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Abstract: The extreme aridity of the northern Chilean Coastal Cordillera enables the complete preservation of permanent deformation related to the coupling between Nazca and South America. The region between Antofagasta and Arica is characterized by four types of Late Cenozoic structures: EW-striking reverse faults; ~NS-striking normal faults; sparse WNW and NNW-striking right-lateral strike–slip faults; and unimodal and bimodal populations of surface cracks. The EW reverse faults occur only between 19° and 21°40'' S latitude and have been active since at least 6 Ma to present. A March 2007 earthquake demonstrates that this deformation can occur during the interseismic phase of the plate boundary seismic cycle. The NS-normal faults are most abundant near Antofagasta and Mejillones and diminish in significance northward. Several of these faults, in both the Antofagasta and the Salar Grande area, have been reactivated as reverse faults causing minor topographic inversion. We suggest that normal faults move during both interseismic and coseismic deformation and are fundamentally very weak. Surface cracks are ubiquitous throughout the region and form by both non-tectonic and tectonic mechanisms. A significant proportion forms during coseismic deformation and thus may be used to identify long-lived rupture segments on the plate boundary. Overall, forearc deformation is very slow, with permanent strain rates of 1–5 nstrain/year and fault slip rates less than 0.5 mm/year. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Soiling on solar modules stands as a primary source of energy yield loss, causing reflection of radiation. This paper presents a novel cleaning scheduling model for the maintenance strategy of photovoltaic plants, focused on adequately representing the soiling and cleaning processes. We employ a novel methodology based on cleaning sectors to make the model scalable in real-world applications. Computational experiments in a case study of three operating solar power plants in Chile, on three different scales of energy generation, show that the proposed methodology can achieve better results than traditional maintenance models in the literature, increasing revenue an average of 0.8% with respect to an optimized baseline. Additional experiments also show that the proposed model allows for a more efficient use of cleaning resources and makes possible the coordination of multiple large scale power plants, where conventional strategies result on infeasible policies. • A novel derivation of the cleaning dynamics equations in photovoltaic power plants. • A linearization of cleaning constraints is presented. • The main source of cost reduction in large scale cleaning policies is co-optimization. • The proposed optimization framework allows complex and personalized cleaning policies. • Computational experiments show better performance in three different scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar photovoltaic (PV) plants are popular sources of renewable energy. Factors that affect the performance of energy collection through PV facilities include the material of the solar panels and the incident irradiation that reach their surface. In this context, evaluations reported in the literature normally assess the effects of using different materials and tracking systems to follow the sun position throughout the day; however, these evaluations usually analyze these properties independently and focus mainly on energy yield. From a practical perspective, to assess the effective utility of solar technology as a valid alternative to fossil fuels for energy generation, the evaluations should take a holistic approach, considering different types of technology and the specific operational conditions of the target environment. For example, the relative gains of using an advanced tracking system might be significant in cold climates. This paper presents a performance analysis of an on-grid microgrid installed in the south-central part of Chile, composed by a variety of PV modules, inverters, and fixed and tracking mounting structures, with a combined installed capacity of 41.2 kWp. The evaluation also considers the impact of the different technologies under study in terms of CO 2 emission mitigation capacity. The analysis performed over the data collected during two years shows that different configurations and combinations of silicon PV panels and mounting systems have different benefits and drawbacks depending on the target metric and environmental conditions. Regarding tracking performance, the PV Systems with solar tracking develop annual capacity factors of up to 25.89% (with up to 39% during summer), while some of the fixed system can only reach a 18.56% (with up to 24% during summer) during the same period of evaluation. The results allow for the quantification of the impact that different tracking systems have on key performance indicators in regions such as the one considered in this study. • Tracking systems increase performance of PV systems under low irradiation. • The best PR typically occurs in early spring in the south-central part of Chile. • Higher PR values are not always obtained on the days of greatest irradiation. • The dual-axis tracking system offers the greatest capacity and mitigation factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a framework for analysing the responses of educational providers in competitive contexts. The evidence presented is based on empirical research carried out in one Chilean municipality. The objective of the paper is to analyse the responses developed by the schools with which to position themselves in the Chilean education market. The results show how the schools’ external communication is related to a range of factors such as their perception of competition, their position in the local hierarchy and the characteristics of the local market, as well as the symbolic attributes oriented toward positioning themselves within the market. Different schools’ typologies were identified with regard to marketing strategies in terms of the form and intensity they took on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turritelline gastropod-dominated assemblages (TDAs) are common in siliciclastic facies from the mid-Cretaceous to the Recent, but their distribution in carbonate facies has been thought to be limited to the Cretaceous and Paleogene, except for "cool-water" carbonates from the Miocene of Australia. This paper describes a TDA in a Pliocene limestone in northern Chile, the only known Neogene TDA limestone from outside Australia. This Chilean TDA probably formed in conditions of relative low temperatures and high productivity, and thus appears to support the hypothesis that TDAs largely disappeared from warm waters after the Oligocene. It is also possible, however, that it formed in conditions of warmer temperatures associated with upwelling during the Early Pliocene warm interval. • A turritelline gastropod-dominated assemblage from Chile is Early or Late Pliocene. • The limestone assemblage is a rarity in the Neogene, when most are in siliciclastics. • The assemblage formed under high-productivity conditions. • If Late Pliocene, conditions were cool water upwelling, unusual for a limestone. • If Early Pliocene, they were non-uniformitarian warm water upwelling in a warm ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its high efficiency and zero direct greenhouse gas emissions, the direct utilization of geothermal energy could play a crucial role in addressing climate change. Low-enthalpy geothermal projects, such as geothermal heat pumps (GHPs), have the potential to contribute to greenhouse gases reduction and replace polluting systems like wood burning, which are extensively used in countries such as Chile. The implementation of this technology presents various challenges, encompassing not only economic and technical aspects but also cultural and social factors. This paper addresses the latter two, providing empirical findings from a social and qualitative perspective by examining three GHP projects in educational spaces in Chilean Patagonia. An inductive approach was employed to describe the social perception of GHP projects in three public buildings, specifically educational facilities, located in the Aysén region of Chile. The questions that guided the research were how users interact with technology in these environments and what factors influence their acceptance. Data were collected through various methods, including in-depth interviews and participant observation, with a focus on social perceptions and everyday practices. The paper argues that there is a general lack of information regarding GHP technology. This type of system is often perceived as an 'elegant' and almost 'untouchable' technology. Nevertheless, motivational factors such as preventing deforestation and reducing air pollution were identified as the primary drivers supporting this type of initiative. One of the cases studied, which demonstrated sustainability over time, revealed that the participants' main motivation was to see themselves as agents of change. This allowed them to build a coherent narrative around the project. Consequently, the cultural meaning attached to the new practice became central for change and sustained adoption of social practices. • There is a social distance between GHP technology and local communities. • There is a low level of information about geothermal energy. • Sustainable adoption of GHP requires cultural and social changes. • GHP projects require the development of new skills and monitoring activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energies (RE) in Chile and around the world have experienced outstanding growth in recent years. However, RE technologies such as solar photovoltaic and wind generate an imbalance between generation (offer) and consumption (demand) because of their intermittent and variable nature. Moreover, RE's natural variability makes it necessary for conventional technologies to play a significant role in adjusting for the imbalance in the electric system frequency. As variable RE penetration grows, the need for frequency regulation will increase and, depending on how those higher costs are financed, this could lead to a disincentive to invest in conventional plants that provide that service. In this paper we study the impact of increased photovoltaic energy penetration, the leading RE in Chile, on the profitability of different conventional generation technologies. Specifically, we analyze the role that the frequency control remuneration mechanism has on that impact. For this purpose, four different solar photovoltaic penetration scenarios are simulated in Chile's Northern System, comparing two payment criteria for frequency regulation services: i) a cost-based pricing system whose payments relate to the incurred costs and ii) a market-based pricing system where the marginal cost of providing the services is paid. The results show that as installed photovoltaic capacity increases, the average marginal cost of energy (operation cost) decreases due to a displacement of more expensive power plants, but at the same time, investment cost may increase. In the long run, contract prices change as a result of falling operational costs and rising investment cost, resulting in changes in the profitability of all technologies. Finally, while both cost-based and market-based systems reward the ability to regulate frequency, the technologies performing the regulation receive different payments for the service, affecting both their profitability and the incentives for investment. • High penetration rates of intermittent renewable energies require more frequency regulation services. • Depending on the type of regulation, incentives to invest in technologies providing ancillary services might diminish. • Incentives to invest do not change between a regulatory scheme markedbased compare to one cost-based. • Profitability of the natural gas power plants is the one increasing most under market-based regulation. • Under market-based regulation the profitability of photovoltaic and eolic power plants decreases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Desalination exposes host communities to hydro-social and environmental impacts. • EIAs are found to de-politicize desalination within the Chilean context. • The regulatory process results in shortcomings in public participation. • Mitigation and compensation plans are inadequate for addressing impacts. • The energy implications of desalinated water expansion are not adequately disclosed. The construction of desalination plants is proliferating worldwide. In Chile, seawater purification technologies are framed as a tool for confronting water scarcity, stabilizing water provision and optimizing overall water availability while minimizing impacts on groundwater resources. Yet, local communities hosting desalination facilities in their territories are still confronting ongoing water-related inequities. The aim of this paper is to analyse how Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and Declarations of Environmental Impact (DIAs) fit with the assessment and mitigation of socio-environmental implications of desalination. While they are intended to highlight and minimize negative impacts, and address them as part of the approval process prior to the construction of these facilities, we see instead how they are at times marshalled in ways that enable negative socio-environmental outcomes. Thorough analysis of EIAs (1994–2018) and DIAs (2010–2018) of mining companies in the Atacama region our research revealed shortcomings concerning public participation, mitigation and compensation plans, and water-energy management. This occurs, in part, through the depoliticization (or rendering technical) of desalination, in ways that obscure uneven and negative socio-environmental outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As with most contexts of South-South migration, the Bolivian-Chilean case remains severely under-researched. Responding to this paucity of research, this paper addresses Bolivian migrants’ inclusions in and exclusions from economic citizenship in Chile. Conceptually, the paper calls for a holistic and spatially aware approach to comprehending migration and citizenship, proposing the overarching conceptual framework of interacting transnational social spaces of citizenship representing its legal, political, social, and economic dimensions. It then focuses particularly on the transnational social space of economic citizenship , using this conceptual approach as a means to bring into better dialogue research on the migrant division of labour, precarious employment, labour exploitation, financial exclusion, and migrant citizenship practices. The analytical potential of the conceptual framework is explored through examining the specific geographies of the Bolivian-Chilean space of economic citizenship to reveal the reality of what is increasingly being referred to as the ‘Chilean dream’. Drawing on nine months of multi-sited ethnography and 76 semi-structured interviews, the paper addresses migrants’ economic situation in Bolivia before examining their changes in circumstances following migration to Chile, looking particular at the migrant labour niches of wholesale clothing retail, agriculture, and domestic labour. It explores the structural factors leading to economic marginalisation in Bolivia and labour exploitation in Chile. Additionally, it analyses the practices in which migrants may engage to challenge their exclusion from economic citizenship, and the role that migrant organisations play in encouraging, and at times constraining, such practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Neoliberal urban development on the Central Coast increases disaster risk. • Mass tourism and informal development are key drivers of vulnerability. • Vulnerability and informality are leveraged against low-income communities. • There is a need for DRR research drawing on political ecology and urban studies. This paper examines the links between neoliberal urbanism and disaster vulnerability in Cartagena, a town on the Chilean central coast. In recent decades, this area has been transformed by speculative urban development, resulting in environmental damage and increased socio-economic segregation. We adopt a political ecology perspective to consider how these changes interact with disaster risk, drawing on ten interviews with representatives of local community organisations, a collaborative mapping exercise and census data. We find that mass tourism and informal urban expansion contribute to environmental degradation, as well as infrastructural and economic fragility, leading to increased risks for residents and tourists alike. We position our case study against the critiques of vulnerability leveraged by several critical geographers, who have come to see the term as depoliticising. While sympathising with these critiques, we argue for the usefulness of vulnerability analyses combining political ecology approaches to the study of human-nature relations and insight from critical urban studies on issues such as neoliberal planning policies, extractivism, urban informality and touristification. Articulated in these terms, vulnerability can be usefully mobilised to push for substantive policy change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This discussion addresses the urgent issue of coastal urbanization in Chile, particularly focusing on the degradation of dune systems due to accelerated urban development and inadequate management frameworks. Using the Kandinsky Building collapse as a case study, this paper elucidates the vulnerabilities associated with extreme coastal urbanization and the absence of robust legislation. The research calls for the immediate implementation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) and Territorial Planning as pivotal tools for effective coastal governance in Chile. Both these mechanisms, when grounded in science, can provide sustainable solutions that balance current land-use demands with future ecological needs. We emphasize the necessity of scientifically informed setback lines, Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), public education, and fiscal instruments to mitigate the challenges posed by extreme coastal urbanization. A Chile-specific ICZM plan, incorporating scientific research into policy formulation and execution, is imperative for evidence-based, adaptive, and sustainable decision-making. [Display omitted] • Anthropogenic activities in cities contribute to dune degradation. • Urbanization is exerting significant pressure on Chile's coastal ecosystems. • The Kandinsky Building as study case. • Existing governance structures are insufficient for coastal management in Chile. • Integrated Coastal Zone Management and Spatial Planning are key tools for conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: There is a growing interest in understanding how different actors involved in debates regarding GMOs produce, justify and mobilize evidence in the face of the ‘unknown unknowns’ put forward by this technology. Moreover, and in line with the STS literature on the role of non-expert knowledge and concerned groups in the shaping of GMO regulations, there is an ever-increasing interest in understanding how non-scientific actors – for example anti-GMO or groups or non-industrial farmers – create and legitimize an ‘evidential culture’. In this paper we analyze the case of the emergent controversy over GMOs in Chile. Expanding on the concept of civic epistemology and based on in-depth interviews and document analyses, we specifically examine how a key sector in the debate – medium and small farmers – frames its evidences regarding GMOs, what type of trials they mobilize, and which political strategies are fleshed out. Our preliminary findings suggest a very particular epistemic configuration, one that we call hybrid epistemology: a mix epistemology in which free-market claims are entwined with state intervention demands, consensual political strategies are mixed with perceptions of strong power inequalities, and science-based rationalities are entangled with experiential and intuition-based knowledge. Finally, the paper opens a question about the epistemological impacts of the Chilean neoliberal experiment on the positions of farmers regarding GMOs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Chile operates one of the oldest and largest school feeding programs in Latin America, targeting higher-calorie meals to relatively poorer schools. This paper evaluates the impact of higher-calorie meals on the education outcomes of public, rural schools and their students. It applies a regression-discontinuity design to administrative data, including school enrollment and attendance, first-grade enrollment age and grade repetition, and fourth-grade test scores. There is no evidence, across a range of specifications and samples, that additional calories affect these variables. The paper suggests that the focus of Chilean policy should further shift to the nutritional composition of school meals, rather than the caloric content. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract Carbon emissions from the Chilean public transport sector have doubled between 2000 and 2013. Thus, the need to find alternative clean-air solutions is becoming increasingly critical. With this in mind, this paper addresses a solution to the aforementioned problem by studying the conversion of both taxis and "colectivos" (public taxis with defined routes) into electric vehicles (EV) to be used in the Chilean public transport sector. In Chile, 80% of taxis are Nissan V16s, meaning that all of these vehicles will be replaced and end up in landfills within the next 5–8 years. This study presents an option to give a second life to these vehicles, addressing environmental and financial issues. It compares emissions from the Nissan V16's conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) with an equivalent electric conversion prototype. Furthermore, it analyses the CO 2 emissions from the EV that has been fully charged by the Chilean grid as well as one that has been charged by a solar photovoltaic system. A solar recharging station for EV taxis is designed, taking advantage of the high levels of solar radiation in Chile. The results show that EV conversion does not lead to real environmental benefits, in comparison to its ICE equivalent, when it is charged with the grid. However, the results also show a considerable decrease in cost and CO 2 emissions per km travelled when using solar energy to charge the batteries. Future challenges include identifying solutions to cope with solar intermittence and minimizing CO 2 emissions during periods of low radiation. Highlights • Conversion of ICE taxis into EVs in Chile. • Comparison of emissions of the Nissan V16 ICE with its electric conversion prototype. • Design of solar charging stations considering solar irradiation available in Chile. • Conversion does not show benefits when EV charged from electricity grid in comparison to ICV. • Results show decrease in running cost and CO2 emissions when EV charged from solar electricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A study of deep penetrating geochemistry—the surface exploration techniques for finding concealed mineral deposits—was carried out over the Spence porphyry copper deposit in Chile by Australian, Canadian and Chinese laboratories using selective weak leach methods and is briefly reviewed here. Erratic and weak copper anomalies were obtained above the Spence deposit, which is concealed below a thick piedmont gravel cover. In the literature, such patterns are common in most of the weak selective leach studies carried out over known buried deposits. During exploration in unknown area, such weak leach techniques lead to some success and many dry holes. In this paper, stronger selective leaching methods are developed for oxides and sulfides, which may be the stable end products transformed and accumulated by a mobile precursor phase carried upward through the overburden by gas or water through long spans of geological time. The data obtained by the methods developed in this paper produced more significant and consistent anomalous data than previous efforts. Consequently, the leach approaches described here may increase the effectiveness of deep penetrating geochemistry in exploration for concealed ore deposits. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract The M W 8.3 (GCMT) Illapel megathrust earthquake is investigated. The objective is to find out which features of the previously published rupture scenarios can be resolved by using a regional strong-motion network (epicentral distances 130–260 km) and source models with a few parameters only. Low-frequency waveforms (<0.05 Hz) at nine stations (Centro Sismológico Nacional, Chile) are subjected to modeling. Various representations of the source are used: (i) multiple-point source models based either on iterative deconvolution or simultaneous inversion of source pairs, (ii) models of circular and elliptical uniform-slip patches, employing synthetic and empirical Green's functions, respectively. This variety of methods provides consistent results. The earthquake appears to be a segmented rupture progressing from an early (deep) moment release to a later (shallow) one, towards the northwest. The source models of slip-uniform patches synchronously suggest a low rupture speed of 1–2 km/s. Despite the different data sets and methods used in this study, the estimate of rupture speed is consistent with independent publications. As for ambiguity in literature regarding the depth and timing of the rupture, our paper clearly prefers the models including a ∼20–30 s delay of the shallow moment release compared to the initial deep one. The strong-motion data set and low-parametric models proved to be competitive with more sophisticated approaches like multi-parameter slip models using a variety of regional geophysical observables. These results, together with the results from other studies for smaller events, show that strong-motion networks can be useful for studying rupture processes in a wide range of magnitudes, thus promoting the improvement of regional strong-motion networks in poorly instrumented regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper critically explores the politics that mediate the use of environmental science assessments as the basis of resource management policy. Drawing on recent literature in the political ecology tradition that has emphasised the politicised nature of the production and use of scientific knowledge in environmental management, the paper analyses a hydrological assessment in a small river basin in Chile, undertaken in response to concerns over the possible overexploitation of groundwater resources. The case study illustrates the limitations of an approach based predominantly on hydrogeological modelling to ascertain the effects of increased groundwater abstraction. In particular, it identifies the subjective ways in which the assessment was interpreted and used by the state water resources agency to underpin water allocation decisions in accordance with its own interests, and the role that a desocialised assessment played in reproducing unequal patterns of resource use and configuring uneven waterscapes. Nevertheless, as Chile’s ‘neoliberal’ political-economic framework privileges the role of science and technocracy, producing other forms of environmental knowledge to complement environmental science is likely to be contentious. In conclusion, the paper considers the potential of mobilising the concept of the hydrosocial cycle to further critically engage with environmental science. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A growing body of literature points to the importance of both economic and non-economic factors in reducing the digital divide. This paper examines Chile as a successful case where changes in government policies dramatically increased Internet access from about 2% of the population in 1998 to 23.8% in 2002. After reviewing the literature, the paper examines the debates in Chile over Internet development, tracing how public opinion was able to influence government policies, and how in turn, government policies increased Internet access. Specific policies include lowering telephone rates, connecting the various national networks, creating public access centers, and passing e-commerce legislation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical studies have underlined the importance of technical trade barriers in the agricultural sector. For organic food products, national differences in standards and certification systems could act as a major non-tariff barrier for exporting countries, particularly developing countries, which could eventually fail to benefit from the increasing market opportunities for organic products in developed countries. This paper presents the results of a study on the impact of EU organic certification legislation on Chile organic exports where the lack of an equivalent system forces Chilean organic exports to enter the EU through the ‘back door’, that is, through special import permits, with the resulting increase in transaction costs as products accepted in one EU country may not be accepted in another. The paper reports also on the recent legislative developments to establish a national certification system in Chile for organic products and the problems encountered to make it operational. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, machine learning models are used to improve a wave hindcast database created using WAVEWATCH III® (WW3) for the Chilean coast. The models were trained with 50,505 data entries from two buoys and eleven ADCPs. The machine learning models significantly improved the results from WW3 for three parameters: significant wave height, mean wave period, and mean wave direction. Our best performing model, which is based on a convolutional neural network and uses the directional wave spectrum as input, reduced root mean squared errors in the significant wave height by 71%, peak wave period by 61% and mean wave direction by 63%. Most importantly, our method dramatically improved the mean wave direction in four locations where WW3 was particularly problematic (absolute error reduction of 20°). The neural network corrections can also be applied to other locations if sea states conditions are similar to the training data. The research presented here show that machine learning techniques are a fast and effective way to improve existing wave hindcast databases at relatively low cost. • Three machine learning models were tested to improve a wave hindcast database created using WAVEWATCH III® for the Chilean coast. • The models were trained with 50,505 data entries from two buoys and eleven ADCPs along the central south of Chile. • Our best performing model reduced RMSE: 71% in significant wave height, 61% in peak wave period and 63% in mean wave direction when considering test data only. • The neural network corrections can also be applied to other locations without increasing the errors in nodes that already had good agreement between WAVEWATCH III® and the observed data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Vina del Mar - Concón Coastal strip is well known for its urban beaches, which play an essential role in the national economy. With extreme urban development, these beaches have become more polluted by litter. This paper evaluates the abundance, spatio-temporal distribution, typology, and sources of beach litter in 14 sectors located inside this coastal strip. A total of 19,886 litter items were collected and grouped into 50 different categories (11 litter typologies). Overall average litter abundance was 0.21 items/m2 while during the fall and winter averages were 0.25 items/m2 and 0.17 items/m2. Values changed along the area and between seasons. Plastics, cigarette butts and paper-cardboard typologies dominated the samples with 42% (0.088 items/m2), 25.4% (0.053 items/m2) and 20.8% (0.043 items/m2). • Litter average was 0.21 items/m2 while during fall and winter were 0.25 items/m2 and 0.17 items/m2. • Plastics, cigarette butts and paper-cardboard dominated the litter collected with an average of 88.3%. • The 14 sectors surveyed were classified using four different environmental indexes. • The study area can be divided into two specific groups. • Litter composition suggests a combination of six sources that mainly include direct activities over the beach environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an examination of the process used by ordinary courts in Chile when making legal capacity determinations. It provides an up-to-date account of various aspects of law and procedure related to legal capacity in this jurisdiction. Also, by drawing on semi-structured interviews with judges, this paper examines judicial understandings of legal capacity decision-making focusing on problems related to the medicalisation of mental disability and the participation of persons with disabilities in legal capacity procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy demand in Chile arises mostly from mining, its largest industry that accounts for about 35% of total electricity consumption. Energy generation to satisfy this demand depends completely on imported fossil fuels. As a result, the mining industry faces several energy related challenges. In particular, the cost and environmental impact of fuel sources are threatening the competitiveness of the industry and urge for new developments. In that regard, the importance of using clean and cost-competitive renewable energy sources has increased significantly in Chile and several government policies helped to increase the investment in them. The impact has been particularly large in the development of solar energy in the northern part of the country, where almost all mines are located. In fact, the country has become one of the largest solar markets in Latin America thanks to its abundant solar resources, favorable market conditions, and successful policy reforms. Solar energy then, could play a significant role as an alternative to satisfy the mining industry's energy demand offering a broad range of technological solutions. This study examines the key issues -barriers and drivers- influencing the adoption of solar technologies in the Chilean mining industry from the perspective of mining actors. As a result of the analysis the paper also provides a scope for appropriate policy interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The von Bertalanffy growth function (VBGF) with random effects has been widely used to estimate growth parameters incorporating individual variability of length-at-age. Trajectories of individual growth can be inferred using either mark-recapture or back-calculation of length-at-age from growth marks in hard body parts such as otoliths. Modern statistical methods evaluate individual variation usually from mark-recapture data, and the parameters describing this function are estimated using empirical Bayes methods assuming Gaussian error. In this paper, we combine recent studies in non-Gaussian distributions and a Bayesian approach to model growth variability using back-calculated data in harvested fish populations. We presumed that errors in the VBGF can be assumed as a Student- t distribution, given the abundance of individuals with extreme length values. The proposed method was applied and compared to the standard methods using back-calculated length-at-age data for pink cusk-eel ( Genypterus blacodes ) off Chile. Considering several information criteria, and comparing males and females, we have found that males grow significantly faster than females, and that length-at-age for both sexes exhibits extreme length observations. Comparisons indicated that a Student- t model with mixed effects describes best back-calculated data regarding pink cusk-eel. This framework merged the strengths of different approaches to estimate growth parameters in harvested fish populations, considering modeling of individual variability of length-at-age, Bayesian inference, and distribution of errors from the Student- t model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Coastal tourism developed along the Valparaíso region of Chile is being threatened by a very particular issue: scenery degradation related to extreme urbanization and collateral effects. This paper presents the results of scenic evaluation of 96 sites along this region. The scenic evaluation assesses values from a checklist of 18 physical and 8 human parameters, and permits calculation of a scenic evaluation index (D Value), which classifies coastal sites into five classes: Class I, usually natural areas of top scenic characteristics, to Class V, poor scenic natural areas with a higher impact of human interventions. In summary, 14 sites (15%) appeared in Class I; 7 (7%) in Class II; 9 (9%) in Class III; 17 (18%) in Class IV and 49 sites (51%) in Class V. This evaluation provides a complete scenic assessment overview of the Valparaiso Region, allowing implementation of an adequate management strategy based on knowledge of coastal scenery for the maintenance and preservation of scenic quality. Highlights • The Valparaíso Region's coastline region is a popular crescent destination for many national and international tourists. • The Valparaíso region of Chile is being threatened by a very particular issue: scenery degradation. • Scenic assessment of 96 coastal sites located along the Valparaíso Region coastline (continental and insular). • Scenic evaluation assesses values from a checklist of 18 physical and 8 human parameters. • Urbanization, port development, shoreline retreat, and litter pollution are of particular note in the Valparaíso Region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Chile as elsewhere, there are no direct measures of a university’s impact on learning, that is, the quality of education provided. Parents and prospective students, and university administrators, rely on various indirect measures, including student satisfaction. This paper assesses the satisfaction levels of graduates from two degree programs offered in three universities in Chile, focusing principally on the graduates’ perceptions of the quality of their training programs. Data were collected using a survey questionnaire of a sample of three cohorts of graduates in Psychology and in Teaching. Levels of satisfaction varied according to particular aspects of their degree program as influenced by prior education and later by employment. Global judgments of the quality of one’s degree program are influenced by work experience after graduation; judgments of curriculum and teaching practices pertain to what was experienced as a student or before. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chile represents almost one third of the world’s copper production. Mining is one of the main industries that contributes to our country’s development with resources and is globally recognized. Due to the end of the commodity cycle, improving productivity will be a key variable in mining performance in incoming years. This paper studies mining productivity in Chile by relying on two indicators: measure of the total factor productivity (TFP) using the traditional Solow methodology, and labor productivity. Since 2000, we found a decrease in TFP, explained mainly by the participation of capital as well as diverse factor adjustments to labor and capital inputs. Average labor productivity also decreases 42% from 1999 to 2010, a decrease explained by four determinants: real mining wages, electricity prices, copper prices and mineral grade. Since 2010, average labor productivity has increased 30%, and there is also an opportunity for additional improvement by reducing energy costs as well as by aligning productivity and labor performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical evidence suggests that parental preferences may be important in determining investment allocations among their children. However, there is mixed or no evidence on a number of important related questions. Do parents invest more in better-endowed children, thus reinforcing differentials among their children? Or do they invest more in less-endowed children to compensate for their smaller endowments and reduce inequalities among their children? Does higher maternal education affect the preferences underlying parental decisions in investing among their children? What difference might such intrafamilial investments among children make? And what is the nature of these considerations in the very different context of developing countries? This paper gives new empirical evidence related to these questions. We examine how parental investments affecting child education and health respond to initial endowment differences between twins within families, as represented by birth weight differences, and how parental preference tradeoffs and therefore parental investment strategies vary between families with different maternal education. Using the separable earnings-transfers model (Behrman et al., 1982), we first illustrate that preference differences may make a considerable difference in the ratios of health and learning differentials between siblings – up to 30% in the simulations that we provide. Using a sample of 2000 twins, collected in the 2012 wave of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey for Chile, we find that preferences are not at the extreme of pure compensatory investments to offset endowment inequalities among siblings nor at the extreme of pure reinforcement to favor the better-endowed child with no concern about inequality. Instead, they are neutral, so that parental investments do not change the inequality among children due to endowment differentials. We also find that there are not significant preference differences between families with low- and high-educated mothers. Our estimates are consistent with previous empirical evidence that finds that parents do not invest differentially within twins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon taxes have been proposed as a major instrument to mitigate carbon emissions and promote an energy transition to low carbon sources. However, its adoption remains politically challenging, particularly amid rising inflation and energy prices. Despite the need for more aggressive action on carbon mitigation to reach the Paris Agreement goals, few countries in Latin America have adopted carbon taxes and the tax levels are relatively low. A key concern for these countries, is to adequately assess the tradeoffs between stricter emission goals and the potential negative economy wide as well as sectoral and distributive impacts. In this context, in this paper we first propose a step by step approach to enhance an existing dynamic Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model for Chile based on OECD's Green model. The contribution of this research is twofold. Firstly, emission factors are estimated and the development of the electricity sector is aligned with the expectations of decision makers. As a result, credible emission and energy sector development forecasts are generated by the model, that are in line with what policymakers expect to happen based on other bottom-up engineering models. Secondly, this baseline is then used in the CGE model to examine the use of a carbon tax to reach Chile's first Nationally Determined Contribution. The required tax level is determined together with CO2 emissions and the economywide, sectoral and distributive impacts. The results allow concluding about the applicability of carbon taxes and possible complementary measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal mining in Chile has grown significantly from virtually nonexistent in the late 1990s to become a profitable business in 2014. This paper explores the consequences of such revival from a post-political environmental justice perspective, through the case of a coal-mining project on Isla Riesco , located in the Chilean Patagonia. The project Mina Invierno has met the necessary legal requirements and obtained the required environmental permits to become operational. Nonetheless, island residents are opposed to the project, and especially families engaged in sheep ranching, which is one of the oldest and most significant production activities in the area. By analyzing the conflict between coal mining and ranching on Isla Riesco , this article challenges the so far conceptualization of recognition and participation as dimensions of environmental justice, since our results reveal that what is excluded in this case are not only people but ideas, even if these come from non-marginalized actors. This finding contributes to environmental justice literature by proposing that the study of environmental conflicts, analyzed from a post-political viewpoint, should also focus on the challenges that communities face in order to rebut the prevailing consensuses that sustain their situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the impact of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on the wind speed, energy production, as well as its impact on the value of potential wind projects at different sites across Chile. The study applies cyclostationary empirical orthogonal function (CSEOF) analysis to isolate the ENSO influence on the wind speed, and therefore on the energy output of nearly all current and potential wind farms in Chile. Finally, a review of techno-economical parameters is made to assess the economic impact of an ENSO event occurring at different years in the lifetime of a wind energy project. The main contribution of this work is to establish the locations in Chile where this climatic oscillation is important for the system planning, the energy forecasting and the risk assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent work of Mariana Mazzucato on the role of public funding in economic development seeks to rebalance debates on innovation to highlight the role of the State, as opposed to the dominant narrative of unregulated private initiative. This is particularly relevant for the case of the Chilean salmon industry where, besides the diffusion of technology and management practices by a combination of international agencies and private initiatives, its boom has been supported by considerable national public funding since the 1970s and especially after the transition to democracy in 1990. In this regard, the main argument of this paper is that the innovation system of the Chilean salmon industry should be understood within a neostructural model of economic development. However, although the State has had an essential role in financing and promoting innovation, we found that it has not served as a guiding entity (directionality) for how innovation should be undertaken. This is important to recognise since it helps to explain why the Chilean salmon industry has been able to direct innovation towards its own economic interests without attending to broader social issues related to its operations, despite this public expenditure. The main conclusion is that, due to the type of knowledge developed and how innovations are valued within the sector's innovation system, the goal is to increase volume, reduce costs, and marginally mitigate negative socio-ecological externalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we retrace the geomorphological evolution of a 6.5 km-long segment of the Blanco Este River, which drains the Calbuco volcano in southern Chile, highlighting the geomorphic signatures of the disturbances caused by the 1961 and 2015 eruptions. In particular, we track the geomorphological changes and the evolution of the geomorphological units and discuss the underlying processes. In addition, we use the NDVI (Normalize Difference Vegetation Index) to characterise the vegetation recovery at the basin and the active channel scales. The reconstruction of the geomorphological changes is performed by means of photointerpretation and supervised classification image analysis. Moreover, we quantify braiding indices and active channel widths to characterise the fluvial corridor and to describe its evolution after the two eruptive events. It is found that the evolutionary trajectories of the Blanco River immediately after the eruptive events of 1961 and 2015 exhibited strong similarities. In fact, the major geomorphological adjustment of the Blanco Este River occurred during the first period of observation (19 years) after the 1961 eruption. Subsequently the river progressed gradually towards an advanced relaxation stage in 2014. For 53 years (between 1961 and 2014), the reduction of the active channel width was the dominant process, followed by erosion, which favoured the regeneration and consequent expansion of vegetation cover within the river corridor. The 2015 eruption reset the fluvial landform and a new cycle of sedimentation, braiding and formation of central bars began; the highly dynamic pattern is still observed today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates the direct and spillover effects of two matching grants schemes designed to promote firm-level research and development (R&D) investment in Chile on firm productivity. Because the two programs target different kinds of projects—the National Productivity and Technological Development Fund (FONTEC) subsidizes intramural R&D, while the Science and Technology Development Fund (FONDEF) finances extramural R&D carried out in collaboration with research institutes—analyzing their effects can shed light on the process of knowledge creation and diffusion. The paper applies fixed-effects techniques to a novel dataset that merges several waves of Chile's National Manufacturing Surveys collected by the National Institute of Statistics with register data on the beneficiaries of both programs. The results suggest that while both programs have had a positive impact on participants' productivity, only FONDEF-funded projects have generated positive spillovers on firms' productivity. The analysis reveals that the spillover effects on productivity display an inverted-U relationship with the intensity of public support. Spillover effects were found to occur only if firms were both geographically and technologically close. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Energy poverty (EP) is usually seen as a phenomenon shaped by access or equity. • However, both groups of indicators lack an explicit reflection on energy quality. • This results in the lack of a proper toolbox to tackle middle development countries. • Chile is a middle-development country where EP cannot be properly tackled by traditional indicators. • A context-sensitive, three-dimensional framework (access, equity and quality) is proposed to address these limitations. The paper proposes a literature review and meta-analysis on different dimensions and approaches with respect to energy poverty and examines Chile as a case study for its manifestations in middle development countries. This phenomenon has acquired greater relevance, with a variety of definitions, indicators and methodologies being used to measure it. However, most of them are focused on either quantifying the lack of access to modern energy services in poor countries or assessing the inequality produced by the costs of accessing such services in developed countries. This results in the lack of a proper toolbox to tackle middle development countries, such as Chile: where access-based measures assign thresholds that are too low, so that almost nobody is energy poor; conversely, equality-based measures deploy excessively high ones, so that a very large proportion of the population is energy poor. The paper argues that this deficit is caused by the understanding of quality in terms of "standards" in access- and equality-based measures, which restricts its potential in economically, culturally, and geographically diverse territories. A context-sensitive three-dimensional framework to assess energy poverty is then proposed, and its policy implications are briefly discussed. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the importance of productivity growth, many studies carried out at the farm level focus primarily on the technical efficiency (TE) component of farm productivity. Therefore, the general purpose of this paper is to measure total factor productivity change and then to decompose this change into several distinct elements. The data were an unbalanced panel for the period from 2005 to 2010 containing 477 farms and 1,426 observations obtained from TODOAGRO, a farm-management center created in 1996 in the southern part of Chile. The region where the data come from accounts for 20% of the total milk processed in the country. Stochastic production frontiers along with the translog functional form were used to analyze total factor productivity change. The econometric evidence indicates that farms exhibit decreasing returns to size implying that costs of production rise as farm size increases, which suggests that the motivation for farm growth stems from the search for income rather than from lowering costs. The main results indicated that productivity gains through TE improvements are limited, with an average TE for the whole sample of 91.0%, and average technical efficiency change of 0.05% per year. By contrast, average technological progress at the sample mean was rather high at 1.90%, which suggests that additional investments in research and subsequent adoption of improved technologies would have a positive effect on productivity growth. The findings also revealed that farm size is not associated with productivity growth for the dairy farms in the sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the first estimate of offshore wind power potential for the central coast of Chile. For this purpose, wind speed data from in-situ stations and ERA-Interim reanalysis were used to simulate wind fields at regional level by means of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Wind field simulations were performed at different heights (20, 30, 40 and 140 m.a.s.l.) and a spatial resolution of 3 × 3 km for the period from February 1, 2006 to January 31, 2007, which comprised the entire series of in-situ data available. The results show an RMSE and r 2 of 2.2 m s −1 and 0.55 respectively for the three heights simulated as compared to in-situ data. Based on the simulated wind data, the wind power for the study area was estimated at ∼1000 W m −2 at a height of 140 m.a.s.l. For a typical wind turbine of 8 MW generator, the estimated capacity factor exceeds 40%, with an average annual generation of ∼30 GWh. Offshore wind power in Chile is an emerging renewable energy source that is as yet still under-developed, these estimates help to fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge about Chile's true renewable energy potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do parties enjoy an advantage to incumbency in multi-member districts? In this paper we answer this question by adapting a regression-discontinuity design to multi-member districts in congressional elections in Chile. The electoral system in place generates discontinuities in the number of elected representatives from each coalition at the 1/3 and 2/3 thresholds of the two-party vote share. Regression-discontinuity estimates indicate that, by holding two seats as opposed to holding only one, the left-leaning coalition obtains an extra 4.5% vote share in the next election and increases by 28 percentage points the probability of electing two candidates again. These results are in line with those obtained in previous studies in the U.S. but contrast with results obtained in developing countries which find a negative advantage to incumbency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most scholars of the (now abandoned) Chilean legislative electoral system, known as the “binomial system”, have noted the many ways it was designed to benefit the ideological right. However, Zucco (2007) challenges this conventional wisdom by arguing that there is no bias through the electoral system's majoritarian character, no bias through malapportionment, and that designers could have designed a system to better benefit the ideological right. This paper uses comuna level electoral returns and simulations from Chile's 1988 plebiscite to show that the system was indeed designed to 1) reduce the number of parties in the Chilean party system and 2) minimize electoral losses and maximize electoral gains of the political right. It further argues that, 3) it would have been difficult to design a legislative electoral system to better over-represent the ideological right given the constraints and political context of the time. The analysis strongly supports the rationality of electoral engineering to benefit designers and their allies, even under sub-optimal conditions of limited time and resources. Though the system was abandoned in 2015 in favor of a moderate proportional representation system, it is important to set the record straight in terms of electoral engineers' intents and purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chile is one of the ten most underfunded countries for conservation of protected areas in the world. The COVID-19 pandemic aggravated protected areas' funding situation by severely reducing tourism revenues. This paper studies whether Chilean households would be willing to support protected areas through donations or tariffs. Using a contingent valuation approach, we find that the average willingness to pay ranges from US$ 3 to US$ 8 per household per month, depending on specification. Estimated willingness to pay is 23% to 36% lower when households are asked to pay via tariffs instead of donations. We discuss our results relative to previous literature and evaluate its policy implications in the Chilean context. We find that a flat tariff sufficient for covering 70% of the current funding gap would be acceptable to 74% of Chile's households. • Chilean households would be willing to support protected areas through donations or tariffs. • About half of Chileans would be willing to pay either US$ 6 or US$ 8 per month, depending on the type of payment vehicle. • 74% of Chile's households would be willing to pay US$ 0.7 per month, which would cover about 70% of the current funding gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing agricultural water use efficiency has the potential to contribute significantly to hydrological sustainability and to coping with increasing water scarcity. This paper focuses on the role of the quantity of irrigation water applied and irrigation method used in explaining output in wine grape farms. We applied propensity score matching to reduce potential selection bias from observables that might mediate in the choice of irrigation system. Stochastic Production Frontier models are then estimated for a sample of 371 Chilean wine grape growers. The results show that pressurized irrigation leads to higher production at all levels of water applied; however, at lower levels the impact on TVP is more pronounced. Shadow values calculated at observed output for pressurized and gravity systems are 0.026 USD m−3 and 0.033 USD m−3, respectively. Significant differences are found between low (0.046 USDm−3), medium (0.027 USD m−3) and high (0.018 USD m−3) levels of water applied. The average technical efficiency for the sample is 70.4% and there is no significant difference between growers using pressurized and gravity methods. Our findings suggest that irrigation water can be saved without compromising output, which has important implications for sustainability given that agriculture is the most water demanding sector in the world. • Pressurized irrigation leads to a significant upward shift in the production frontier. • The effect of pressurized irrigation on output is higher at lower quantities of water. • Average technical efficiency is 70.4% and does not vary by irrigation method. • Significant differences in shadow values are found between low, medium, and high levels of water applied. • Pressurized irrigation in grape farming allows for water savings without compromising output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary This paper, which follows the emergence of the salmon industry in the 1990s in Chiloé, Chile, demonstrates that factors restricting women’s participation in labor force and wage differences between women and men are related to the gender systems operating in Chiloe. Results indicate that these systems reflect the territory’s demographic and agrarian history and that local gender systems have a positive influence on women’s participation in the labor market, though this is not accompanied by decreased salary discrimination in the salmon industry. The implication is that territory-specific and gender factors must be considered in national employment policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years the global photovoltaic (PV) market has expanded rapidly due to a sharp decline in PV prices and increased attention to the importance of sustainable energy. Northern Chile has one of the highest irradiance levels in the world as well as one the highest electricity rates in Latin America. Because of these conditions, Chile is one of very few countries where several PV projects are being developed without government subsidies and consequently, the PV industry is experiencing rapid growth. This paper reviews the opportunity to take advantage of these market conditions within the residential sector, modeling PV arrays across 10 cities in Chile. A detailed modeling of PV systems is performed to achieve an accurate analysis of energy production and electricity cost, using local resource data, optimal array orientation and inclination, and production losses. A review of how Net Metering and Net Billing affect the value of the PV production is applied and a comparison using levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) is conducted. Net Metering is found to be a better policy choice to promote PV systems than Net Billing because energy injected into the electrical network is paid at the complete retail rate. However, in developed countries this kind of policy is unlikely to be supported because of it׳s economic unfeasibility. Under a Net Billing scheme a consumer will see an advantage when energy is recorded over longer time intervals and when installing a system with smaller capacity relative to household electricity consumption. This prevents excess generation from being injected into the network which would be bought by the utility at lower prices than the retail rate. Payback periods are found to be low, between 6 years in northern areas with high retail rates and 13 years in other areas with lower radiation and retail rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change represents one of the biggest threats to agriculture today. The aim of this paper is to analyze the decision and intensity of adaptation to this phenomenon among farmers in Central Chile and to identify the factors that influence the adoption of adaptation measures. The list of adaptation practices was created with the assistance of a panel of experts. A two-part hurdle model was used to identify the adoption and intensity of adoption. The decision to adapt is strongly influenced by land tenure security and access to weather information, which increase the probability of adaptation by 13% and 30%, respectively. The intensity of adaptation is highly influenced by affiliation to a farm organization or association, which tends to boost intensity by 72.2%. Land tenure also increases intensity by 44.5%. Years of experience in agriculture and the income obtained from crops in the previous season also have a positive impact. Empirical results reveal that the most effective way to reduce barriers to adaptation is to improve access to information, while a highly relevant mode to increase the intensity of adaptation is to encourage social networking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Class consciousness is a central element of the sociological analysis of class inequality. It indicates the mechanisms through which inequality creates subjective-level outcomes as dissimilar class identities and material interests. Despite its importance, class consciousness has been largely unexamined in current neoliberal society. With a few exceptions, the basic sociological question of how inequality brings about consequences at the subjective level has not been addressed in recent research. In this paper I address this question by analyzing the patterns of class consciousness in Chile. To do so, 1 examine how class location and class origins (as indicator of class experiences) shape the two main components of class consciousness: class identity and class interests. The results suggest that the identity component depends on both class experiences and class position, as well as on the way that the latter creates subjective experiences of economic inequality (i.e. inequality in individual resources). On the other hand, the second component of class consciousness--oppositional class interests--depends on both class experiences and class location, and on the way in which the latter brings about subjective experiences of opposition in the terrain of the relations of production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the first record of Triassic insect oviposition scars from southern South America. Oviposition scars are found on Late Triassic leaves and leaf fragments from Heidiphyllum elongatum (Morris) Retallack and Pseudoctenis harringtoniana Bonetti, from the La Ternera Formation, and Taeniopteris sp. B from the Las Breas Formation, in northern Chile. The morphology of these fossil traces is described in detail and comparisons are made with other worldwide records. The identified scars from the Triassic of Chile are: Paleoovoidus contactus nov. isp., P. megaovoidius nov. isp., and P. rectus Vasilenko. Additionally, P. midribus nov. isp., P. marginatus nov. isp., and P. suboppositus nov. isp. are established, based upon a detailed analysis of descriptions in the literature. A synthesis of the fossil record and ichnotaxonomic considerations is given. The five new ichnotaxa are defined based on characters suggested by previous authors, with the objective of standardizing the different schemes under a single binomial ichnotaxonomical proposal, including most records from the Carboniferous to the Cenozoic, and establishing corresponding synonymy. Ichnofossils from the Triassic of Chile are tentatively assigned to the order Odonatoptera based upon morphological characteristics of scars on their host plants, and palaeoenvironmetal interpretations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adopting and contextualizing alternative policy approaches within any scientific discipline or context requires considering the multiple trans -boundary and trans -disciplinary characteristics of the different research and innovations paths and actors, disciplines, and global contexts. However, the implications of the stakeholder's perspective, which provides relevant outcomes for an integration of a technological system in a process where the actors' opinion forms a fundamental element of the methodology, are not sufficiently explored in recent literature. Therefore, the general question this paper deals with is how to incorporate alternative policy approaches - such as responsible research and innovation (RRI) - in the discipline of innovation in renewable energy in a non-European context. This is achieved using the implications of the stakeholder's perspective and the socio-technical transition approach as an evolution of innovation theories. Based on an analysis of the results of an original survey involving researchers, we examine the deployment of socio-technical approaches, obtaining the imprints of the responsible approaches in the strategies for innovation in the field of solar technology in Chile. The survey process, consistent in a series of semi-structured interviews and an online survey, was undertaken with 10 researchers (answering 9 with final N = 8) for the interview process and 78 targeted researchers (with 44 completing the surveys with average final N = 34) from the Chilean Solar Research Centre (SERC-Chile). Findings showed that systemic approaches were found prevailing when it comes to considerate social dimensions, which were described in terms of economic, institutional, and regulatory features. However, a growing deployment of socio-technical approaches was found in terms of the incorporation of new actors, engagement with the community, real appropriation, cultural integration, social licence to operate, and the valorisation of alternative approaches, such transdisciplinarity and co-construction of knowledge, resulting in implications for innovation and energy policy. • RRI contextualization for a non-European research domain. • RRI integration in renewable energy research and innovation. • Outline of the real characteristics of the countries to generalize innovation and policy approaches. • RRI perspective in Chilean Solar energy researchers assessment. • Alternative policy approaches integration feasibility confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Chile has one of the best worldwide conditions for the generation of electrical energy from solar resources, having an annual average Direct Normal Irradiation (DNI) of 9–10kWh/m2/day. Many important astronomical observatories have been installed in the north of Chile because of the low number of cloudy days and the high sky clearness index. Also, in the north of Chile, there are many mining companies who demand large amounts of load for their operation. They currently use electricity provided from fossil fuels thermoelectric plants (99% of the electrical generation of the Northern Interconnected Power System is thermoelectric) that are subject to fuel-price volatilities and have large global and local impacts on the environment. The work reported in this paper focuses on identifying a limited number of variables, which explain the variations on the investment cost of solar power plants, and use this information to assess the economic benefits of the installation of this type of plants in the north of Chile. In particular, multiple linear regressions were formulated, with information about 45 thermal and 37 photovoltaic existing and projected solar plants, to explain the variations among the investment cost of the different projects. We determine a limited number of variables that adequately explain the variations of the investment cost of solar energy power plants. Using these results, 11 technologies were simulated in four locations to assess the economic impact of these projects in terms of the change induced in the marginal cost of the system and the net present value of the 44 projects. We show that installing a solar power plant in the north of Chile will not bring net economic benefits for the power sector unless current conditions on factors such as carbon bond prices, labor rate, or solar-plant part prices change. The break even capital cost and energy cost for a Stirling Dish solar plant in Calama are 2.33 millions of USD/MW and 9.3 cents/kWh, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Historical heritage is proving an ideal field to apply contingent valuation for estimating individual as well as collective preferences as goods tend to be non-market and publicly owned. Yet despite this, findings are seldom used to draw up cultural policies or assess cultural heritage related projects. The current paper thus posits an approach which merges contingent valuation and cost-benefit analysis to design a cultural policy aimed at restoring the urban cultural heritage of the city of Valdivia (Chile). Contingent valuation is used to estimate the expected benefits from heritage for both local residents and tourists visiting Valdivia. We then apply cost-benefit analysis to the findings to evaluate a project to restore the historical ensemble through a non-profit foundation. The originality of the proposal lies in its merging the two approaches and may prove appealing to developing countries in which much of the heritage has been neglected and left to deteriorate, and where few or no resources have been devoted and a lack of effective institutional schemes to address the situation is evident. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The agricultural sector accounts roughly for 63% of total annual water utilization worldwide and in developing countries the figure is much higher, with 90% of water use attributable to agriculture. Irrigation plays a crucial role in agricultural production efficiency, risk reduction, food security, and poverty alleviation. Recently, there has been growing concern over climate change and the associated uncertainty with respect to future water scarcity both globally and locally. Therefore, efficient management of water at the farm level is critical to the future sustainability of worldwide and regional agriculture. The objective of this paper is to determine the factors that contribute to the adoption of a number of water conservation practices by small-scale farmers in Central Chile. A survey conducted between October and December of 2005 was designed and implemented in order to determine the socioeconomic and production characteristics for 319 farmers in 32 watersheds. The number of water conservation practices implemented by farmers was examined using a Poisson count data model, and the types of practices were evaluated using Logit and Multinomial Logit models. The results of the econometric analysis show that social capital, farm size and land use play a key role in the adoption of management practices and in generating greater efficiency in water used for irrigation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]