Brazil and South Korea: Two Tales Of a Middle-Income Trap

June 9, 2021

The middle-income trap may well characterize the experience of Brazil and most of Latin America since the 1980s. Conversely, South Korea maintained its pace of evolution, reaching a high-income status. Such divergence of economic growth can be related to their distinctive performances of domestic accumulation of technological and organizational capabilities. Their different approaches to global value chains and trade globalization reinforced such discrepancy in domestic accumulation processes.

Speakers
Otaviano Canuto
Senior Fellow
Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, Affiliate Professor at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University and Non-Resident Senior Fellow at Brookings Institute. Former Vice President and Executive Director at the World Bank, Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Vice President at the Inter-American Development Bank. ...

RELATED CONTENT

  • April 14, 2026
    Cet épisode met en avant les industries automobile et aéronautique du Maroc en tant que moteurs de transformation industrielle, portées par le Pacte pour l’Émergence et le Plan d’Accélération Industrielle. Un écosystème solide composé de donneurs d’ordre, de fabricants internationaux et...
  • April 13, 2026
    This episode delves into Morocco’s healthcare system, tracing strides in maternal and child health, vaccination, and the quest for universal coverage. Morocco’s COVID-19 response, alongside initiatives like TADAMON and telemedicine, showcases innovation and resilience. Yet, gaps remain,...
  • April 13, 2026
    Résumé exécutif stratégiqueLe Maroc s’est engagé avec détermination dans une trajectoire de modernisation fondée sur la transition numérique, la transition verte et l’innovation. Ces dynamiques sont devenues des leviers stratégiques pour la compétitivité, l’attractivité et la création d’emplois à forte valeur ajoutée. Pourtant, l’analyse des données microéconomiques récentes révèle un paradoxe préoccupant : les entreprises les plus modernisées, moteurs de la croissance de demain, re ...
  • April 10, 2026
    تتتبع هذه الحلقة التاريخ الاقتصادي للمغرب منذ تهميشه في القرن التاسع عشر تحت ضغط القوى الأوروبية، مرورًا بالثنائية الاستعمارية والتنمية التي قادها الدولة بعد الاستقلال، وصولًا إلى برامج التكيف الهيكلي في الثمانينيات. وقد عززت الإصلاحات الأخيرة مرونة الاقتصاد، مع مساهمة قطاعات الزراعة،...
  • April 9, 2026
    This episode explores Morocco’s economic diplomacy, from 1980s liberalization to its rise in global value chains in automotive and aerospace. Strategic reforms and infrastructure projects have attracted investment and expanded ties across Africa, yet trade deficits linger. While Europea...
  • Authors
    April 8, 2026
    This report was originally published on the website of the Middle East Institute ( mei.edu) The following study discusses the role of Lebanon’s gold reserves in the establishment of a currency board and evaluates four policy options: a true currency board, constrained central bank reform, full dollarization, and a unified managed float. Gold reserves are relevant under all four. The conclusion is consistent across them: no monetary framework, however carefully designed and howe ...
  • Authors
    April 6, 2026
    World trade was more resilient than expected during 2025. Its growth probably resulted from the way the rest of the world reacted to the U.S. tariffs. Other factors also had an impact, including moves by exporters to the U.S. in the first half of 2025 to get ahead of the tariffs, and the boom in global tech capital expenditures driven by investment in artificial intelligence (AI).The trade pattern observed in 2025 and early 2026 could point to a new architecture of world trade. Ther ...