Brazil

Towards a more prosperous and inclusive Brazil

Over the past two decades, strong growth combined with remarkable social progress has made Brazil one of the world’s leading economies.

Reforming Brazil’s old-age pension system to ensure its sustainability

Pensions have been successful in reducing old-age poverty well below the population-wide average, and below the OECD average. At present, all pension recipients – and this includes around 90% of those aged 65 and above – receive at least the minimum wage, which is more than 5 times as much as the poverty line of BRL 170 (equivalent to USD 55).

Untying the knots strangling Brazil’s competitiveness

There is strong international evidence that trade liberalisation and increased international integration are key elements of a successful growth strategy. Exposure to international competition, sourcing internationally and learning by exporting accelerates technological upgrading and fosters productivity growth.

Quantifying the effects of trade liberalisation in Brazil: a CGE simulation

Brazil remains a fairly closed economy, with small trade flows relative to its share of world income. This paper explores the effects of three possible policy reforms to strengthen Brazil’s integration into global trade: a reduction in import tariffs, less local content requirements and a full zero-rating of exports in indirect taxes.

Corporate Governance of Company Groups in Latin America

Dividing the pie in Brazil: income distribution, social policies and the new middle class

Brazil has made remarkable progress in reducing poverty and inequality. This reduction is explained by strong growth but also by effective social policies. Besides growth, public services and cash transfers have played the biggest role, the latter notably through the successful "Bolsa Familia" programme.

Promoting infrastructure development in Brazil

Brazil under-invested in infrastructure for over three decades, and infrastructure investment rates have come up only slowly since 2007. Infrastructure needs are sizeable in almost all sectors.

Refining macroeconomic policies to sustain growth in Brazil

This paper identifies refinements to the macroeconomic framework that will help Brazil to achieve strong performance in a new environment.

Explaining the appreciation of the Brazilian real

This paper seeks to identify factors explaining the appreciation of the Brazilian real observed since 2003, which was temporarily interrupted only during episodes of financial turbulence.

Raising investment in Brazil

Low investment rates are limiting Brazil’s future potential growth rate. This paper analyses a number of potential reasons for these low investment rates and discusses policy options to achieve faster capital accumulation.