• Chile
• Forestry Industry
• Local communities
• Poverty
• Unemployment

This thesis aims to investigate the matter of the socio-economic impact of large-scale forestry companies in South-Central Chile. Here, they operate in vast monoculture plantations of non-native species, such as radiata pine and eucalyptus. However, other than the environmental impact that these kinds of activities have on the territory, it is essential to address the one involving the local communities. In order to do it, an econometric analysis at the municipalities level was conducted. Specifically, the regions considered are O'Higgins, Maule, Ñuble, Biobío and La Araucanía, for the period that goes from 1998 to 2020. It is relevant that here the Mapuche community is widespread because the majority of the territories dedicated today to plantations have been usurped from them throughout history and in particular with the beginning of the dictatorship. The analysis examinates the poverty rate and the unemployment rate and compares it with the percentage of areas covered by plantations in the municipalities. The findings show that the expansion of the forestry industry, the second leading export sector of the country, is associated with an increase of poverty and unemployment.