Publication: The Brazilian Competitiveness Cliff

Thumbnail Image
Files in English
English PDF (2.15 MB)
350 downloads

English Text (71.75 KB)
44 downloads
Date
2013-02
ISSN
Published
2013-02
Author(s)
Reis, Jose Guilherme
Cavallari, Matheus
Abstract
Brazilian exports of goods and services have grown sharply in recent years, with sales nearly three times higher in 2010 than in 2000. However, Brazil faces considerable competitiveness challenges: its export performance depends mostly on favorable geographical and sector composition effects. Such challenges increased after the recent global economic crisis. A recent slowdown in industrial exports, production, and investments seems related to supply-side difficulties stemming from a wide range of inefficiencies and rising costs, rather than insufficient demand. Although a stronger currency is one of the factors behind the lower competitiveness of Brazil's manufacturing exports, sluggish productivity performance, lack of dynamism at the firm level, and a real wage uptrend seem to explain a significant part of the overall loss of competitiveness. This diagnostic reinforces the urgency of resuming the agenda of microeconomic reforms, increasing the investment-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio, and advancing toward better-skilled human capital.
Citation
Canuto, Otaviano; Reis, Jose Guilherme; Cavallari, Matheus. 2013. The Brazilian Competitiveness Cliff. Economic premise;no. 105. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/17038 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
Report Series
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Associated URLs
Associated content
Citations