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Abstract
This article compares employment at multinational mining companies in Chile and Norway from ca. 1870 to 1940. I find that multinationals in Chile recruited foreigners to managing and middle-management positions, while Norwegian workers were heavily involved in management of multinationals in Norway. The exclusion of Chileans encouraged enclave tendencies and prevented knowledge transfer, while strong networks were created between multinationals and the local industry in Norway through job switching. Evidence suggests that local workers were employed if they were qualified and that discrepancies in institutions stimulating capacity building in the two countries largely explain the different employment patterns.
Acknowledgements
The author wishes to express her very great appreciation to her former supervisor, Kristine Bruland, and to give special thanks to Keith Smith, Olav Wicken and Mary O’Sullivan for very valuable comments and suggestions. She is sincerely grateful to Adoración Álvaro Moya, Susanna Fellman, Núria Puig Rapaso and to the anonymous reviewers for very useful advices in the writing process.
Notes
This paper is based on parts of the author’s PhD dissertation.
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2. Macchiavello, El problema, 91.
3. Anuario Estadistico, Mineria, 1925, 34.
4. Jones, Multinationals, 267.
5. Macchiavello, El problema, 91.
6. Stonehill, Foreign Ownership, 32.
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9. Student biographies, published in so called ‘student yearbooks’ from Norway, published by the University, NIT and technical schools, and some yearbooks from Chile, provide unique information about the life and work of secondary school graduates after they completed their exams. They are collections of reports about their education, working experience, working positions etc. See Ranestad, ‘The mining sectors’, for a detailed explanation of the sources and the use of them.
10. For further description, see Ranestad, ‘The mining sectors’, 151–197.
11. Universidad, Memoria de la Universidad, 1922, 166.
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19. One engineer worked at two multinationals.
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21. Stonehill, Foreign Ownership.
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31. See Ranestad, ‘The mining sectors’, 334.
32. Jones, Multinationals, 273.
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40. Gandarillas, Estado actual, 75.
41. Ibid, 125.
42. For a full explanation of this gap, see Ranestad, ‘The mining sectors’, 205–213.
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48. Sæland, Bergingeniør Emil Knudsens, 84.
49. Ibid, 105.
50. Ibid, 105.
51. For a description of innovation processes at these companies, Ranestad, ‘The mining sectors’, 215–217.
52. Chandler, Scale and Scope.
53. Jones, Multinationals, 273.
54. Letter from Frederick Laist to Williams Wraith (MHSA/169/73/78–6).
55. Letter from assistant chief engineer to Frederick Laist (MHSA/169/73/75–13).
56. Teknisk Ukeblad, 23 January 1896, 33.
57. Lange, ‘The concession laws of 1906–09’.
58. Lov om erverv av vannfall mv.
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63. Braden, Topicos vol 1 1915, 14.
64. Jones, Multinationals, 56.
65. Baros Mansilla, Una historia de pioneros, 106.
66. For a detailed explanation about the knowledge that was required for management positions, see Ranestad, ‘The mining sectors’, 166–178.
67. David, ‘Increasing Returns’, 231.
68. For a comparison of the formal mining instruction in Chile and Norway, see Ranestad, ‘The mining sectors’, 256–313.
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70. Escuela, Boletin Centenario, 9.
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78. Maloney, ‘Engineering growth’, 63.
79. Tidsskrift for kemi, 1924, 50–51.
80. For details, see Ranestad, ‘The mining sectors’, 343–344.
81. For details about this discussion, see Ranestad, ‘The mining sectors’, 314–354.
82. Egaña, La educación primaria, 123.
83. Engerman, ‘The evolution of suffrage’.
84. Blomström, Diverging paths, 7.
85. Blitz, ‘Some observation’, 305–306.
86. Boletín de la Sociedad Nacional de Minería 1910, 119; Anales de la Universidad de Chile 1920, 319.
87. Prospecto de admisión de alumnos, 9.
88. O’Rourke, ‘Education, Globalization and Catch-Up’, 299.
89. Solano, El Mineral de Potrerillos, 12–14.
90. Grönberg, Learning and Returning, 1.
91. Stang, ‘The Dispersion of Scandinavian Engineers’, 26.
92. For a detailed analysis of the scholarships in both countries, see Ranestad, ‘The mining sectors’, 362–372 and 489–490.
93. Letter from Frederick Laist to Williams Wraith (MHSA/169/73/78–6).
94. Arias, ‘Large Mining Enterprises’, 6.
95. Universidad, Anales de la Universidad, 1859, 978.
96. Jones, Multinationals, 261.