Plano Collor: contra factualidade e sugestões sobre a condução da política monetária-fiscal

O Plano Collor foi teoricamente imprevisível, pois representou a opção por uma alternativa de alto risco e reduzidas chances de compatibilizar crescimento sustentado com preços estáveis. Da forma como implementado, o Plano tornou a contenção do déficit público um problema "de vida ou morte" para a evolução futura da economia. Este ponto é abordado na seção inicial, onde tambem se conclui que a contrapartida prática de uma queda de confiança do público no sistema financeiro (devido ao bloqueio compulsório dos cruzados) pode variar de uma maior inflação de equilíbrio a uma abertura de portas ao processo hiper-inflacionário. Na seção seguinte, desenvolve-se um exercício contra-factual, onde as medidas do Plano são confrontadas com uma alternativa bem menos interven cionista (e traumática) de combate à inflação. Este. exercício tem a sua construtividade assegurada na medida em que permite a identificação de alguns entraves à queda de inflação ainda não debelado pelas recentes medidas econômicas. Por último, a terceira seção sugere uma regra de política monetária a ser seguida numa situação na qual, tal como ocorre neste período inicial pôs-Plano, desconhecem-se as novas equações a governar a demanda por ativos financeiros. Mostra-se facilmente que 'tal regra implica na convergência para o pleno emprego com preços estáveis. E, ainda, que essa convergência independe de se suporem constantes, ou mesmo conhecidos, os valores das elasticidades renda e Juros da demanda por moeda.

Três décadas de tentativas de estabilização da economia brasileira

O presente trabalho teve o propósito de estudar a eficácia dos diferentes programas de ajustamento aplicados à economia brasileira nas últimas três décadas.

New evidence on trade liberalization and productivity growth

Although the subject of a large number of studies, the debate on the links between trade reform and productivity growth is still unresolved and most studies at the micro level have not been able to establish a relationship between the two phenomena. Brazil provides a natural experiment to study this issue that is seldom available: it was one of the closest economies in the world until 1988, when trade reform was launched, and intra-industry data are available on an annual basis before, during and after liberalization. Using a panel of industry sectors this paper tests and measures the impact of trade reform on productivity growth. Results confirm the association between the former and the latter and show that the magnitude of the impact of tariff reduction on the growth rates of TFP and output per worker was substantial. Our data reveal large and widespread productivity improvement, so that the estimations in this paper are an indication that liberalization had an important effect on industrial performance in the country. Cross-sectional differences in protection are also investigated.

Trade barriers and productivity growth: cross-industry evidence

This article investigates the impact of trade protection on the evolution of labor productivity and total factor productivity (TFP) of the Brazilian manufacturing sector. An annual panel-dataset of 16 industries for the years 1985 through 1997, a period that includes a major trade liberalization, was used. The regressions reported here are robust to openness indicator (nominal tari®s and e®ective protection rate were used), control variables and time period and suggest that barriers to trade negatively a®ects productivity growth at industry level: those sectors with lower barriers experienced higher growth. We were also able to link the observed increase of industry productivity growth after 1991 to the widespread reduction on exective protection experienced in the country in the nineties.

Monopoly power and trade protection: cross- industry evidence

This paper investigates the impact of industry concentration on trade policy. Annual panel-databases of Brazilian industries for the years 1988 through 1994 were used. The regressions reported here are robust to openness indicator. concentration index, control variables and sample size, and suggest that the higher the concentration of a given industry the higher its leveI of trade protection. In the period of study the country experienced a major trade liberalization, but the results in the paper show that the reduction in protection was smaller in more concentrated sectors. Assuming that concentration is ;1 gCl()d proX\' for mOllopoh' po\\'er as it reduces the free-rider problem in coordinating a lobby the results in this paper indicates that interest groups with control over specific markets in fact are able to obtain policy advantages that reduce (international) competition.

Feasible multilateralism and the effects of regionalism

Recent research has underlined the efficiency of the GATT/WTO rules from the standpoint of politically motivated governments, emphasizing that the current multilateral rules are capable of delivering a politically efficient equilibrium. Such an equilibrium is, however, economically inef- ficient. Global free trade, in particular, is generally unattainable even in a fully cooperative world, provided that governments have distributive motivations. In such a context, we show that regional trade agreements can help move the world towards a welfare superior equilibrium. The reason is that, as members of regional trade agreements lower trade barriers against one another, they are induced to reduce their multilateral tariffs as well. Once we account for these endogenous changes–and only then–we find that regionalism can raise world welfare even in a fully cooperative (but political) world. We also find, however, that members are likely to gain "too much" from regional integration, thereby harming outsiders.

Trade diversion and declining tariffs : evidence from Mercosur

This paper empirically examines the alternative posed by Richardson (1993) to the traditional view that trade integration may exacerbate inefficiencies through trade diversion. Richardson’s hypothesis boldly predicts that trade diversion may actually cause tariffs to decline! The hypothesis is fundamentally attributable to the presence of a political component in the governments’ objective functions. A cross-sectionally rich data-set on trade and tariffs from the Mercosur-pact countries, primarily Argentina, is used. The evidence yields surprising conclusions about the validity of the political economy construct in models of trade integration.

Las dimensiones sociales de la integración regional en América Latina

Incluye Bibliografía

En busca de una asociación renovada entre América Latina y el Caribe y la Unión Europea

Incluye Bibliografía

Latin America and the Caribbean and the European Union: striving for a renewed partnership

Includes bibliography