The Brazilian Competitiveness Cliff

Brazilian exports of goods and services have grown sharply in recent years, with sales nearly three times higher in 2010 than in 2000. However, Brazil faces considerable competitiveness challenges: its export performance depends mostly on favorable geographical and sector composition effects. Such challenges increased after the recent global economic crisis. A recent slowdown in industrial exports, production, and investments seems related to supply-side difficulties stemming from a wide range of inefficiencies and rising costs, rather than insufficient demand. Although a stronger currency is one of the factors behind the lower competitiveness of Brazil's manufacturing exports, sluggish productivity performance, lack of dynamism at the firm level, and a real wage uptrend seem to explain a significant part of the overall loss of competitiveness. This diagnostic reinforces the urgency of resuming the agenda of microeconomic reforms, increasing the investment-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio, and advancing toward better-skilled human capital.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Reis, Jose Guilherme, Canuto, Otaviano, Cavallari, Matheus
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2013-02
Subjects:	AGGREGATE DEMAND, ANNUAL GROWTH, ASSET PRICE, ASSET PRICE BOOMS, ASSET PRICES, AUTOMOBILES, BILATERAL TRADE, BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, CENTRAL BANK, COMMODITIES, COMMODITY, COMMODITY PRICES, COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES, COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS, COMPETITIVENESS, CONSUMERS, CURRENCY, CUSTOMS, DEBT, DEMOGRAPHIC, DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DIRECT CONNECTION, DIVERSIFICATION OF EXPORTS, DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION, DOMESTIC DEMAND, DOMESTIC MARKETS, ECONOMIC ACTIVITY, ECONOMIC CRISIS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC DYNAMISM, ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC POLICY, ECONOMIC RESEARCH, ECONOMIC SECTORS, ECONOMIES OF SCALE, ELECTRICITY, EMERGING MARKET, EXCHANGE RATE, EXCHANGE RATE APPRECIATION, EXCHANGE RATES, EXPLOITATION, EXPORT COMPETITIVENESS, EXPORT DIVERSIFICATION, EXPORT GROWTH, EXPORT MARKETS, EXPORT PERFORMANCE, EXPORT PERFORMANCES, EXPORT SECTOR, EXPORT SECTORS, EXPORTER, EXPORTERS, EXPORTS, EXTERNAL SHOCK, FINANCIAL CRISIS, FINANCIAL INSTABILITY, FINANCIAL MARKETS, FINANCIAL STABILITY, FINANCIAL STABILITY POLICY, FIXED COSTS, FOREIGN COMPETITION, FOREIGN TRADE, FULL EMPLOYMENT, GDP, GDP DEFLATOR, GDP PER CAPITA, GLOBAL ECONOMY, GLOBAL INTEGRATION, GLOBAL MARKETS, GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN, GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS, GLOBALIZATION, GRAVITY MODEL, GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT, GROWTH RATE, HUMAN CAPITAL, IMPORT, IMPORTS, INCOME, INCOME GROWTH, INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT, INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION, INDUSTRIAL STRUCTURE, INDUSTRIALIZATION, INDUSTRY PRODUCTIVITY, INFLATION OBJECTIVE, INFLATION RATES, INTEREST RATES, INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION, INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS, INTERNATIONAL MARKET, INTERNATIONAL TRADE, KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION, LABOR COSTS, LABOR PRODUCTIVITY, LOSS OF COMPETITIVENESS, MANUFACTURING, MARKET SHARE, MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES, MONETARY AUTHORITIES, MONETARY POLICY, NATURAL CAPITAL, NATURAL RESOURCES, NETWORKS, NEW MARKETS, NOMINAL WAGES, OIL, OPEN ECONOMY, OUTPUT, PC, POLICY MAKERS, POVERTY REDUCTION, PRIVATE SECTOR, PRODUCERS, PRODUCTIVITY, REAL EFFECTIVE EXCHANGE RATE, REAL ESTATE, REAL EXCHANGE RATE, REAL WAGES, RESULT, RESULTS, SLOWDOWN, STABLE GROWTH, STABLE INFLATION, STANDARDIZATION, STOCK MARKET, SUNK COSTS, SUPPLY SIDE, SUPPLY-SIDE, TARGETS, TAX, TAX SYSTEM, TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS, TERMS OF TRADE, TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY, TRADE COMPETITIVENESS, TRADE IMPACTS, TRADE INTEGRATION, TRADE OPENNESS, TRADES, TRADING PARTNER, TRADING PARTNERS, TRANSMISSION, UNEMPLOYMENT, USES, VALUE CHAINS, VOLATILITY, WAGES, WEALTH, WORLD DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS, WORLD ECONOMY, WORLD MARKET, WORLD MARKET SHARE, WORLD TRADE,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/02/17235635/brazilian-competitiveness-cliff https://hdl.handle.net/10986/17038
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