AN EXCEPTIONAL PUBLIC COMPANY WITHIN A SOCIAL DEMOCRACY IN CRISIS: THE COSTA RICAN INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICITY

Abstract

The article presents an analysis of the economic policy of energy in Costa Rica and of the exceptional role which the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE) – the company responsible for the provision of energy and telecommunications – has historically held in shaping the national identity. The basic assumption is that the institutional profile of the ICE, as well as its evolution and impact on development have been shaped by very specific political, social and economic conditions which are difficult to replicate in other developing countries in the South. It is specifically argued that, since its foundation in 1949, ICE has become one of the cornerstones of a peculiar kind of welfare state and of a solidarity model for development which is listed among the most advanced in the world in terms of social progress.