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Most of the literature on the politics of industrial policy describes a policy realm that is dominated by business–state relations. This paper goes beyond this and proposes that, in democratic settings, political competition and civil society actors also play a vital role in industrial policy. Through a lens focused on Brazil during the 2000s, the study delves into the dynamics between the election of a centre-left party and the subsequent industrial policy, highlighting the interplay of democratic mandates, entrenched economic interests, and supportive developmental alliances. Notably, the continuation of a centre-left coalition and consistent institutional frameworks witnessed considerable shifts in industrial policy outcomes, which allows for an in-depth evaluation of interest group influence on policy formation and implementation. By triangulating data from 23 interviews with actors in the industrial policy process, data from the Brazilian National Development Bank (BNDES), and an analysis of industrial policy plans, this paper posits that the prevalence of economic issues in the electoral debate and the participation of societal actors in the policymaking process are enablers of innovation-focused industrial policies; this allows governments to countervail the power of incumbent sectors and undertake policies that are not favoured by the prevailing business interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the role played by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) in different periods of Brazil's development process since its founding in 1952. The bank's history is nonlinear, varying with socio-economic and political changes over time. Four major periods in its history are: (i) from its creation to the debt crisis in the 1980s, a period known as 'developmentalism'; (ii) the neoliberal movement of the 1990s; (iii) the reintroduction of the BNDES as a relevant tool for development in the 2000s; and (iv) a new neoliberal movement that arose beginning in mid-2016. Each of these periods is characterized by certain development conventions that shape how institutions, such as the BNDES, operate, and at the same time are shaped by them. In contrast to mainstream economics, which focuses on a one-size-fits-all institution for development, this paper evaluates the interactions between development and institutions as historical processes, with an emphasis on the prevailing development conventions. The trajectory and different roles assumed by the BNDES over time exemplify this permanent relationship, rejecting the idea that particular types of institutions are related to development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capital accumulation is the first and foremost important factor to induce economic growth and development in a country. Yet, not every country in the world is bestowed with abundant capital. Thus, in this instance foreign direct investment (FDI) emerges as a good option to supply the necessary amount of capital to countries which are deprived of the necessary capital stock. Moreover, FDI, besides being a catalyst of economic development, is a significant means of transferring technology, knowledge, managerial know-how and constitutes new potentials to create employment opportunities, increase the production volume and enhance the foreign trade balance. Furthermore, the impact of FDI inflow on the economic growth is researched in this paper for Brazil by means of utilizing various econometric methods for the period of 1970–2017. According to the results of this study there is no positive causality between economic growth and FDI inflow in the short-run. Yet, there is a positive and significant causality between FDI inflow and economic growth in the long-run as well as this stems from the fact that investments lead to positive results gradually in the long-term which also means that investments shall be converted into production as much as possible. Moreover, the novelty of this paper is that it is one of the most up-to-date studies to research FDI – economic growth correlation on Brazil in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the political-economic outgrowth of Brazilian capitalism in the global south after the outset of the global financial crisis. In analysing the public-sector finance policy of the Workers’ Party (PT) during the crisis, I argue that a structuration of investment was established. Utilizing theoretical premises of uneven and combined development and sub-imperialism, this paper traces the motions of the industrial financing processes that perpetuate Brazilian capitalism outside of the boundaries of the nation-state to shed light on the relationship between ‘emergent’ economies, their state structures, and the developing world. I argue that such structures represent a policy to accelerate capital accumulation abroad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the dynamic relationships between per-capita combustible renewables and waste (CRW) consumption, agricultural value added (AVA), carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and real gross domestic product (GDP) for the case of Brazil, spanning the period 1980–2013. There is long-run cointegration between the considered variables. Short-run empirical findings reveal that there is a unidirectional causality running from agriculture to CO2 emissions and to GDP. However, there is long-run bidirectional causality between all considered variables. The long-run estimates show that both CRW consumption and AVA contribute to increase economic growth and to decrease CO2 emissions. Agricultural production and CRW consumption appear to play substitutable roles in the Brazilian economy as increasing CRW consumption reduces AVA in the long run, and vice versa. In addition, economic growth increases agricultural production and CRW production. Brazil is advised to continue encouraging agriculture and biofuels productions. The present substitutability between agriculture and biofuels productions could be reduced or even stopped by encouraging second-generation biofuels and discouraging first-generation biofuels. This may be done by policies of subsidization or of taxation, encouraging R&D and giving advantageous credits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the construction of the silver economy (or the longevity economy) strategy in Brazil and its contribution to the economic development. The first and second parts of the paper summarize the international debate on the concept, mainly in the countries of the European Union. The third part approaches the focus on the ageing population in Brazil, still dominated by a pessimistic view. In the next section of the paper, the action opportunities for the longevity saving strategy in Brazil are exposed with summaries of some key sectors, according to the international literature on the silver economy. The income of the older people and the purchasing power of families with older adults are analysed in the following sections. In the conclusion, some recommended actions for building the silver economy strategy in Brazil is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The recent economic interaction between Latin America and Asia, particularly between Brazil and China, has attracted the attention of the academic world that seeks to understand the effects of this approach in terms of business cycle convergence, economic structure and development trajectory. This paper contributes to this debate, presenting new evidence about the type and quality of this relationship. Our results reveal that Brazil and China present different patterns of relationship between trade and productive specialization: while Brazil has an intra-industry trade pattern, China has an inter-industry trade pattern. We explore some normative implications and future research possibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Rapidly expanding world fruiticulture markets provide developing country producers with new income opportunities and much development literature and policy is orientated towards facilitating export production in these countries. However, it has been widely observed that the global retail revolution is accelerating the exclusion of small producers from export markets and (increasingly) from many domestic retail chains due to rising entry barriers. Small producers are thus often only able to sell their produce on to relatively low price ‘traditional’ markets. This paper is based on data collected from a recently emerged fruiticulture sector in north-east Brazil. It shows that (a) export fruiticulture does generate significant economic benefits, (b) that modern domestic retail markets are increasingly demanding and exclusionary, but also, and counter to much of the literature concerned with export promotion, that (c) small-farms producing fruiticulture products for ‘traditional’ domestic markets do generate positive local economic impacts. Policymakers should, therefore, consider new ways of assisting smaller producers to enter these markets. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the causal relationship between economic growth and domestic air passenger transport in Brazil, using Granger's causality test. Total domestic passenger-kilometres are used as a proxy for air transport demand and gross domestic product as a proxy for economic growth. The test spans the period from 1966 to 2006. The results lead to the acceptance of the hypothesis that there is a unidirectional Granger causal relationship from economic growth to domestic air transport demand in Brazil, having a high elasticity in the short term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]