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We investigate the most recent experiment of the state-led development approach in Brazil, and reveal some of its merits and shortcomings in the light of the current difficulties of the country. Using institutional and political economy approach we argue that under the Lula administration (2003- 2010) a special economic policy mix has emerged, which although maintained some continuity with both the old Brazilian developmental state and the neoliberal reform period, can be regarded as a new model of developmental state (DS) in Brazil. The way how Brazil has achieved pro-poor and inclusive growth since the Millennium offers useful lessons for other emerging and developing countries. At the same time, economic and social processes of the last 4-5 years have highlighted the fragility of the new Brazilian developmental state model and finally led to its dismantling (while even raising questions whether it can be regarded as a DS at all). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stabilization of inflation was conquered in the mid-1990s, but since then the Brazilian economy has not shown a stable growth trend. This article discusses how the maintenance of a high interest rate in Brazil has affected growth through its impact on investment decision. In a macroeconomic environment with a relatively high degree of uncertainty, decisions to accumulate capital rely heavily on retained earnings and are negatively affected by the persistent high level of interest rates. Our econometric exercise reveals that the interest rate is the most important variable to explain the investment rate, and that financialization negatively impacts physical capital accumulation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In 2015, the Brazilian economy was afflicted by a lethal combination of a falling level of activity and accelerating inflation. Expectations for 2016 are equally or even more adverse, since the effects of rising unemployment emerge only after a lag. The domestic debate has opposed analysts who believe the crisis is due exclusively to past policy mistakes to analysts who believe that all was well until the government decided to implement austerity policies in 2015. A closer examination of the evidence shows that in fact both reasons contributed to causing the crisis, but it also suggests that its depth has a more proximate cause in the political collapse of the federal government in 2015, which led Brazilian society to an impasse for which a solution is not yet in view. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of this paper is to discuss the trend of overvaluation of the Brazilian currency in the 2000s, presenting an econometric model to estimate the real exchange rate (RER) and which should be a reference level of the RER to guide longterm economic policy. In the econometric model, we consider long-term structural and short-term components, both of which may be responsible for explaining overvaluation trend of the Brazilian currency. Our econometric exercise confirms that the Brazilian currency had been persistently overvalued throughout almost all of the period under analysis, and we suggest that the long-term reference level of the real exchange rate was reached in 2004. In July 2014, the average nominal exchange rate should have been around 2.90 Brazilian reais per dollar (against an observed nominal rate of 2.22 Brazilian reais per dollar) to achieve the 2004 real reference level (average of the year). That is, according to our estimates, in July 2014 the Brazilian real was overvalued at 30.6 per cent in real terms relative to the reference level. Based on these findings we conclude the paper suggesting a mix of policy instruments that should have been used in order to reverse the overvaluation trend of the Brazilian real exchange rate, including a target for reaching a real exchange rate in the medium and the long-run which would favor resource allocation toward more technological intensive sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutions are frequently thought of as ‘socialising’ member states into pre-established norms. However, this influence is not necessarily a one-way street; members can also affect institutions, whether individually or collectively. This article analyses the behaviour of two emerging powers – Brazil and China – within the field of international development. What roles have these two states played in shaping global development norms? The article examines the key motivations, positions, and initiatives taken by Brazil and China, with special reference to the UN development system (unds). Whereas Brazil and China’s early behaviour within theundsdiverged significantly, in the post-cold war period both have become increasingly interested in – and capable of – influencing UN norms. However, despite greater involvement in UN development negotiations, these countries’ leverage in normative debates originates outside of theunds, through their South–South cooperation programmes. The current diversification of platforms through which the norms of international development are negotiated may enhance the influence of emerging powers, although their ability to channel this influence effectively will depend on their capacity for norm entrepreneurship, rather than mere norm blocking. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, I discuss ways in which several important fiscal and monetary policies implemented in Brazil after the Real Plan interfered with class relations and how they reveal the financial class character of the state. The fiscal policies analyzed are the release of federal tax revenue entitlements, the so-called fiscal responsibility, and the goals for the primary and nominal fiscal results. In the realm of monetary policy, the analysis focuses on the priority given to inflation control and inflation targeting. The results suggest that these policies facilitated favoritism towards the financial fraction of capital; the policies constitute an institutional apparatus for the reproduction of the income that finance extorts from labor through the state. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines Brazil's economic, social and environmental policy under neoliberal and center-left regimes, and finds substantial continuities in promoting an extractive economic development strategy. The devastating impacts on the Amazon, and the continuation in class inequalities counter the reformist imagery of the Workers' Party regime. The study emphasizes the utility of class analysis in deconstructing ideological identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the economic conditions in Brazil during the period 1995-2010. The authors comment on the volatility involved in the process of the country's development over this time period and examine the impact of development on capital flow. They also consider the effects of capital flight due to Brazil's economic volatility.

A growing body of research examines the regional effects of trade liberalization using a weighted average of trade policy changes across industries. This paper develops a specific-factors model of regional economies that provides a theoretical foundation for this intuitively appealing empirical approach and also provides guidance on treatment of the nontraded sector. In the context of Brazil's early 1990s trade liberalization, I find that regions facing a 10 percentage point larger liberalization-induced price decline experienced a 4 percentage point larger wage decline. The results also confirm the empirical relevance of appropriately dealing with the nontraded sector. ( JEL F13, F16, O19, O24) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the nature and direction of modification of the national strategy of Brazil, which has undergone significant changes due to increasing globalization of world economy. Special attention is paid to analysis of peculiarities and results of economic reforms that were implemented in order to build effective social and economic systems of Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico" is the successor of the former "Conselho Nacional de Pesquisas (CNPq), which retains the acronym. Some factors seem to have contributed to the implementation of this organ. On the other hand, since the end of the Decade of 1940, the State's participation in the economy of Brazil was becoming increasingly significant and, in this way, the creation of the CNPq includes a general framework of State economic performance, according to a public policy predominantly industrializing welfare. On the other hand, the idea of international prestige, that the creation of a Research Council could bring, influences significantly in creating this agency. The article is proposed to investigate the actions of the CNPq in 1951-1962, from the nuclear issue in the context of the post-war era. The work will address the idea that increased industrialization based primarily on imports of foreign technology caused a differentiation of Division of labor, demonstrating the need for training of qualified human resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is Brazil's economic policy regime a mere tinkering of the Washington Consensus? The evidence suggests that Brazilian governments institutionalized a hybrid policy regime that layers economically liberal priorities originating in the Washington Consensus and more interventionist ones associated with neo-developmentalist thinking. To capture this hybridity, the study calls this regime ‘liberal neo-developmentalism’. While defending the goal of macroeconomic stability and sidelining full employment, Brazilian governments also reduced reliance on foreign savings and employed a largely off-the-books stimulus package during the crisis. Brazil experienced important privatization, liberalization and deregulation reforms, but at the same time the state consolidated its role as owner and investor in industry and banking while using an open economy industrial policy and a cautious approach to the free movement of capital. Finally, while conditional cash transfers fit the Washington Consensus, Brazil's steady increases in the minimum wage, industrial policies targeted at high employment sectors and the use of state-owned firms to expand welfare and employment programs better fit a neo-developmentalist policy regime. In sum, while the main goals of the Washington Consensus were not replaced with neo-developmentalist ones, Brazil's policy regime saw an extensive transformation of policy orthodoxy that reflects Brazil's status as an emerging power. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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Como es sabido, Keynes propone la deliberada acción del Estado --sobre todo mediante la implementación de políticas económicas-- a objeto de coordinar y estabilizar la dinámica de las economías monetarias. En ese contexto, los objetivos de este trabajo son recuperar y presentar las prescripciones de política económica de Keynes --específicamente las políticas monetaria, fiscal y cambiaría-- y analizar el desempeño de la economía brasileña en el período 1995-2009, a partir de la lógica de funcionamiento de la política económica keynésiana. Los resultados obtenidos . indican que las políticas económicas posteriores al Plan Real no lograron mantener a la economía brasileña en una trayectoria de crecimiento sostenido y estable ante las crisis económicas endógenas y exógenas observadas a lo largo del período examinado. Asimismo, en las conclusiones se cuestiona el carácter keynesiano de las políticas anticíclicas implementadas por las autoridades económicas brasileñas desde la crisis internacional de 2007-2008. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the emergence of neo-developmentalist economic policies in Brazil, in the early 2000s, as a heterodox alternative to neoliberalism. These policies were implemented in the second Lula administration (2006–10), and continued under Dilma Rousseff. However, neo-developmentalism has not simply replaced neoliberalism; rather, these prima facie incompatible policy frameworks have been combined, and the ensuing policies have achieved significant successes despite the intrinsic fragilities and limitations of this hybrid structure. The article examines the achievements and limitations of these policies, and the (limited) scope for their continuation in Dilma’s Rousseff’s administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The recent expansion of tree plantations is the most important agrarian change in many parts of Brazil. This article uses the results of extensive field research to analyse the different ways paper and pulp companies assure their land base for eucalyptus plantations. The mechanisms of land access have changed little over the decades, amounting to a process of primitive accumulation which seems to be controlled by the ways the pulp industry influences land markets and prices, the strength of any resistance, and particularly the government support enjoyed by industry. Many paper and steel companies, either directly or indirectly, are increasingly relying on eucalyptus plantations, with negative impacts in many places. The expansion of tree monocultures with rural exclusion is characteristic of the wider phenomenon of land grab which is driven by the dominating financial logic of current capitalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the main factors influencing Dilma Rousseff's government in Brazil and offers a general outlook for the next four years. Particular emphasis is placed on the economic aspects, as these are and will continue to be the main problem for the country, and one of the key issues restricting the government's actions. To explore this argument, the article begins with a general overview of the main characteristics of Brazilian capitalism. Thereafter, the author focuses on the political determining factors, as well as the multiple configurations and various possible developments and scenarios that should also be borne in mind. The article deals both with the domestic and external factors, leading into the core of the article where the author suggests two possible outcomes of the interaction between all the above-mentioned forces. Although the analysis of the two alternatives is not conclusive, it presents a summary of the dilemma faced by Dilma Rousseff, which she must resolve in the country's interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to summarise certain positive results achieved by the Lula government in the sphere of social policy and to highlight the new challenges taken on by President Dilma Rousseff in terms of eradicating extreme poverty, after her first year in government. After Lula's success with social policy, Rousseff has committed herself to eradicating extreme poverty over the short term (the four years of her mandate) in a federation that is marked by weak links in cooperation, a distinct heterogeneity within the federated bodies and profound socio-economic inequality among citizens. Under Lula's government, the factors that most helped to reduce poverty and inequality were the recovery of the minimum salary's real value in rates higher than that of inflation, as well as an increase in formal employment, with the creation of approximately 12,000,000 jobs in eight years. For Dilma's term of office, which began with a downturn in economic growth rates, an even bigger challenge lies ahead. In light of this, the article evaluates the prospects for success of Dilma's government in terms of eradicating extreme poverty in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazil's recent growth -- combined with the optimum conditions of its external accounts and the realisation of its macroeconomic policies -- has placed the country in a good position to recover its public policies and strategies over the long term. Several of these policies began to be implemented in the final years of Lula da Silva's government, and they should be continued during Dilma Rousseff's current government, by focusing particularly on public investment policy, industrial and technology policy and regional economic placement. However , the positive results of the current period have begun to reveal a number of limitations and shortcomings. These will be the specific challenges for the Rousseff government over the coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From political economy to economic policy: The neo-developmentalism and the Lula administration. This article critically reviews the design of neo-developmentalist economic policies in Brazil, in the first half of the last decade, and their relationship with the economic policies of the Lula administration after 2006. Paradoxically, the neo-developmentalist policies were implemented jointly with the main (neoliberal) macroeconomic policies which had been introduced earlier. The article reviews the relevant literature, and examines the contradictory nature of this 'inflection' of economic policy. So far, this combination of policies has achieved an unquestionable — though provisional — success, despite the persistence of the structural macroeconomic problems due to the continuity of the neoliberal policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El objetivo de este trabajo es determinar empíricamente si la relación entre la deuda y el producto interno bruto (pib) generó efectos en variables reales y nominales como la demanda de moneda, la tasa de interés nominal, la inversión y la brecha del producto en el período de enero de 1995 a marzo de 2008. Específicamente, se procura determinar los canales de transmisión de la política fiscal y establecer si esta fue activa o pasiva en ese período. Se concluye que existen pruebas empíricas de que la política fiscal fue activa y la política monetaria pasiva, elementos que caracterizan a un modelo no ricardiano. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the internationalization of Brazilian businesses in the current decade. In the 1990s, Brazil embraced economic neoliberalism and promoted a huge opening up of its economy. At that time, Brazilian companies had to adapt rapidly. Twenty years later, the country has reinforced its presence in Latin America and has ensured a better position in the global markets, especially by through agricultural exports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

La crisis financiera internacional que afectó a la economía brasileña en el tercer trimestre de 2008 exigió varias respuestas de política económica. Con respecto a la política fiscal, las medidas expansionistas adoptadas culminaron con la inviabilidad de la meta fiscal formalmente reducida en abril de 2009. El objetivo de este artículo es analizar los efectos macroeconómicos de la reducción de la meta de superávit primario y evaluar sus repercusiones en el nivel de actividad, la estructura temporal de la tasa de interés y el tipo de cambio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study which estimated the degree of trade integration between the states of Brazil and the magnitude of barriers faced by the Brazilian exporters in 1990s. The researchers applied the border effects methodology in order to prove that the Brazilian market is still highly fragmented despite the increase in trade integration. They found that internal and international border effects are more prominent in northern regions than in the southern regions.

This article reviews the state of Brazilian democracy at the close of the Cardoso-Lula era. Brazil has now completed a quarter century of competitive politics, the longest democratic period in the country's history. Although evaluations of the regime's prospects were often pessimistic in the 1985-1993 period, the performance of democracy improved markedly after the Piano Real stabilization plan in the mid-1990s, which was followed by significant policy achievements under presidents Fernando Henrique Cardoso (Party of Brazilian Social Democracy, or PSDB) and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers' Party, or PT). Since 1995, the axis of national politics has turned on the competition between the PSDB and allies versus the PT and allies. Under this emerging bicoalitional architecture, several key policy domains have been objects of consensus between the two camps, which has led to major policy advances; however, certain policy areas remain outside the zone of consensus and pose enduring challenges. Despite the improving quality of democracy, the mass public continues to display a surprisingly high level of indifference to the regime type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses Brazil's multilateral policy under Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration, highlighting economic, political and environmental themes. The main argument is that Brazil's multilateral relations during this government reached a new significance with the reinforcement of international coalitions and the articulation with the country's new development model. The country has been using multilateral forums as a way to achieve international projection and support for its development project, highlighting bargaining aspects, variable geometry coalitions and the strengthening of South-South cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]