Brazil and Turkey, a comparative analysis of both countries' economic development and institutional design from the Great Depression to the early 21st century
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2014-03-13
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Oliveira, Antonio Carlos Manfredini da Cunha
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After experiencing strong economic growth in the first decade of the 21st century, Brazil and Turkey have been regarded as two of the most dynamic and promising emerging economies. Nevertheless, several signs of economic difficulties and political tensions have recently been reappearing simultaneously in both countries. We believe that these signs and their simultaneity in the two countries are better understood by taking a retrospective look into both countries’ economic history, which reveal to be surprisingly parallel. In a first part, a comprehensive comparison of Brazil and Turkey’s economic history is undertaken to show the numerous similarities in the economic policy challenges and choices that both countries went through from the turn of the Great Depression to the first decade of the 21st century. These common economic policy choices define a remarkably analogous development path characterized first by the adoption of the import-substitution industrialization (ISI) model in the context of the world recession in the 1930s, then by the intensification and final crisis of this model in the 1980s, and finally by two decades of stabilization and transition to a liberal economic model. In a second part, the development of economic and political institutions as well as the underlying political economy in both countries are analysed comparatively with a view to providing elements of explanation for the parallel observed in the first part. We contend that the institutional framework set up in both countries throughout this period also shared many fundamental characteristics and contributes to explain the comparable economic policy choices and economic performance. This study intends to give some helpful background to understand the current context in both countries. It is also an invitation to consider emerging economies in a broader historical and comparative perspective in order to better comprehend their institutional weaknesses and adopt a balanced view of their economic potential.