Economic development and institutions in Brazil

Abstract

The article aims at discussing the idea of “good society”, based on Douglass North's concepts of “limited access order” and “open access order”. It is argued that the political, economic and social difficulties experienced by the Brazilian society result, in great part, from a dysfunctional institutional matrix. The debate is based on the examining of two industrial policies: a) the credit policy carried on by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), in effect since 2008, and b) the so-called “industrial policy of the 21th century”, based on incentives for the development of education, science, technology and innovation. We conclude that the Brazilian institutional architecture suffers from serious institutional distortions that impact negatively the transition for an “open access order”, as well as, the consolidation of a sustainable social economic development.

Keywords:
Sustainable development; Institutions; Brazil