Brazil’s economic growth and real (div)convergence from a very long-term perspective (1822-2019): An historical appraisal

Abstract

The reconstruction of the economic history of Brazil since independence from Portugal (1822) may lead to a new understanding of its economic growth. The deep-rooted idea that Brazil could have done better means there is a need to delve into each phase of its development. In this paper, we provide a very long-run perspective (1822-2019) of Brazil’s economic growth and process of real convergence. On the one hand, this review indicates that structural changes observed in the middle of the 20th century were crucial in promoting the country’s growth and real convergence with technologically advanced countries. On the other hand, poor institutional conditions and deficient human capital formation have emerged since colonial times as critical factors underlying Brazil’s inability to establish robust and sustainable economic growth.

Do human capital and institutional quality contribute to Brazil's long term real convergence/divergence process? A Markov regime-switching autoregressive approach

“…Finally, two features that most define Brazil and other EEs, i.e. macroeconomic instability and high levels of poverty (Doré and Teixeira, 2022; Sotomayor, 2019), are accounted for by the control variables inflation rate and extreme poverty rate, respectively. It is expected a negative effect of these latter factors on Brazil's real convergence.…”

“…As underlined by di Vaio et al (2014), '[t]his question is empirical, but it has important theoretical implications, as (…) main growth theories predict convergence between countries'. As apparently is the case, urgent growth and convergence determinants for the country (Doré and Teixeira, 2022), namely institutional quality and human capital formation, have been overlooked in the extant literature, thereby constituting a challenging avenue to be addressed. Thus, in a novel way, the present paper examines and attempts to explain Brazil's real convergence towards other LA EEs, Portugal, its alma matter, Portugal, and the US, the commonly regarded technological frontier country, over a very long time period .…”

Deciphering Trends in Cancer Mortality: A Comprehensive Analysis of Brazilian Data From 1979 to 2021 With Emphasis on Breast and Prostate Cancers

“…The country boasts a diverse economic landscape comprising agriculture, manufacturing, and services sectors. Its robust agricultural industry is a significant contributor to the economy, with Brazil being a global leader in the production of various commodities, including coffee, sugar, and soybeans [ 1 , 2 ]. Moreover, the manufacturing sector plays a crucial role, encompassing industries such as automobiles, steel, and petrochemicals.…”