Beginning in 1976, the economy slowly recovered. At the time, neoliberals claimed credit for the economic recovery, although they would later blame the crisis of the 1980s on the military government's reluctance to heed their advice. Implicitly recognizing that monetarist policies alone could not halt inflation, revaluations of the exchange rate were introduced that successfully forced down inflation under 100 percent. Rising world market prices for copper and a stronger growth of exports improved the country's balance-of-payments position. The new development strategy still included some incentives for nontraditional exports, but the focus was on export sectors with solid comparative advantages. Earlier strategies of import substitution designed to broaden the country's industrial base were rescinded. Chile affirmed its commitment to free trade and financial liberalization by its resignation from the Andean Pact in January 1977 and the removal of obstacles to foreign financial investment (Ffrench-Davis 2003). The traditional import substitution regime was effectively abolished.

Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, loc. 1578