Examines the principal macroeconomic challenges for the country as a member of the European Union, focusing on anti-inflationary credibility, fiscal discipline, economic stabilization, structural reforms, and unemployment; Portugal.
Under the hypothesis that structural reforms are positive for the economy, it is argued that, in a government of the "right", there exists stable political economy equilibrium: some reforms are made and the economy has a median performance. In a government of the "left", such median equilibrium is unstable. A situation of double equilibria is characterized: the governement either succeds fully or it fails miserably. The conclusion is that the success of Lula's government will depend on the result of a race between the drop of his popularity, on one hand, and the improvement of the economy, on the other. (Rev Econ Polit/DÜI)
This article examines the record of structural reforms & regional economic integration in Latin America during the last few decades. In contrast to the optimism of the early 1990's, there is a sense of confusion & frustration across the region today. Growth has slowed, new investment has declined, & chronic problems of inequality & poverty persist. A slow but perceptible political backlash against orthodox market-oriented policies has set in. In light of these developments, this article aims at rethinking the last three decades of economic reform in the region. First, it examines some recent work on the economic policies in place in Latin America before the recent neoliberal reforms -- those of import substitution industrialization. Second, it discusses the wide variation in the implementation of market oriented policies in the region. Third, it looks at the impacts of these reforms, including their disappointing results in certain areas. Fourth, it analyzes the search for a new consensus on economic policy & trade integration in the Americas. Adapted from the source document.
The main purpose of this article is to analyze the results of fiscal policy management in Brazil during the period between 1994 and 1999. The central idea of the text is that there was no significant change in the fiscal management during the period, even considering the fiscal adjustment program under the IMF arrangement. The policy's emphasis has been the short run approach, based on the raising of the fiscal revenues as a way to avoid primary deficits deterioration. In contrast, the structural reforms necessary to support the fiscal adjustment have been continuously postponed. (Rev Econ Polit/DÜI)
Given the diverging discussions on the social security financial balance in Brazil, this article aims to analyze the evolution and comparison of revenues and expenses of the Social Security Budget (OSS) in the country, between 2006 and 2016, based on the rules of financing and social ideal proposed by the Federal Constitution of 1988. In addition, it seeks to debate the findings with national public finances. The literature review addresses the welfare state and social security, its costing and its relationship with economic and demographic indicators in Brazil. Methodologically, through a predominantly quantitative approach, it uses graphical, documentary, bibliographic and descriptive statistics analyzes with secondary data. The results show the financial sustainability of social security and the need to understand the triple costing and unity in the OSS ending the valuation of social policies, especially social security in the general regime. It is also clear the importance of economic scenarios and the influence of other fiscal actions (Untying of Federal Revenue and Tax Deductions) in the OSS. It is concluded that there is a need for fiscal restructuring, with strengthening of the economic bases, and not for structural reforms in social policies in Brazil, since social contributions are still relevant to the financing of the OSS, even if some measures are needed to contain it of expenses. ; Diante das divergentes discussões sobre o equilíbrio financeiro da seguridade social no Brasil, este artigo tem o objetivo de analisar a evolução e confrontação das receitas e despesas do Orçamento da Seguridade Social (OSS) no país, entre 2006 e 2016, com base nas regras de financiamento e ideal social propostos pela Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil de 1988. Ademais, procura-se debater os achados com as finanças públicas nacionais. Na revisão de literatura é abordado o Estado de bem-estar social e a seguridade social, seu custeio e sua relação com os indicadores econômicos e demográficos no Brasil. Metodologicamente, através de uma abordagem predominantemente quantitativa, utilizam-se análises gráficas, documentais, bibliográficas e estatísticas descritivas com dados secundários. Os resultados evidenciam a sustentabilidade financeira da seguridade social e a necessidade do entendimento do custeio tríplice e da unidade no OSS findando a valorização das políticas sociais, em especial a previdência social no regime geral. Fica clara ainda a importância dos cenários econômicos e da influência de outras ações fiscais (desvinculação das receitas da união e desonerações tributárias) no OSS. Conclui-se com a necessidade de uma reestruturação fiscal, com fortalecimento das bases econômicas, e não de reformas estruturais nas políticas sociais no Brasil, uma vez que as contribuições sociais ainda são relevantes para o financiamento do OSS, mesmo sendo necessárias algumas medidas na contenção de despesas.
In Portugal, as in most other European Union (EU) countries, the challenge of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) has worked as a mechanism for economic stabilisation. However, the political consensus on the participation in EMU did not develop with respect to the need for implementing structural reforms and abolishing many of the policy distortions affecting the economy and to other goals of European integration, such as environmental quality, consumer protection or internal social cohesion, all of them pre-conditions for long-term development. Moreover, the objectives of EMU price stability and sound public finances were also not internalised in that consensus, although they were behind some crucial policy decisions, such as to join the EMS in 1992. During the entire macroeconomic convergence phase European monetary reform was regarded as an unavoidable external constraint that went together with an exogenous political objective. It was only due to the political consensus on not being left out of the EU core that the necessary consensus could be maintained to pursue a policy compatible with the objective of EMU participation throughout the heights of the European recession in Portugal (1993/94), the electoral year of 1995 and the two first years of a new legislature (1996/97) with a minority Government of a different political colour. This lack of internal objectives and economic and political strategy of integration surfaced and the political and social consensus broke once Portugal had joined EMU upon its inception. ; This paper is part of an FCT research project on Economic Growth, Convergence and Institutions (research grant POCI/EGE/55423/2004, partially funded by ...
Os guineenses assumiram o desenvolvimento como uma das metas a atingir e a estabilização e o ajustamento foi-lhes imposta como solução para os problemas estruturais existentes. No entanto, a forma como têm vindo a ser concebidos pelo Banco Mundial e pelo Fundo Monetário Internacional, direccionada sobretudo para a área económica, acabou por limitar o papel dos Programas de Ajustamento Estrutural (PAE) tidos como indutores do desenvolvimento, tornando-os num agregado de premissas austeras, com resultados não esperados. As propostas do FMI e do BM, tendendo para a liberalização económica e estímulo dos mercados em detrimento da intervenção estatal, traduzem-se em medidas de redução de taxas de utilização dos serviços públicos, supressão de subsídios, redimensionamento da administração pública, cortes, congelamentos salariais e privatizações. Os resultados destas reformas foram catastróficos, porquanto não só não melhoraram o défice orçamental, como os efeitos negativos das restrições orçamentais sobre o bem-estar, geraram um ambiente de promiscuidade social e o agravamento do sector informal como estratégia de sobrevivência Tendo em conta o objecto em estudo, isto é, a relação de forças que encontrámos entre o relacionamento entre os actores políticos guineenses e as Instituições Financeiras Internacionais, notámos que a ausência de comportamentos éticos também influiu nos resultados. Por um lado, o BM e o FMI, perante um Estado fragilizado, apresentaram condicionalismos à obtenção de empréstimos e ajudas, por outro lado, os actores guineenses, mesmo perante este dilema, não se coibiram do exercício da corrupção, do clientelismo e do neo-patrimonialismo, como estratégia para o enriquecimento fácil. Palavras-chave: Programas de Ajustamento Estrutural; Desenvolvimento; Boa governação; Ética e Moral. ; The people of Guiné Bissau have assumed the development as one of the goals to be achieved. The stability and the adjustment were imposed as solution for the existing structural problems. However, the way that they have been conceived by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, directed over all for the economic field, have ended up in restricting the role of the Structural Adjustment Programs which are taken as inducers of development. Therefore, these measures for stability and adjustment have become mere aggregate of austere premises, with unpredictable results. The proposals of the IMF and the WB, weighing to the economic liberalization and as a boost for the markets to the detriment of the government intervention, are expressed in measures to reduce rates of use of the public services, suppression of subsidies, setting the public administration again, privatisations, cut and frozen wages. The outcomes of these reforms were catastrophic. In other words, not only they didn't improve the budget deficit, but also the negative effects of the budget restrictions on well-being generated an environment of social promiscuity and the country's worsening informal sector as survival strategy. Taking into account the object of this study, that is, the interaction of forces that we found about the relationship between the politicians of Guiné Bissau and the International Financial Institutions, we noticed that the absence of ethical behaviours also influenced the outcomes. On the one hand the BM and the IMF, before a fragile country, imposed conditions to the attainment of loans and aids. On the other hand, even with this dilemma the Guine's politicians didn't restrain themselves on the exercise of corruption, the clientelism and the new inappropriate way of taking possession of public heritage, as a strategy for an easy enrichment. Keywords: Structural Adjustment; Development; Good Governance; Ethical and Moral.
The national elections of 2004 exposed growing structural problems with America's democracy. The good news of higher turnout & the lack of a constitutional crisis resembling the Florida debacle of 2000 could not hide the continuing difficulties with registration, inconsistent election laws, inequality in access to the voting booth, comparatively low turnout, non-competitive legislative elections, district gerrymandering, & partisan oversight of elections. While many of these aspects of the American electoral system are of long standing, almost all of them have been exacerbated in recent decades. What are the prospects for reforming American democracy in the 21st century? Adapted from the source document.
This article aims to understand the political economy of higher education based on the contextualization and the description of the main government programs developed throughout the Lula and Dilma governments. The academic capitalism category will be explored for an initial analysis of neoliberal reforms in Brazilian higher education. The category seeks to identify the multiple forms and meanings through which market and pro-market behaviors have been adopted by the US universities to create processes of integration to the new economy in search of alternative funding sources. When Brazilian government programs are approached to the perspective of academic capitalism, we identify that the changes imposed by the amendments in legislation contribute to the restructuring of academic practices and create conditions for implementation of the academic capitalist regime. However, the functional-systemic-structural bias of the category and the need to mediate with the "concrete" imposes limits for the understanding of higher education reforms in the country. Thus, in order to reflect on the implications of neoliberal logic for reforms in dependent countries such as Brazil, it is necessary to resume the thinking of the Brazilian sociologist Florestan Fernandes and submit the dependent pattern category on higher education formulated by him in the 1970s to contemporary historical-concrete mediations to understand how ongoing reforms are related to that pattern. ; El objetivo de este artículo es presentar el ejercicio de entender la economía política de la educación superior a partir de la contextualización y de la descripción de los principales programas gubernamentales desarrollados durante las gestiones de Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva y Dilma Rousseff. Se explora la categoría capitalismo académico para un ejercicio inicial de análisis de las reformas neoliberales en la educación superior brasileña. Dicha categoría se propone identificar los múltiples significados y formas mediante los cuales las universidades estadunidenses han adoptado comportamientos de mercado y promercado para crear procesos de integración a la denominada nueva economía en búsqueda de fuentes alternativas de financiación. Al aproximar los programas del gobierno brasileño a la perspectiva del capitalismo académico, se identifica que los cambios impuestos por las modificaciones en la legislación contribuyen a la reestructuración de las prácticas académicas y crean condiciones para la implementación del régimen académico capitalista. Sin embargo, el sesgo funcionalista-sistémico-estructural de la categoría y la necesidad de mediación con lo concreto imponen límites a la comprensión de las reformas en la educación superior del país. Se observa que, para reflexionar sobre las implicaciones de la lógica neoliberal de las reformas en los países dependientes como Brasil, es necesario retomar el pensamiento del sociólogo brasileño Florestan Fernandes y someter la categoría estándar dependiente de la educación superior a mediaciones histórico-concretas contemporáneas para entender cómo las reformas en curso se relacionan con ese estándar. ; Este artigo tem por objetivo apresentar o exercício de compreensão da economia política do ensino superior a partir da contextualização e descrever os principais programas governamentais desenvolvidos nos governos Lula e Dilma. Exploramos a categoria capitalismo acadêmico para um exercício inicial de análise das reformas neoliberais no ensino superior brasileiro. Essa categoria busca identificar as múltiplas formas e significados, por meio das quais comportamentos de mercado e pró-mercado têm sido adotados pelas universidades estadunidenses para criar processos de integração à chamada nova economia em busca de fontes alternativas de financiamento. Ao aproximar os programas governamentais brasileiros à ótica do capitalismo acadêmico, identificamos que as mudanças impostas pelas alterações na legislação contribuem para a reestruturação das práticas acadêmicas e criam condições para a implementação do regime acadêmico capitalista. Entretanto, o viés funcionalista-sistêmico-estrutural da categoria e a necessidade de mediação com o concreto impõem limites para o entendimento das reformas no ensino superior do país. Vislumbramos que, para refletir sobre as implicações da lógica neoliberal nas reformas em países dependentes como o Brasil, é necessário retomar o pensamento do sociólogo brasileiro Florestan Fernandes e submeter a categoria padrão dependente de educação superior, formulada por ele na década de 1970, a mediações histórico-concretas coetâneas para compreender como as reformas em curso se relacionam com aquele padrão.
The reform of the Social Security system is perhaps the most important item of the agenda of Constitutional reforms in Brazil. Without it, the increase in the (Number of retired people/Number of contributors) ratio will create dramatic fiscal problems in the long term. This article analyzes the evolution of the Social Security expenditures in Brazil during the last 15 years. The focus of the paper is on the composition of expenditures and the trajectory of its real value, with special emphasis on the impact of inflation. After the Real Plan, the possibility that the prices might accomodate the structural pressures for increasing expenditures has practically disappeared. As a consequence, the necessity to reform the retirement system has become more evident. The paper defines a taxonomy of the different proposals of reform, comments on the most relevant issues being discussed within the debate about the Social Security and includes a proposal of reform. This proposal makes only a few changes in legislation and preserves the legal existence of the job time retirement. Nevertheless, it would have a considerable economic impact compared with the preservation of the status quo and would be a more ambitious and more feasible alternative than the one currently being discussed by Congress.
This article resumes the debate on the welfare state in Brazil to verify how the state and the capitalism developed in the country, were part of the social reform effort that emerged worldwide after the Second World War. The structural character of the welfare state may be considered as a social policy of the mode of production at a particular time of its development, when economic, social, and political crises were enhanced and required reformist and transformative responses. The study focused on national and international literature and examined documents related to social security, assistance, and the context of 1940s and 1950s Brazil. The analysis uses the literature discussing the Brazilian welfare state, its different versions and the data of that period to examine if the changes within the current state and social relations of production can be considered radical opposition to the welfare state model. The results show that in Brazil, the bases for the welfare state model were effectively developed in a format that reflected the local conditions. However, the research found that the unity of the causes that led to social reforms lacks political dimension nowadays, without which the economic dimension, exclusively, is not able to promote solidarity and social policies in their progressive concept. ; El objetivo de este artículo es recuperar el debate sobre el estado de bienestar social en Brasil para verificar hasta qué punto el capitalismo brasileño y su Estado han integrado el esfuerzo de reforma social, que en plan mundial se ha realizado tras la Segunda Gran Guerra. Partimos del presupuesto del carácter estructural del welfare state, integrante del modo de producción en dado momento de su desarrollo, cuando las crisis económica, social y política, como una unidad, se potencian y exigen respuestas reformistas y transformistas. Trabajamos con la literatura clásica sobre el tema, nacional e internacional. Además, consultamos documentos relativos a la seguridad social, a la asistencia y al contexto de los años 1940-1950 en Brasil. Regresamos a la literatura que debate el welfare state en Brasil, con autores con diferentes visiones y los datos del período para verificar cuánto es posible afirmar que los cambios en el ámbito del Estado y de las relaciones sociales de producción en curso constituyen, en realidad, una contraposición radical al modelo creado por el welfare state. Los resultados muestran que, en Brasil, se han desarrollado efectivamente las bases constitutivas de ese modelo cuyo formato reflejó nuestras condiciones locales. Concluimos que la unidad de causas que han llevado a las reformas sociales en aquel momento carece hoy de su dimensión política, sin la cual la dimensión económica, exclusivamente, no es capaz de llevar a la reforma en su concepto progresista. ; O objetivo deste artigo é retomar o debate sobre o estado de bem-estar social no Brasil para verificar em que medida o capitalismo brasileiro e seu Estado integraram o esforço de reforma social, que em plano mundial se realizou após a Segunda Guerra. Consideramos o caráter estrutural do welfare state: uma política social integrante do modo de produção em dado momento de seu desenvolvimento, quando as crises econômica, social e política, como uma unidade, se potencializam e exigem respostas reformistas e transformistas. Trabalhamos com a literatura clássica sobre o assunto, nacional e internacional. Além disso, consultamos documentos relativos à previdência, à assistência e ao contexto dos anos 1940-1950 no Brasil. Retornamos à literatura que debate o welfare state entre nós, com versões distintas e os dados do período, a fim de examinar quanto é possível afirmar que as mudanças no âmbito do Estado e das relações sociais de produção ora em curso são, na verdade, uma contraposição radical ao modelo criado pelo welfare state. Os resultados mostram que, no Brasil, se desenvolveram efetivamente as bases constitutivas desse modelo cujo formato refletiu nossas condições locais. Mas a unidade das causas que levaram às reformas sociais naquele momento carece hoje da sua dimensão política, sem a qual a dimensão econômica, exclusivamente, não é capaz de levar ao resgate da solidariedade e a políticas sociais universalistas.
This article aims to analyze the National Education Program on Agrarian Reform - PRONERA - as a higher education program that aims at inclusion at this level of education, but that finds resistance in the characteristics of a system that does not allow everyone access to education. This program is identified as State policy that has been maintained for 21 years, through clashes, struggles and demands, in opposition to the logic of plastered rural education, and proposes an emancipating, decolonizing education. The research is of bibliographic and documentary nature and, to subsidize the analyzes made, we resort to authors who reflect on the land struggle and agrarian reform, Rural Education, Alternation Pedagogy, Higher Education, in order to dialogue with Mészaros and Demir on the structural crisis of capital and its implications for rural education, with a focus on PRONERA. It is concluded that the inclusion policies made possible the development of PRONERA, but they maintain the neoliberal logic as structuring of this Program that, having as mentor an ultra-neoliberal government, has its principles shaken by the lack of resources and the prioritization of a privatized and meritocratic. ; Este artículo tiene como objetivo analizar el Programa Nacional de Educación sobre Reforma Agraria - PRONERA - como un programa de educación superior que apunta a la inclusión en este nivel educativo, pero que encuentra resistencias en las características de un sistema que no permite a todos el acceso a la educación . Este programa se identifica como política de Estado que se mantiene desde hace 21 años, a través de enfrentamientos, luchas y demandas, en oposición a la lógica de la educación rural enyesada, y propone una educación emancipadora, descolonizadora. La investigación es de carácter bibliográfico y documental y, para subsidiar los análisis realizados, recurrimos a autores que reflexionan sobre la lucha por la tierra y la reforma agraria, Educación Rural, Pedagogía de la Alternación, Educación Superior, para dialogar con Mészaros y Demir. sobre la crisis estructural del capital y sus implicaciones para la educación rural, con foco en PRONERA. Se concluye que las políticas de inclusión posibilitaron el desarrollo de PRONERA, pero mantienen la lógica neoliberal como estructurante de este Programa que, teniendo como mentor un gobierno ultra neoliberal, tiene sus principios sacudidos por la falta de recursos y la priorización de un sistema privatizado y meritocrático. ; O presente artigo tem como objetivo analisar o Programa Nacional de Educação na Reforma Agrária – PRONERA – como programa de educação superior que visa à inclusão nesse nível de educação, mas que encontra resistência nas características de um sistema que não possibilita o acesso de todos à educação. Esse programa é identificado como política de Estado que vem se mantendo há 21 anos, por meio de embates, lutas e reivindicações, contrapondo-se à lógica de educação rural engessada, e propõe uma educação emancipadora, descolonizadora. A pesquisa é de cunho bibliográfico e documental e, para subsidiar as análises tecidas, recorre-se a autores que refletem sobre a luta de terras e reforma agrária, Educação do Campo, Pedagogia Alternância, Educação Superior, a fim de dialogar com Mészaros e Demir sobre a crise estrutural do capital e suas implicações na educação do campo, com recorte no PRONERA. Conclui-se que as políticas de inclusão possibilitaram o desenvolvimento do PRONERA, mas mantêm a lógica neoliberal como estruturante desse Programa que, ao ter como mentor um governo ultra neoliberal, tem seus princípios abalados pela falta de recursos e pela priorização de uma educação privatizada e meritocrática.