Brazilian Economic History Research Articles

Non-tradables in Brazilian economic history

PurposeThe purpose is to market a reinterpretation of Brazilian economic history highlighting the importance of non-tradable goods to understand major historical developments such as the lack of industrialization in the mining boom; the rise and contribution of industries to development in the early 20th century; indexation as hyperinflation in the late 20th century; growth and cycles in the early 21st century.Design/methodology/approachSection 2 introduces analytical perspectives on the relationship between non-tradables, transport costs and external shocks. Section 3 presents a historical overview of the gold and coffee cycles in the Brazilian economy, which highlights the crucial role played by transport costs in the genesis of industrialization. Thus, in a more precise way, industrialization was not an import substitution process but the substitution of non-tradables by the domestic tradable manufactures.FindingsSection 4 shows that Brazilian statistical records and historiography disregard this characterization and, to that extent, underestimate economic growth in the primary export phase (1872–1920) and overestimate growth rates in the industrialization period (1920–1940). Section 5 shifts to the end of the 20th century to analyze the relationship between non-tradables, indexation and hyperinflation. Section 6 concludes with a brief discussion of the role played by the terms of trade and non-tradables in the unfolding of the 2014 economic crisis.Originality/valueDistance from international markets and a continental geographic size made transport costs in Brazil historically prohibitive: the relevance of non-tradables in the Brazilian economic history. While the theme is not new, it seldom received proper attention in the historiography.

Consumer behaviour analysis based on income and price elasticities: The case of the air transportation in Brazil

Understanding consumer behaviour based on income-price elasticities of air travel demand is strategic for decision-making in civil aviation industry. The literature analyses markets on a static perspective of demand elasticity, not considering its evolution over time or its diversity throughout the territory. This paper makes use of a panel-data regression analysis method on a database of domestic scheduled flights of Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency to investigate the passenger demand income-price elasticities for flight connections in Brazil. Its singular nature comprises measuring and comparing the elasticities in different scenarios of the recent Brazilian economic history and considering all the diversity of the country's five geographic macro-regions. The results show different elasticities throughout the territory, depending on the geographical location of the cities involved in the air links. The estimates also vary over time, influenced by the different macroeconomic conditions. By shedding light on the demand elasticity dynamics in a same air market, the paper discusses its explanatory drivers and the strategic implications for the Brazilian civil aviation sector.

Stanley J. Stein (1920–2019)

Stanley J. Stein (1920–2019)

Measuring the Profit Rate in an Inflationary Context: The Case of Brazil, 1955–2008

A debate in Marxist literature concerns the methodology for measuring the profit rate. This paper investigates this question computing the rate of profit at historical cost, current cost, constant prices, and constant GDP price for Brazil in the 1955–2008 period. Like many developing countries, Brazil experienced medium to high inflation during this period. Inflation determined the trend and cyclical movements of the profit rate at historical cost. It increased in years of rising, and declined in years of falling, inflation. The profit rate at historical cost was at odds with Brazilian economic history. The profit rate at current costs remained unaffected by the inflation rate, and its movements correspond to the historical phases of the Brazilian economy. The same is true for the profit rate at constant prices and at constant GDP price. However, the profit rate at constant prices does not account for changes in relative prices, while the profit rate at constant GDP price is computed using a weighted average of the current and past relative prices. JEL Classification: E01, B51

Elementos do pensamento econômico clássico e da geoeconomia nos processos migratórios do Brasil

O artigo tem como objetivo resgatar os elementos teóricos da formação econômica do Brasil intuindo contextualizar os processos imigratórios. Para tanto, buscou-se na literatura clássica da história econômica do Brasil os aportes teóricos e bibliográficos, bem como a abordagem de autores contemporâneos acerca do papel das migrações na formação econômica e dos capitais e capitalismos brasileiros entre o final do século XIX e primeira metade do século XX. Inferiu-se que a história econômica brasileira contribuiu vivamente à consecução dos fluxos migratórios de europeus e asiáticos para o desenvolvimento econômico brasileiro. As contribuições da História Econômica do Brasil e da Geoeconomia são primazes à interpretação das migrações, seus fluxos, repercussões e impactos na Economia como um todo. Celso Furtado, Caio Prado Junior, João Manuel Cardoso de Mello e outros se fazem, portanto, vivos e necessários também aos estudos das migrações econômicas.

A REGIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE 1857 AND 1860 CRISES: THE EFFECTS ON THE BAHIA PROVINCE

A Província da Bahia enfrentou duas crises econômicas no intervalo entre 1857 e 1861. A primeira teve origem nos Estados Unidos e se disseminou pelo sistema internacional, afetando o conjunto da economia brasileira. A segunda ocorreu no Brasil como resul

Roberto Simonsen and the Brazil-U.S. Trade Agreement of 1935: Economic ideas and political action

Abstract: In this paper we identify elements that reveal the specificity of Roberto Simonsen's economic thought and his singular interpretation of Brazilian economic history, based on documents related to the debate held in Congress when the Brazil-U.S. Trade Agreement was signed, in 1935. We have verified how in a concrete political struggle Simonsen used diverse theoretical references in order to support his arguments and how at the same time this participation in the political scene contributed to the formation of his economic thought. Simonsen's appropriation of the ideas of two German authors, namely Adolph Wagner and Karl Rodbertus, is analyzed by means of the study of Simonsen's quotations and of the works of the authors themselves. Simonsen's participation in the debates around the Trade Agreement is of a particular character, because of the consistent manner in which he defended class interests, resorting to the works of international economists and to well-informed historical digressions. This differentiates Simonsen from other industrialists, his colleagues, who defended industry based on moral arguments.

SOY AND DEVELOPMENTALIST PERCEPTIONS - THE EVOLUTION OF EXPORT-ORIENTED AGRICULTURE AND THE GROWTH OF SOY THROUGH STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE BRAZILIAN STATE

Résumé The goal within the following article is to understand how the soy sector, as part of export-oriented agriculture, has evolved through the different developmental stages in the Brazilian economic history of the 20 th and early 21 st century, and how the country´s shifting insertion into the global market has positioned interests linked to this sector, in relation the political hegemony of the day. The pragmatic nature of the policies addressing export agriculture is initially traced from the early developmentalism, through the birth of soy cultivation in the latter half of the century, towards the day today, when this single crop has come to hold an extremely significant position within Brazilian exports; a position which has had strong repercussions within the political sphere. A strong emphasis is laid upon the structural transformation of the Brazilian economy in the 1990´s and the new panorama which its internationalization has created for the growth of the soy sector, both during the Cardoso and the Lula administration. Different developmentalist visions, both in their historical conceptualizations and in their presence within the contemporary political scenario through a neo-developmentalist orientation, are synthesized with significant developments within export-agriculture, in order to understand how they in praxis have come to concede a favorable political positioning of rural bourgeoisie. It thereby assumes the character of a historical analysis of the political economy of agricultural policies, with a particular focus upon the evolution of the soy sector. The article concludes that Brazils historical positioning within the global economic scenario, has at the most, made it possible to mitigate the political influence of export-agriculture, which has been a constantly significant factor, restricting the possibilities for social inclusion of destitute rural segments and exacerbating the sub-ordinate positioning as a raw material exporter. The “long perspective” which this paper operates with, derives from the perception of the need to understand the profound development, which the soy expansion in Brazil during recent decades has constituted, by tracing the policies affecting the sector below the imperatives posed by the structural transformations of the Brazilian economy.

Brazilian Trade Policy in Historical Perspective: Constant Features, Erratic Behavior

Historical essay on Brazilian trade policies since the 19th century, seen in connection with industrial and development policies that were implemented not always in a coordinated manner. Brazil was, and probably continues to be, one of the most protectionist countries in the world, at the beginning for fiscal reasons (financing of the State), then, in the 20th century, on behalf of deliberate industrializing and import substitution goals. The essay surveys the many policies followed in different phases of Brazilian economic history, including the regional integration process of Mercosur and the multilateral and hemispheric trade negotiations; it also discusses the recent re-commoditization of its foreign trade and the retrocession to a series of patently defensive policies, justified by a lack of competitiveness of its industries, by the way due to the excessive taxation and the bureaucratic entanglements set up by the very State that seeks to protect those industries from foreign competition. Outline: Introduction: basic characteristics Historical development of Brazilian trade policies Reform and adjustment to the multilateral trade system Regional integration process and the Mercosur path Real challenges and lost opportunities: Brazilian illusions and deceptions What went wrong? Brazil retrocedes into protectionism What lies ahead: a fortress Brazil or an opening to globalization?

Salários, produtividade e lucros na indústria brasileira, 1945-1978

Wages, productivity and profits in the Brazilian manufacturing industry, 1945-1978. This article investigates the distribution between profits and wages in Brazil’s manufacturing industry from 1945 to 1978. First, the article provides yearly series of average real wages and labour productivity, from which labour unit costs and the distribution between profits and wages in the manufacturing industry are estimated. Second, the article addresses the behaviour of wages, labour productivity and industrial income distribution in the context of variable economic, political and institutional conditions which prevailed in post-war Brazil. The results of the quantitative analysis allow us to assess both the trends and the yearly behaviour of the manufacturing income distribution during a key period of the Brazilian economic history. JEL Classification: N36.

Economia de Minas e economia da mineração em Celso Furtado

O artigo tem por objetivo contribuir para o entendimento do modelo de abstração da história econômica brasileira de Celso Furtado, por meio da análise do ciclo da mineração. O ciclo da mineração ocorrido em Minas Gerais no século XVIII é posto em contraste com os dois outros ciclos induzidos por demanda externa - o ciclo açucareiro e o do café -, assim como confrontado com o modelo geral de economia mineradora, presente nos estudos sobre a América hispânica. Entendemos que por meio destes contrastes podem-se entender as notórias lacunas a respeito do desenvolvimento do escravismo em Minas Gerais no século XIX, presentes em Formação Econômica do Brasil e, em especial, divisar os principais elementos da teoria econômica subjacente aos modelos de abstração histórica de Furtado.

A Varig e o Brasil entre o desenvolvimento nacional e a competitividade global

In this article I aim to develop a sociological approach to the firm, based in the notion that it is a social actor that (re)produces values, culture, forms of sociability and power relations in its interaction with society. I analyse the strategies pursued by Varig airlines in two different periods of brazilian economic history: the 1960s-70s and the 1990s. By analyzing some of the firm’s publications (Anual Board of Directors Reports and publications aimed at the employees), I show that in the first period, the discourses are focused on a view of the enterprise “serving the country”, as well as on a “Great Varig” identity, consistent with the “Great Brazil” project that marked that period of the country´s economic development. In the second period under analysis, a lean company identity comes to the fore, along with a “global competitiveness” immagery. In this moment, strategies such as personnel downsizing, concentration of the operations in the most rentable niches and the search for participation in global alliances are pursued In the final part, I discuss the relationship between these strategies and the crisis that struck the firm, causing it to almost stop its activities in 2006.

Banking and Economic Development: Brazil, 1889–1930. By Gail D. Triner. New York: Palgrave, 2000. Pp. xv, 333.

This book marks an important addition to the literature on banks and capital markets in the economic development of Latin America. In the field of Brazilian economic history, it will take its place on a short shelf of basic reference works that engage their subject in a systematic fashion. What makes the book especially ambitious is its attempt to link financial markets and banking institutions to the development of the Brazilian state and economy. Triner argues that the rise of modern banking in Brazil was accompanied by economic growth, market integration, and political arbitrage based on credit and monetary policies underwritten by banks. She argues, moreover, that Brazil's banking system developed simultaneously along public and private lines; that in many ways, banks provided an institutional linkage between public and private spheres; and that the state sought to use the banking system to consolidate and expand its influence.

Slavery and the Demographic and Economic History of Minas Gerais, Brazil, 1720–1888. By Laird W. Bergad. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Pp. 298. $54.95.

Forty years after it was first published, Celso Furtado's seminal The Economic Growth of Brazil (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1965), is still one of the most widely used books in undergraduate, and even graduate courses, on Brazilian economic history. Although short, Furtado's book set forth many hypotheses that generated several memorable academic debates amongst specialists in Brazilian history. Even when Furtado was wrong on a given topic, his analysis often stimulated discussions that pushed forward the frontiers of knowledge. Such is the case with the scholarly literature arising in the 1970s and 1980s around the development of the region of Minas Gerais after the abrupt end of the mining boom in 1760. Furtado's view, that the end of mining activity had brought a generalized economic decadence to the region, was widely accepted. It was believed that this collapse had caused a reversion to subsistence activities, together with dispersal of the population and underutilization of slaves, leading eventually to their emigration to other regions where coffee was becoming the center of the economy.

Urban planning in Brazil: past experience, current trends

Up to the military coup of 1964, one does not find a national policy regarding urban planning in Brazil, although there were some scattered planning and urban design or renewal experiences in several Brazilian cities prior to that date. The central area of Brazil’s former capital, Rio de Janeiro, was completely redesigned and rebuilt during the first years of this century, according to the Haussmanian model which was fashionable in those years. In Rio de Janeiro this was done for several reasons which included giving a European flavour to the country’s capital, expelling the ‘infected and dangerous classes’ from the central sections of the city and implementing sanitary measures against yellow fever. Some sections of S5o Paulo’s downtown area were also rebuilt during 1910 to 1915 under the guidance of the French architect, Bouvard. Some years before, the capital of the state of Minas Gerais was moved from the charming old colonial Ouro Preto to the newly designed (and boring) Belo Horizonte. During the rubber boom in Amazonia (again at the beginning of the present century), the governor of the State of Para, upon returning from Europe, decided to remodel Belem, his capital city, and besides widening streets and designing large and proper sidewalks carried out the good plan of planting beautiful mango trees in those sidewalks. Three or four decades later, during Getulio Vargas’ dictatorship, some areas in major cities were remodelled according to the heavy and ostentatious taste of those years. At the same time Mussolini, Hitler, Roosevelt and Robert Moses were building their Roman EUR, German Autobahns and New Deal public works and urban expressways. Both for economic and political reasons, Brazil would not stay immune to those trends. In the late 195Os, architects Lucia Costa and Oscar Niemeyer perpetrated Brasilia, Brazil’s pharaonic new ‘modern’ capital, which with its walls and moats,’ was very aptly labelled, “the last of the medieval cities” by Francisco Oliveira. I could add dozens of analogous events. Many of them reflect the spirit of the different epochs in which they occurred, but none of them may be considered the effect of a national urban planning policy. One could not expect to find conditions appropriate for establishment of a national urban policy, or even a trend towards one, in a country as huge, new and sparsely populated as pre-war Brazil with its history of federal forms of government. For those who are not familiar with recent Brazilian economic history, I may add that the first paved road connecting SBo Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, less than 500 km distance, was not completed before 1952.

Recent Studies of the Nineteenth-Century Brazilian Economic History in Britain and the United States of America

Recent Studies of the Nineteenth-Century Brazilian Economic History in Britain and the United States of America