Researching the economic elite: lessons and challenges from the Chilean case

Abstract

This paper lays out the lessons and challenges that stem from the last 25 years of research on Chilean elites. Particular emphasis is given to works that study economic elites. Based on 12 in-depth interviews with some
of the main researchers in the field, the paper offers a systematic analysis of the grounds on which these researchers justify their use of the concept of elites to
refer to the upper strata of Chilean society, in detriment of other concepts such as ruling class or aristocracy. The paper also analyzes the approaches and strategies used by them, their samples and methods, and the difficulties they find in the fieldwork, contributing to a reflexive analysis on the ways of researching the contemporary elites. Finally, challenges and avenues for future research in this area are proposed.