Inequality, Democracy, and Growth in Brazil

In terms accessible to non-economists, Marcos José Mendes describes the ways democracy and inequality produce low growth in the short and medium terms. In the longer term, he argues that Brazil has two paths in front of it. One is to create the conditions necessary to boost economic performance and drive the country toward a high level of development. The other is to fail in untying the political knot that blocks growth, leaving it a middle-income country. The source of his contrasting futures for Brazil is inequality, which he demonstrates is a relevant variable in any discussion of economic growth. Inequality illuminates causes of seemingly-unconnected problems. This book, which includes freely-accessible documents and datasets, is the first in-depth analysis of an issue that promises to become increasingly prominent. - Contrasting visions of Brazil's future described in economic terms - Easy-to-understand graphs and tables illustrate analytical arguments - All Excel-based data available on a freely-accessible website

Marcos José Mendes is a member of a Brazilian think tank Fernand Braudel Institute of World Economics. He earned a Ph.D. from Universidade de São Paulo (Brazil) and is a Legislative Advisor in economics for the Brazilian Federal Senate. He started the research for this book in 2012-13 during an eight month visiting fellowship at the Department of Economics at the London School of Economics.