The economic role of the state; Origins of public enterprise in Brazil; The control of public enterprise in Brazil; Relationship with economic growth; Sources of growth and rates of return; Policies on pricing; The financing of public enterprise investment.

The Political Economy of Lula’s Brazil describes the social, political and economic transformations that led to increased interest in the tropical giant at the start of the 21st century. This volume demonstrates that Brazil’s rise was the result of the adoption of heterodox economic policies, while also highlighting the obstacles to choosing an egalitarian development path in Latin America. Adopting an innovative perspective in terms of methodology and interpretation, contributors from Brazil, Latin America and France follow a non-dogmatic critical approach in order to explain the institutional changes that made a new cycle of development possible in Brazil. The authors also argue that the evolution of Brazil, following the implementation of leftist policies, paradoxically gave birth to several economic, political and environmental contradictions. They contend that these contradictions, including the falling rate of profit linked to the full employment of resources; the redistributive process seen as a menace by the conservative middle classes; and the growing intervention of the state in the different markets, eventually led to the end of the early 21st century development cycle. Providing clues to understanding the contradictory and painful path towards the development of semi-industrialised countries, this book will interest students and academics in the fields of economics, sociology, history and political science. The story it tells may also interest all those searching for independent analysis of the successes and failures of Lula’s Brazil.

Is Brazil ready to take its place among the world's leading powers? The authors examine Brazil's hard power and soft power resources, assessing the challenges the country will need to overcome in order to build its own "Brazilian dream" and project itself on the international stage.

Who should read this book? I cant imagine anyone who would not enjoy and benefit from this insightful overview. Obviously, those with current or future business interests in Brazil should read it, as should anyone planning a visit. Students and scholars interested in the politics, governance or administration of any country, would benefit enormously from studying Belmiros objective and skeptical methodology. In our increasing global interdependence, this is a good time to enhance our knowledge of the political, economic, and social conditions in this giant of the southern hemisphere. Belmiros astute analyses are presented in an optimistic, good humored style, reflecting a kind of tough love. He appreciates and extols the virtues and potential of Brazil, but is not blind to its flaws, and leaves the reader with an intricate, balanced A. W. McEachern, Professor Emeritus of Public Administration University of Southern California

The wave of liberalization that swept world markets in the 1980s and 90s altered the ways that governments manage their economies. Reinventing State Capitalism analyzes the rise of new species of state capitalism in which governments interact with private investors either as majority or minority shareholders in publicly-traded corporations or as financial backers of purely private firms (the so-called “national champions”). Focusing on a detailed quantitative assessment of Brazil’s economic performance from 1976 to 2009, Aldo Musacchio and Sergio Lazzarini examine how these models of state capitalism influence corporate investment and performance. According to one model, the state acts as a majority investor, granting the state-owned enterprise (SOE) financial autonomy and allowing professional management. This form, the authors argue, has reduced many agency problems commonly faced by state ownership. According to another hybrid model, the state uses sovereign wealth funds, holding companies, and development banks to acquire a small share of equity ownership in a corporation, thereby potentially alleviating capital constraints and leveraging latent capabilities. Both models have benefits and costs. Yet neither model has entirely eliminated the temptation of governments to intervene in the operation of natural resource industries and other large strategic enterprises. Nevertheless, the longstanding debate over whether private ownership is superior or inferior to state capitalism has become irrelevant, Musacchio and Lazzarini conclude. Private ownership is now mingled with state capital on a global scale.

Complementarities between political and economic institutions have kept Brazil in a low-level economic equilibrium since 1985.