Vol. 31 No. 1 (2011): Jan-Mar / 2011


Vol. 31 No. 1 (2011)

Jan-Mar / 2011
Published January 1, 2011

Article


The underestimated role of universities for the Brazilian system of innovation
Wilson Suzigan, Eduardo da Motta e Albuquerque
Brazilian Journal of Political Economy

Conventional wisdom usually underestimates the important role of public research institutes and universities in successful cases of Brazilian economy. History of science and technology institutions shows a long-term process of formation of these institutions and their interactions with industrial firms, agricultural producers or society. This paper investigates historical roots of successful cases of Brazil. First, we present the late onset of National Innovation System (NSI) institutions and waves of institutional formation in Brazil. Second, we describe the history of three ed successful cases, which spans from a low-tech sector (agriculture), a medium-tech sector (steel and special metal alloys), to a high-tech sector (aircraft). These findings present new challenges for present-day developmental policies.

JEL Classification: N; O3.


Development conventions in Lula’s mandates: an essay on political economy.
Fabio S. Erber
Brazilian Journal of Political Economy

This article analyses the different development proposals put forward during the two Lula Presidential mandates. It is argued that such proposals are structured as “development conventions”, which involve different priorities and different solutions to the problem of structural transformation. Their analytical frame is also different as are the interest groups which uphold them. Therefore their epistemology must be placed in the political economy context. It is argued that, notwithstanding the weight gained by a “developmental” convention over the second mandate, a “stability” convention is still hegemonic and commands macroeconomic policies.

JEL Classification: 010; 011; 020; 054.


The myth of Vargas’ economic populism
Pedro Cezar Dutra Fonseca
Brazilian Journal of Political Economy

The Second Vargas Administration in Brazil (1951-1954) is commonly associated with the phenomenon of populism. However, based on the models of economic populism, it is clear that the economic policy of the period is not the one shown by those models. Besides, based on this historic experience, it is advocated that there is no incompatibility between developmentalism and the adoption of macroeconomic stability-oriented measures.

JEL Classification: N16; P48.


Monetary and financial cooperation: what is good to Asian is also good to Latin America?.
Renato Baumann, Carlos Mussi
Brazilian Journal of Political Economy

This article compares the Asian and Latin American experiences with monetary cooperation. It is argued that in the latter such cooperation has hardly progressed, due to low degree of regional integration, the recurrent use of multilateral institutional resources to deal with external shocks and the lack of clear objectives: monetary cooperation is some times seen as a means to foster integration, but also as a means to provide long term funds and as a source of liquidity in foreign currencies. In Asia, differently, cooperation has apparently not been so instrumental to regional integration, but has proven to be quite important as a means to build a regional capital market as well as a mechanism to deal with external shocks.

JEL classification: F 15; F 36.


Laypeople, experts and expectation formation
Luiz Rogério de Camargos
Brazilian Journal of Political Economy

 This article is a critical discussion, under the light of expectation formation, of the relation that interposes between economic science as body of knowledge and its agents.

JEL Classification: A14; B4; D84.


Growth and industrialization in Brazil: an interpretation in the light of Kaldor's proposals
Marcos Tostes Lamonica, Carmem Aparecida Feijó
Brazilian Journal of Political Economy

In this paper, based on the writings of Kaldor and his followers, we compare two phases of Brazilian economic growth, one showing fast growth rate and other with lack of growth. Our aim is to analyze the Brazilian economic behavior in the last 40 years, pointing out economic policy intervention, structural change, foreign trade and capital flows as determinants to account for gross product development path performance. Our aim is to shed some light on which is the potential rate of growth of the Brazilian economy nowadays, considering its historical growth path and recent structural changes in the industrial sector.

JEL Classification: F41; O11.


Fiscal adjustment in Brazil: Some considerations under a post Keynesian approach
Sergio Wulff Gobetti, Adriana Moreira Amado
Brazilian Journal of Political Economy

The article analyses the main issues concerned to fiscal policy in Brazil. For doing so, it assumes a Post Keynesian approach on this issue. First, it observes the origins of the Brazilian fiscal crises, showing that the Brazilian external debt had a fundamental role to play in its configuration. After, it analyses the present conduction of the fiscal policy in Brazil, emphasizing the orthodox framework that support it. Finally, the Post Keynesian approach on fiscal policy and the role of the State, as an element essential to reach a greater economic stability is discussed, showing that there are several experiences that seems to have a Keynesian bias, but that has little relation to Keynes approach, as is the case of Brazil.

JEL Classification: B22; B50; H11; H62.


A study on the victimization in the city of São Paulo
Regina Madalozzo, Giovanna Maia Furtado
Brazilian Journal of Political Economy

This paper applies the crime economics theory to Brazilian data. Following Becker (1968), Hinderlang et al. (1978) and Cohen et al. (1981), we tested the microeconomic factors that influence crime and victimization. For this end, the two waves of research of victimization of the Instituto Futuro Brasil, 2003 and 2008, were used in an effort to identify the determinants of victimization and police notification, using probit model. The main results suggest the factors which impact significantly the probability of victimization are the demographic characteristics, economic conditions and personal habits. The models of “life style” and “opportunity” seem to have good performance.

JEL Classification: C35; D69.