A grande recessão brasileira: diagnóstico e uma agenda de política econômica

Abstract

The aim of the present article is to discuss the causes of the great recession of the Brazilian economy (2014-2016), as well as to present an economic policy agenda to restore sustained economic growth. It is argued that the great recession was caused by a huge reduction of investment expenditures in 2014, derived from lower profit margins of nonfinancial companies caused by an increase in unit labor costs and an overvalued exchange rate. The recessionary effects of investment collapse were amplified by the sudden realignment of relative prices on the first semester of 2015, and also by the fiscal contraction that the Ministry of Finance carried out in the first year of President Dilma Rousseff's second mandate. The occurrence of a fiscal contraction amidst a severe recession was due to the "evaporation of fiscal space" caused by the long-term trend of lower primary surplus observed since 2007. Overcoming the current crisis requires an increase in profit margins, which in turn requires a change in the minimum wage laws, the continuation of monetary policy easing and the adoption of an export tax on commodities. It is also necessary to eliminate the procyclical feature of Brazilian fiscal policy by introducing targets for structural primary surplus.

Keywords:
Economic crisis in Brazil; Profit squeeze; Fiscal policy