Filho, Fernando Ferrari

Fernando Ferrari Filho

Biography

Fernando Ferrari Filho   (Department of Economics, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul; Researcher, National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) 

Fernando Ferrari Filho teaches classes on Keynesian theory, macroeconomic theory, stabilization policy, and the international monetary system. Filho’s work has appeared in Brazilian and international journals, including CEPAL Review, The European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies, The International Review of Applied Economics, Investigación Económica, The Journal of Economic Issues, and The Journal of Post Keynesian Economics. He received his PhD in economics from the University of São Paulo and attended post-doctoral programs in economics at the University of Cambridge, UK, and the University of Tennessee.

Abstract

Brazil Changes the Tune: Social policies and the new developmentalism

Since the 2000s, Brazil has achieved some targets of the MDGs due to economic and social policies implemented by the last government. Poverty has been reduced, income distribution has improved, and primary education has become almost universal. These improvements have occurred despite Brazil’s orthodox economic policy based on inflation targeting, fiscal targeting, and a flexible exchange rate. For heterodox economists, this economic policy has been responsible for the deindustrialization process, among others. This presentation uses a Keynesian-Institutionalism approach to propose that an economic agenda for Brazil, which ensures macroeconomic stability (through controlled inflation, sustainable economic growth, and fiscal equilibrium) will accelerate progress toward the MDGs.