Import Substitution and Growth in Brazil, 1890s-1970s
Discussion paper no. 366
Posted: 10 Nov 1997
Date Written: December 1996
Abstract
The paper analyses the origins of import substitution from the early days of the Republic in the 1890s to 1930 and proposes an original explanation to conciliate high protection and a high growth path. The golden age period of import substitution in Brazil from the 1930s until the early 1960s is then considered. There is some discussion of the links between foreign exchange regimes and sectoral import substitution as well as the possibility of adoption of alternative policies, given the international context of the late 1940s and 1950s. The shift in economic policies to closer links with the international economy following the military coup of 1964 is analyzed. The possible role of sustained import substitution in explaining the declining growth performance from the late 1970s is also discussed.
JEL Classification: F14, N16, N76, O40
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation