This paper analyses the evolution of the minimum wage in Brazil after the stabilization of the Real Plan. It is shown that between 1994 and 2007, the variable had an accumulated real increase of more than 100%. Consequently, its value has advanced in the degree of income and it is estimated that...

This paper analyses the prospective of the evolution of the public debt/Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio along the next four administrations, within a context of GDP growth rate of 4% to 5% and declining interest rates. It is shown that the reduction of public indebtedness, which began in the...

This paper reviews the main elements of social security reform in Brazil since 1998 and discusses areas where further policy action is yet to be taken to ensure the sustainability of the social-security system over time. Outlays on pensions paid to private-sector workers have risen as a result...

The article suggests a calendar of partial reforms of Brazilian Social Security, considering as a premise that in 2009 a ?window of opportunity" will be open up, creating the political conditions for cooperation between the government and the opposition. This would allow the country to recreate...

What are the determinants of economic reform efforts? This paper tries to throw light on this question by examining recent reforms in Brazil, a country which followed a gradualist approach and was a late-starter among Latin American economies. We argue that these first generation reforms (trade...

La Revista Integración & Comercio del BID incluye artículos referidos a las distintas manifestaciones del proceso de integración en América Latina y el Caribe, a la integración hemisférica y, también, a los procesos con igual orientación que se llevan a cabo en otras partes del mundo. En...

This book discusses the future of MERCOSUR, focusing on monetary union and macroeconomic policy co-ordination, and addresses a number of important questions including: is it possible, or even desirable, to achieve monetary integration?; what would the pre-conditions be for establishing such a...