The Brazilian Perspective on Emerging Leaders

Q: The U.S. Federal Reserve on Dec. 16 raised interest rates, ending what Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen called an “extraordinary seven-year period” during which policymakers kept the federal funds rate near zero in an effort to support the economy. How will the Fed’s action affect Latin American economies, many of which are struggling with anemic growth and low prices for their commodity exports? How will the interest rate hike affect Latin American countries’ ability to pay off ...

The end of supply chain is the natural corollary of the sustained price fall of virtually all commodities observed over the past many months. If it appears premature to state exactly what is the impact of this deconsolidation in the commodities value chain, it is believed that the strategic role of physical trading is strengthening. Under such circumstances, the industrial strategies of developing countries and commodity exporters may have to evolve and, in priority, foster optimizi ...

The Regional Economics Applications Laboratory (REAL) celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2014. Since then, REAL has become one of the leading research centers of regional science worldwide. In this article, we describe the scholarly network involving REAL’s alumni working in academia in Brazil. We analyze the patterns of research collaboration among around fifty Brazilian researchers whose main activities are related to academic institutions in Brazil. The Brazilian REAL net ...

Brazil’s future prospects, and ability to harness its advantages, will hinge on its own policy choices over the next few years. Yet the outlook for meaningful change is unclear. At present, Brazil is in a weaker position than four years ago, from both an economic and a foreign policy standpoint. Even in a scenario where Brazil’s economy gradually returns to the course it was on until 2008, no major strategic changes are likely to happen in Rousseff’s four-year term. ...

Manufacturing is declining as a share of GDP not only in advanced countries, but in developing countries as well. This new trend, a result of complex forces, should be seen on balance as a reason for development-optimism, not pessimism. In the 21st century economy, manufacturing remains important, but poor countries can attract investment, grow rapidly and diversify away from agriculture on the basis of many possible sources of comparative advantage, without artificially promoting m ...

It is important to understand how today’s migrations are shaping the architecture of Africa and South America, creating intensive South-South and South-North movement, but a weak flow between the two continents. Political, socioeconomic, and environmental differences between Africa and South America could lead to imbalanced migratory processes between the two continents. Migration policy is not a purely rational enterprise; it is usually designed to please public opinion, and remain ...