Does it Take a Lula to go to Davos? A Brief Overview of Brazilian Reforms, 1980-2000

Abstract

What are the determinants of economic reform efforts? This paper tries to throw light on this question by examining recent reforms in Brazil, a country which followed a gradualist approach and was a late-starter among Latin American economies. We argue that these first generation reforms (trade liberalization, stabilization, privatization and the adoption of a new macro-policy framework) were driven by the drastic growth slowdown and redemocratization of the 1980s. We argue that their gradual and democratic implementation not only respond for their sustainability but also shows that the country is ready for a second generation of reforms focusing explicitly on institutional deficiencies.