'Interlocked' business groups and the state in Chile (1970-2010)

In this article we examine the relationship among business groups (BGs) in Chile in the long run, focusing on the relations between the state, viewed as a BG, and privately-owned BGs from 1970 to 2010. Our analysis proceeds within the methodological perspective of interlocking directorates (IDs) analysis. Working with a unique database of the boards of firms affiliated to BGs, we consider IDs as a way to learn about the cohesion and relation between these BGs. We include a period of political change and institutional and economic modernisation in Chile, which also involved a transformation in the character of the entrepreneurial class in the country. We find that the state BG has played an important role in the networks of Chilean capitalism. Our work complements the literature on BGs and state capitalism, showing the rich nature of social networks in a capitalist society.