The Political Economic And Labor Climate In Brazil

Research report on interactions between political developments, economic conditions and labour relations in Brazil from 1964 to 1976 - covers characteristics of the political system, economic development, trade relations, the wage payment system, inflation and its control, trade union rights, etc. Graphs, references and statistical tables.

Cohn lays out a new strategy of how states can produce economic development in poor nations – by considering barber shops, beauty parlours, hotels and restaurants in Brazil. Cohn considers the case of nations with budgetary limits that cannot afford to follow the East Asian model, and finds alternative policies that create jobs and reduce poverty.

This book assesses the performance of the first Lula government (2002-06) from different perspectives including economics, politics, history and social policy. While the focus is on Brazil, it also refers to the experiences of similar countries both for comparative purposes and for evidence of the success or otherwise of this 'new' era for Brazil.

"Institutional frameworks, political action, social and political identities, class relations, social inertia and path dependence are the main aspects inquired in this book. Taken together, the chapters present a coherent and systematic portrait of Brazil, or a plausible point of view about the dynamics of our sociability which may interest the foreign reader. Collective bargaining, labour inspection, the labour and capital organizations are all elements of the Getulio Vargas legacies that, albeit with adaptations over time, still impinge upon our present. For that reason, it is impossible to understand what we are without looking back and trying and reconstruct the trajectories of the current institutions, social and political actors, and even the economy. As a consequence, most of the chapters adopt a historical sociological perspective, in dialogue between the contemporary context and the country’s vivid historiography."

The Political Economy of Lula’s Brazil describes the social, political and economic transformations that led to increased interest in the tropical giant at the start of the 21st century. This volume demonstrates that Brazil’s rise was the result of the adoption of heterodox economic policies, while also highlighting the obstacles to choosing an egalitarian development path in Latin America. Adopting an innovative perspective in terms of methodology and interpretation, contributors from Brazil, Latin America and France follow a non-dogmatic critical approach in order to explain the institutional changes that made a new cycle of development possible in Brazil. The authors also argue that the evolution of Brazil, following the implementation of leftist policies, paradoxically gave birth to several economic, political and environmental contradictions. They contend that these contradictions, including the falling rate of profit linked to the full employment of resources; the redistributive process seen as a menace by the conservative middle classes; and the growing intervention of the state in the different markets, eventually led to the end of the early 21st century development cycle. Providing clues to understanding the contradictory and painful path towards the development of semi-industrialised countries, this book will interest students and academics in the fields of economics, sociology, history and political science. The story it tells may also interest all those searching for independent analysis of the successes and failures of Lula’s Brazil.

Labour relations had important connections with industrial performance in Greater Sao Paulo, the most important industrial centre in Brazil and Latin America, between 1945 and 1960. This book shows that the predominant industrial practices in terms of wages, working conditions and industrial training kept away activities based on quality and innovation which could produce sustained growth in the long term. As a result, the most important industrial centre in Brazil was locked into inefficient industrial practices and technologies, which have since marked the economic history of Brazilian industrialisation.

The emphasis of this book is on the structural aspects of the Brazilian economy, although analyses of economic performance are also covered. A central theme is that growth with social development requires structural reforms, such as the reorganisation of public finances and other matters.