking-in-persons-report/ )
• Guidance on Implementing the “UN Guiding Principles” for Transactions Linked to Foreign Government End-Users for Products or Services with Surveillance Capabilities ( https://www.state.gov/key-topics-bureau-of-democracy-human-rights-and-labor/due-diligence-guidance/ )
• U.S. National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises ( https://www.state.gov/u-s-national-contact-point-for-the-oecd-guidelines-for-multinational-enterprises/ )
• Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory ( https://www.state.gov/xinjiang-supply-chain-business-advisory/ )

Department of the Treasury

• OFAC Recent Actions ( https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/recent-actions   )

Department of Labor

• Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor Report ( https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/findings   )
• List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor ( https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods   )
• Sweat & Toil: Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking Around the World ( https://www.dol.gov/general/apps/ilab   )
• Comply Chain ( https://www.dol.gov/ilab/complychain/   )
• Climate Issues

Chile is one of the signatories of the Paris Agreement. The Environment Ministry published its 2050 Long-Term Climate Strategy (ECLP), a roadmap that details how Chile will fulfill its commitments, considering a 30-year timeframe. It was incorporated into Law 21.455, known as the Framework Law of Climate Change, enacted on June 13, 2022. The law also includes the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), which contains Chile’s commitments to the international community in mitigation and adaptation to climate change, which will be updated every five years. In 2022, Chile joined the Regional Escazu Agreement, which aims to guarantee full and effective access to environmental information, public participation in environmental decision-making process, and access to environmental justice.

The main climate-related policy measures introduced by the government belong to six categories: sustainable industry and mining; green hydrogen production; sustainable construction of housing and public/commercial buildings; electromobility in the public transport system; phasing out coal-fired power generation plants; and other energy efficiency measures.

Under the Framework Law of Climate Change, the Environment Ministry is responsible for drawing up an emissions mitigation plan with limits for each productive sector. There will be specific strategies and goals for the main sectors contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, some of them already in place. These will include: in the energy sector, phasing out coal-based power generation plants, with an aim to have closed 18 plants by 2025 and all of them by 2040; in the mining sector, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to a minimum level by 2050 under the ECLP (both for emissions generated from the extraction and production processes, and indirectly, such as from electric power consumption); in the agricultural sector, Chile adhered to the COP26 goal to reduce methane (CH4) emissions by 30% by 2030, and joined the U.S. sponsor Global Methane Pledge.

In 2023, Chile passed the Nature Law that creates the Service for Biodiversity and Protected Areas (SBAP) complying with international protection and conservation commitments. Through SBAP, Chile standardizes the classification of protected areas based on the six categories defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Three of the categories – strict nature reserve (Ia) and wilderness area (Ib), national park (II), natural monument or feature (III) – prohibit all commercial exploitation of natural resources and industrial infrastructure.

Chile introduced in 2020 an emissions compensation mechanism for companies that pay green taxes, which are currently applied to emissions of particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide. This mechanism created a regulated carbon market, which allows industries to reduce their tax burden by financing emission reduction or emission absorption projects carried out by NGOs, foundations, or other institutions. Some examples of projects that can use this mechanism include energy efficiency initiatives, heater replacement, clean transportation, and reforestation.

There is increasing incorporation of environmental considerations into public procurement. In 2012, the government published the Socially Responsible Purchasing Policy, containing strategic sustainability guidelines, which are non-binding recommendations. In 2016, the Ministry of the Environment launched a public procurement policy with environmental criteria, both for the bidder’s operations and the characteristics of the products purchased.

9. Corruption

Chile implements various laws to combat public corruption, including the 2009 Transparency Law that mandates disclosure of public information related to all areas of government and created an autonomous Transparency Council in charge of overseeing its implementation. Subsequent amendments expanded the number of public trust positions required to release financial disclosure, mandated disclosure in greater details, and allowed for stronger penalties for noncompliance.

In March 2020, the government proposed new legislation aimed at combatting corruption, as well as economic and electoral crimes. Four new pieces of legislation seek to strengthen enforcement and increase penalties for collusion among firms; increase penalties for insider trading; provide protections for whistleblowers seeking to expose state corruption; and expand the statute of limitations for electoral crimes. This legislation remains under discussion in the Chilean Congress.

Anti-corruption laws, in particular mandatory asset disclosure, do extend to family members of officials. Political parties are subject to laws that limit campaign financing and require transparency in party governance and contributions to parties and campaigns.

Regarding government procurement, the ChileCompra (central public procurement agency) website allows users to anonymously report irregularities in procurement. An executive decree defines sanctions for public officials who do not adequately justify direct contracts. The Corporate Criminal Liability Law provides that corporate entities can have their compliance programs reviewed by domestic firms authorized by Chile’s Financial Market Commission (CMF) to certify them as sufficient. The General Comptroller’s office oversees the control of the legal aspects, management, pre-audit and post-audit functions of all civil service activities. Private companies have increasingly incorporated internal control measures, as well as ethics committees as part of their corporate governance, and compliance management sections. Additionally, Chile Transparente (Chilean branch of Transparency International) developed a Corruption Prevention System to facilitate private firms’ compliance with the Corporate Criminal Liability Law.

Chile signed and ratified the Organization of American States (OAS) Convention against Corruption. The country also ratified the UN Anticorruption Convention on September 13, 2006. Chile is also an active member of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) and, as an OECD member, adopted the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.

NGOs that investigate corruption operate in a free and adequately protected manner. U.S. firms have not identified corruption as an obstacle to FDI.

• Resources to Report Corruption

Dorothy Perez Gutierrez General Comptroller Comptroller General’s Office Teatinos 56, Santiago de Chile +56 2 32401100

David Ibaceta Medina Director General Consejo para la Transparencia Morande 360 piso 7 (+56)-(2)-2495-2000 [email protected]  

Michel Figueroa Executive Director Chile Transparente (Chile branch of Transparency International) Perez Valenzuela 1687, piso 1, Providencia, Santiago, Chile (+56)-(2)-2236 4507 [email protected]  

Octavio Del Favero Executive Director Ciudadania Inteligente Holanda 895, Providencia, Santiago, Chile (+56)-(2)-2419-2770 https://ciudadaniai.org/contact  

Benjamín García Executive Director Espacio Publico Orrego Luco 087, Piso 3. Providencia, Santiago, Chile T: (+56) (9) 6258 3871 [email protected]  

Observatorio Anticorrupción (Run by Espacio Publico and Ciudadania Inteligente) https://observatorioanticorrupcion.cl/  

Ma nuel Henriquez Executive Director Observatorio Fiscal (focused on public spending) Don Carlos 2983, Oficina 3, Las Condes, Santiago, Chile (+562) (2) 4572 975 [email protected]  

• 10. Political and Security Environment

Pursuant to a political accord in response to the 2019 civil unrest, Chile held a plebiscite in October 2020 in which citizens voted to draft a new constitution. In September 2022, Chileans rejected by a nearly 62 to 38 percent margin a draft constitution that reflected the vision of the political left. In December 2022, lawmakers established a second constitutional process. Voters also rejected, in December 2023, the second constitutional draft, penned by the political right, by a nearly 55 to 44 percent margin. In January, President Boric closed discussions on constitutional reform during his administration, leaving the current constitution unaltered.

Prior to 2019, there were generally few incidents of politically motivated attacks on investment projects or installations except for the southern areas of Araucania region and Arauco province in neighboring Bio Bio region. This area, home to nearly half a million indigenous inhabitants, has seen an ongoing trend of politically motivated violence and organized criminal activity. Land claims and conflicts with forestry companies are the main grievances underneath the radicalization of a relatively small number of indigenous Mapuche communities, which has led to the rise of organized groups that pursue their demands by violent means. Incidents include arson attacks on churches, farms, forestry plantations, forestry contractors’ machinery and vehicles, and private vehicles, as well as occupation of private lands, resulting in over a half-dozen deaths (including some by police forces), injuries, and damage to property. Since October 2021, the Chilean Congress has extended the State of Emergency in the Araucanía Region every 15 days. The State of Emergency permits the Chilean army to support Carabinero police actions, specifically to secure important transportation corridors. Government data suggests the State of Emergency’s success – pointing to a 30 percent reduction in rural violence. President Boric announced the creation of a Presidential Commission for Peace and Understanding on June 21, 2023, to find a solution to Mapuche land claims.

Since 2007, Chile has experienced several small-scale attacks with explosive and incendiary devices, targeting mostly banks, police stations, and public spaces throughout Santiago, including metro stations, universities, and churches. ATMs have been blown up in the late evenings or early mornings. Attacks generally occur during times of minimal civilian foot traffic and have generally avoided causing civilian casualties. Eleven incidents of bombs that either exploded, were defused by authorities, or failed to detonate have occurred since May 2019. Anarchist groups often claim responsibility for these acts, as well as violent incidents during student and labor protests. According to analysts and media reports, these anarchist groups do not have a unified manifesto, but their motives revolve around general anti-government sentiment, including environmental degradation; restitution of public lands to indigenous groups; imprisoned acquaintances; protest of public transportation costs; and denunciation of “corporate greed.” Half a dozen activists are currently convicted and imprisoned for attacks that claimed about 15 injuries among civilians and police officers.

While the security environment is generally safe, street crime, carjackings, telephone scams, and residential break-ins are common, especially in larger cities. Law enforcement agencies have observed an increase in transnational criminal activity and attempts by narcotics organizations to gain footholds in Chile. Vehicle thefts are a serious problem in Valparaiso and northern Chile (from Iquique to Arica), with most of those vehicles allegedly smuggled into neighboring Bolivia. On occasion, illegal activity by striking workers resulted in damage to corporate property or a disruption of operations. Some firms have publicly expressed concern that during a contentious strike, law enforcement has appeared reluctant to protect private property.

Chilean authorities have attributed an increase in violent crime in Chile, in part, to an increase in Chile of migrants connected to transnational criminal organizations. President Boric and the Interior Ministry view border control as one of the primary methods to reduce crime in Chile. In July 2023, President Boric introduced a new National Policy on Migration and Foreigners. In June 2023, President Boric announced that he would fast-track a bill to create a new Ministry of Public Security, and Chile’s Congress continues to debate numerous security-related bills.

Chilean civil society is active, and demonstrations occur frequently. Although most demonstrations are peaceful, criminal elements have taken advantage of civil society protests to loot stores along protest routes and clash with the police. Annual demonstrations to mark March 29, the Day of the Young Combatant; September 11, the anniversary of the 1973 coup against the government of President Salvador Allende; and October 18, the anniversary of the outbreak of the 2019 civil unrest, have resulted in damage to property, looting, and scuffles between police and protestors.

• 11. Labor Policies and Practices

Unemployment in Chile averaged 8.6 percent of the labor force during 2023, while the labor participation rate was 62.1 percent of the working age population, estimated as 16.3 million people in December 2023. The labor participation of migrants was 75.8 percent of the working age foreign population in Chile, estimated at 1.0 million people in December 2023. Chilean workers are adequately skilled and some sectors such as mining, agriculture, and fishing employ highly skilled workers. In general, there is an adequate availability of technicians and professionals. The National Institute of Statistics (INE) estimates informal employment in Chile in 27.6 percent of the workforce as of December 2023.

Article 19 of the Labor Code stipulates that employers must hire Chileans for at least 85 percent of their staff, except in the case of firms with less than 25 employees. However, Article 20 of the Labor Code includes several provisions under which foreign employees can exceed 25 percent, independent of the size of the company.

In general, employees who have been working for at least one year are entitled to statutory severance pay, upon dismissal without cause, equivalent to 30 days of the last monthly remuneration earned, for each year of service. The upper limit is 330 days (11 years of service) for workers with a contract in force for one year or more. The same amount is payable to a worker whose contract is terminated for economic reasons. Upon termination, regardless of the reason, domestic workers are entitled to an unemployment insurance benefit funded by the employee and employer contributions to an individual unemployment fund equivalent to three percent of the monthly remuneration. The employer’s contributions shall be paid for a maximum of 11 years by the same employer. Another fund made up of employer and government contributions is used for complementary unemployment payments when needed.

Labor and environmental laws are not waived to attract or retain investments.

During 2022 (latest data available), Labor Directorate data showed that 11,256 unions and 2,493 workers federations were active. In the same period, 411,390 workers were covered by collective bargaining agreements. Unions can form nationwide labor associations and can affiliate with international labor federations. Contracts are normally negotiated at the company level. Workers in public institutions do not have collective bargaining rights, but national public workers’ associations undertake annual negotiations with the government.

The Labor Directorate under the Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing labor laws and regulations. Both employers and workers may request labor mediation from the Labor Directorate, which is an alternate dispute resolution model aimed at facilitating communication and agreement between both parties.

Labor Directorate data shows that 661 legal strikes occurred in 2022 (latest data available), involving 106,821 workers during the same period. As legal strikes in Chile have a restricted scope and duration, in general they do not present a risk for foreign investment.

Chile has and generally enforces laws and regulations in accordance with internationally recognized labor rights of freedom of association and collective bargaining, the elimination of forced labor, child labor, including the minimum age for work, discrimination with respect to employment and occupation, and acceptable conditions of work related to minimum wage, occupational safety and health, and hours of work. On January 1, 2023, Chile raised its monthly minimum wage to CLP 410,000 – US$ 496– for all occupations, including household domestic staff, more than twice the official poverty line. Workers older than 64 or younger than 19 years old or younger are eligible for a special minimum wage of CLP 305,851 (US$ 370) a month. Information on potential gaps in law or practice with international labor standards by the International Labor Organization is pending.

Collective bargaining is not allowed in companies or organizations dependent upon the Defense Ministry or whose employees are prohibited from striking, such as in health care, law enforcement, and public utilities. Labor courts can require workers to resume work upon a determination that a strike causes serious risk to health, national security, the supply of goods or services to the population, or to the national economy.

The U.S.-Chile FTA, in force since January 1, 2004, requires the United States and Chile to maintain effective labor and environmental enforcement.

In April 2023, congress passed a law to enact a 40-hour work week by May 2028 by gradually decreasing the 45-hour work week. The lowering of the maximum number of labor hours is implemented gradually from 44 hours since its promulgation, 42 hours the second year, and 40 hours starting the third year of its promulgation. Provisions on premium compensation for overtime work are not affected by the new law. The law provided exemptions from restrictions on hours of work for some categories of workers such as managers; administrators; employees of fishing boats; restaurant, club, and hotel workers; drivers; airplane crews; telecommuters or employees who worked outside of the office; and professional athletes.

• 12. U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and Other Investment Insurance or Development Finance Programs

Since 2013, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) partnered with U.S. solar energy developers to finance five large-scale power facilities throughout the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, one of which remains operational. Other OPIC-financed projects in the country include the run-of-river hydropower project Alto Maipo, and the toll road Vespucio Norte Express. There are no investment incentive agreements between Chile and the United States that support them. Since the World Bank categorized it as a high-income country, Chile is ineligible for U.S. International Development Finance Corporation financing.

• 13. Foreign Direct Investment Statistics

* Source for Host Country Data: Central Bank of Chile, 2022 year-end data released in March 2023.

According to the IMF’s Coordinated Direct Investment Survey (CDIS), total stock of FDI in Chile in 2022 amounted to US$ 256.5 billion, compared to US$ 237.0 billion in 2021. Canada, the United States, and the Netherlands are the main sources of FDI to Chile (same rank order as in 2021) with US$ 35.5 billion, US$ 22.8 billion and US$ 21.2 billion, respectively, concentrating 31.1 percent of the total.

Chile’s outward direct investment stock in 2022 amounted to US$ 136.0 billion, compared to US$ 132.5 billion in 2021. It is less concentrated in South America than in previous years, with Brazil, Peru, and Colombia combined representing nearly 23.5 percent of total Chilean outward FDI. The United States and Germany are the second and fourth destination, respectively, of Chilean FDI with 16 percent of the total, combined.

The data below is consistent with host country statistics. Although less prominent than in previous years, some tax havens are relevant sources of inward FDI to Chile, with Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, and Luxembourg ranking eleventh, twelfth, and sixteenth, respectively, according to the Central Bank of Chile. However, the category “Not Specified (including Confidential)” totals US$ 93.9 billion, more than any other country source of inward FDI into Chile.

• 14. Contact for More Information

Alexis Gutiérrez Economic Specialist Avenida Andrés Bello 2800, Las Condes, Santiago, Chile (56-9) 4268 9005 [email protected]  

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Education | Two new laws crack down on sexual harassment at California universities

Bills follow sexual misconduct at san jose state.

The new laws Gov. Gavin Newsom signed July 15 require Cal State University officials to expand current sexual assault prevention training, standardize investigation and reporting processes, track cases and address unprofessional conduct that doesn’t fall under sexual harassment.

“The signing of these bills is a significant first step to fostering cultural change, accountability and trust at these institutions,” said Assemblyman Mike Fong, an Alhambra Democrat who chairs the Assembly Higher Education Committee and coordinated a 12-bill package addressing sexual harassment.

Amy Bentley-Smith, a Cal State University spokeswoman, said “CSU has worked very closely with the Legislature on this bill package for the last year and are pleased to see both bills signed.” San Jose State declined to comment on the bills.

San Jose State, the oldest CSU campus, made headlines in 2020 when an investigation revealed that the Spartans’ sports medicine director and head athletic trainer, Scott Shaw, had sexually harassed at least ten former and current SJSU student-athletes.

The scandal led to a U.S. Department of Justice investigation, the resignations of the school’s president, Mary Papazian, and Athletic Director Marie Tuite and forced the university to pay more than $5 million to over two dozen athletes Shaw had treated. In November, Shaw was sentenced to two years for sexually abusing students under the guise of treatment.

Controversy hit the Cal State University system again in 2022 when a USA Today investigation found the system’s then-chancellor, Joseph I. Castro, had mishandled sexual harassment claims while he was president of Fresno State. Castro resigned shortly after, along with several other top officials across the university’s 23 campuses.

To address the growing problem, Cal State University paid San Francisco-based law firm Cozen O’Connor around $1 million to conduct a systemwide investigation into how its campuses were handling sexual misconduct complaints. The 236-page Cozen O’Connor report — released July 2023 — found failures across the entire university system that resulted in the mishandling of hundreds of sexual misconduct complaints.

A separate July 2023 report by the California State Auditor — which focused on Cal State University’s Chancellor’s Office and three campuses, including San Jose State — found similar concerns with how campuses were investigating allegations and disciplining employees who had engaged in sexual harassment or misconduct.

The state auditor report included eight recommendations for the CSU Chancellor’s Office to improve the university’s policies, including requiring case tracking, consistent investigation and reporting processes and establishing requirements for addressing conduct that is unprofessional but does not fall under sexual harassment.

One of the bills Newsom signed, AB 1790 by Assemblyman Damon Connolly, a San Rafael Democrat, requires California State University to implement the auditor’s recommendations by July 1, 2026. The university system also must submit an initial report of the status of implementation by July 1 of next year.

“This legislation will ensure that survivors are heard, perpetrators are held accountable, and our educational institutions uphold the highest standards of justice and support,” Connolly said in a news release.

Newsom also signed AB 2608 by Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, an Encino Democrat, which will expand current sexual assault prevention training at colleges and universities to include topics related to alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault and increase students’ access to confidential support and resources. Bentley-Smith said Cal State University officially supported the bill.

Fong said the 12-bill package aims to address and prevent sexual harassment at higher education institutions across the state, improving the campus climate at all California colleges and universities, not just Cal State University.

He added that improving how California addresses and prevents sexual discrimination and harassment at colleges and universities has been a priority of the Assembly Higher Education Committee for many years.

The other bills in the 12-bill package are working their way through the state Legislature, including some that would require a systemwide Office of Civil Rights to oversee policies and establish a Title IX office at CSU and UC campuses, and a few that would have implications for employees who have engaged in sexual harassment.

One aims to target “pass the harasser” policies — a well-known practice referred to by the Chronicle of Higher Education as “higher ed’s worst-kept secret.”

Currently, a college faculty, staff or administrator found to have committed sexual harassment can resign and still get a new job at a different campus because universities don’t share previous misconduct of former employees.

AB 810, by Glendale Assemblywoman Laura Friedman, a Burbank Democrat, would require applicants to disclose if they had previously been found guilty of sexual misconduct. Friedman said the bill does not prohibit a college from hiring the applicant, but ensures administrators are aware of that applicant’s history.

The Cal State Student Association, which represents nearly half a million students in the CSU system, voiced support for nearly every bill in the 12-bill package, including Friedman’s bill.

“We commend the efforts put forth in the Call to Action Report by the committee,” the association said. “The findings underscored significant shortcomings in addressing discrimination and inequitable treatment within the CSU system which deeply concern us.”

Fong said he is hopeful the entire legislative package will be signed into law, but knows it will be a multiyear effort.

“There is still much work ahead,” Fong said, “but I am confident in the impact this legislative package will have for our campus communities.”

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