Brazilian Keynesian Review

Editorial

2025-06-28T16:33:24-03:00

Keynes – the ethical inspired economist

2025-06-28T16:34:09-03:00

To some, the discipline of economics should not escape the fact that it is, at least to some extent, based on ethical and moral aspects. Historically, it was in general accepted that economics had to include ethical considerations. However, later it became fashionable to focus primarily on doing positive economics. Deductive logic combined with a formal mathematical reasoning became the way to do macroeconomics in more modern times. As such, the old Keynesian paradigm founded on the writings of Keynes, the ethical inspired economist, became overthrown by economists inspired by Friedman, one of the foremost proponents of positive economics. However, can macroeconomists really do without concerning themselves with questions of morality? Ought macroeconomics not to have an ethical foundation? The present article aims at discussing some selected aspects of both the need for economics to have some form of ethical anchorage and the ethical kind of understanding that Keynes advocated.

Production Structure, Output and Profits- A Note

2025-06-28T16:34:15-03:00

This paper argues that the case of product differentiation of concentrated markets (i.e., innovation competition) is one where production per unit of profit of non-financial corporations is lower than in competitive mass production and profit share is not an increasing function of capacity utilisation. Rather the desired excess capacity is higher since the break-even point where total costs and revenues equalize tends to be lower. The argument is supported with descriptive annual data for the period 1947-2019 in the USA.

An analysis of financial and monetary asymmetries in the light of the experiences of Brazil and China

2025-06-28T16:33:47-03:00

The analysis of financial asymmetry stems from the consequences of the end of the Bretton Woods agreement and the greater movement of capital between countries, as a result of financial globalization. Monetary asymmetry, on the other hand, stems from the existence of a hierarchy of currencies and this article intends to include the analysis of the internationalization process. The article aims to contribute to the debate by analyzing the impacts of these asymmetries on countries, using Brazil (due to its importance in Latin America) and China (due to its relevance in East Asia, in addition to being the second largest world economy) as case studies. The argument used is that Brazil is more affected by asymmetries due to the way it has inserted itself in financial globalization and the role that its currency plays at the international level. On the other hand, China, as a superpower of the Global South, has gradually inserted itself into financial globalization and has been promoting the expansion of the use of its currency internationally, being less affected by asymmetries.

Nurkse-furtado Hypothesis and Veblen Hypothesis:

2025-06-28T16:33:36-03:00

The theoretical literature on conspicuous consumption reveals that this behavior can generate a series of economic and social problems, especially for low-income individuals and underdeveloped countries (Camatta, 2023, Camatta and Salles, 2024). Despite the various theoretical incursions into this subject over the last two and a half centuries, it can be seen that the topic has not been widely addressed quantitatively in economics. This article aims to contribute to this respect by proposing: 1) to construct a time series to measure the variation in conspicuous consumption in Brazil in the period 2011/2020, especially with regard to the import of luxury goods; and 2) to investigate the determinants of this trade. To analyze these determinants, two hypotheses were tested: (i) luxury imports are mainly determined by changes in national income (Nurkse-Furtado hypothesis); and (ii) imports of this category of goods are very inelastic to their average price (Veblen hypothesis). The VAR model used was unable to reject either hypothesis. It was also possible to observe that luxury imports have a high-income elasticity.

The Viability of Implementation of the Job Guarantee Program in Brazil

2025-06-28T16:33:58-03:00

The persistence of elevated unemployment rates globally, particularly in Brazil during the latter half of the 2010s, underscores the necessity for a more comprehensive examination of economic policies aimed at fostering employment. Furthermore, in this context, work conditions are deteriorating with the proliferation of digital platform-based employment and the emergence of part-time work. This is occurring concurrently with policies designed to reduce labor costs and stimulate private investment. In this way, we present the fundamental bases of the Job Guarantee Program, conceived by Hyman Minsky, which places the state as the employer of last resort to eliminate involuntary unemployment. Furthermore, it is necessary to analyze the feasibility of implementing a job guarantee program in Brazil and how it would be integrated into the existing labor market structure.

The Brazilian Deindustrialization in the Light of the Structuralist Tradition:

2025-06-28T16:33:53-03:00

This paper accomplishes an analysis of the Brazilian sectoral deindustrialization, based on the technological intensity differential, for the period 2000-2018. As theoretical framework the multisectoral studies are adopted, in the field of structuralist tradition, which evaluate the capacity of industrial sectors to promote economic growth in function of its level of technological intensity. By incorporating the contributions of multisectoral studies to the analysis of deindustrialization, this paper contributes to the debate, verifying the heterogeneity of this process between sectors and emphasizing the importance of evaluating the industrial composition. For the calculation of sectoral deindustrialization, input-output matrices are used as database. It is observed that deindustrialization is more accentuated in high-tech sectors, precisely those with greater capacity to promote and sustain economic growth. Moreover, it is concluded that the industrial productive structure is weakened in terms of the capacity to boost economic growth, because it is concentrated in sectors of medium-low technological intensity, while the sectors of medium-high and high technological intensity represent a reduced share of Brazilian industry. In this way, the severity of Brazilian deindustrialization and the importance of evaluating it in a disaggregated way are highlighted to comprehend its impacts over the economic growth of the country.

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund Perspectives on the Green Economy Initiative and the Green New Deal

2025-06-28T16:33:42-03:00

The article addresses the need for a sustainable economic transition and the urgency to face ecological collapse, presenting the emergence of proposals for economic recovery after capitalist crises, such as the Green Economic Initiative (GEI) and the Green New Deal (GND) and their recommendations for policies inspired by Keynesianism. Through a discourse analysis of official documents, the article analyzes the extent to which international organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund – considered crucial institutions for influencing national policies – are aligned with the perspective of the GEI and the GND and a practical reorientation of global economic policy towards a global green transition is promoted. The results show that the marginal incorporation of environmental themes was insufficient to produce a structural change in the policy recommendations of the analyzed institutions.

Central Banks and Monetary Regimes in Emerging Countries:

2025-06-28T16:34:03-03:00

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Financial Macroeconomics

2025-06-28T16:33:30-03:00

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