New ECLAC publication proposes strengthening the capacities of the municipal level with the purpose of promoting local economic development in Chile

A new study by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), published in December 2022, presents a series of proposals to strengthen the capacities of municipalities in Chile, with the aim of promoting Local Economic Development ( DEL) as a process that contributes to improving the quality of life and generates greater well-being for the inhabitants of these territories.

The document, entitled: “Municipal strengthening plan for local economic development in Chile: Analysis of multilevel institutionality, diagnosis and recommendations”, was prepared within the framework of a cooperation agreement between ECLAC and the Undersecretariat for Regional and Administrative Development. (SUBDERE) of Chile, called: “Technical assistance in the design of productive transformation policies and transfer of powers for inclusive regional development in Latin America.”

The publication is divided into four chapters and is based on studies, research and meetings with representatives of regional governments, carried out by ECLAC, in addition to the results of a survey that included 39 municipalities in the Coquimbo, Los Ríos and Magallanes regions, chosen as territories to develop collaborative activities between 2019 and 2022.

Regarding the study, it makes a conceptualization of the importance of local economic development and suggests how, based on planning and collaboration, municipalities can promote it. In the same way, the publication establishes strategies and lines of action at the institutional level to stimulate local economic development, as well as a series of tools with which municipalities work for this purpose.

Also, proposals are presented to strengthen the action of municipalities for the benefit of local economic development, considering aspects related to multilevel coordination, improvements in the internal organization of municipalities, and training proposals for officials, among other factors.

In this way, the document proposes to be a space that deepens the contribution of different actors, particularly regional and local governments, in the strengthening and promotion of local economic development as a tool that is oriented to the well-being of the inhabitants and communities in the territories.

Finally, it is concluded that the collective action of various human groups must be a coordinated effort between the three levels of government (national, regional, local), to promote and design policies for local economic development. Likewise, it is essential that the role of local governments be strengthened, with emphasis on the needs and priorities of the inhabitants, and that they have the support and accompaniment of both the regional and national levels.