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Corresponding Author:
Celia Lessa Kerstenetzky, Economics Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazilian Institute for Advanced Studies (CBAE-UFRJ), Center for Studies on Inequality (CEDE-UFRJ-UFF) and Brazilian Council of Research (CNPq)

The Brazilian Economy: A Challenge of Prospering and Sharing

Volume 77 - Latin American Economies : Complex Past and Challenging Future -Part I, February 2024
(pp. 91-116)
JEL classification: E65; P17
Keywords: Development; Growth; Inequality; Political Economy; Brazilian Economy; Redistribution

Abstract

Like many Latin American countries Brazil has dramatically failed to deliver to its inhabitants the crucial combination of economic prosperity and equity. However, while Latin American countries generally display high levels of economic inequality, Brazil’s level is extreme, even by the standards of the region. Taking a political economy perspective, this article briefly tells the story of a developing mismatch between growth and equity, highlighting a period when a first reversal of that tendency was observed with the unprecedented rise to power of a center-left coalition. A backlash ensued with the rise of a far-right government; but now that the country is once more run by a progressive coalition, this essay discusses the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead on the path towards a social-and-ecologically friendly economic development.


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Institute for International Economics
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