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Nelson W. Sodré was one of the main Brazilian intellectuals of the last century, with a broad range of concerns—historical, economic, social, and cultural. Despite his focus on Brazilian history, Sodré’s work can also be regarded as having a broader interest for the so-called peripheral, neocolonial, or simply underdeveloped nations. Much of Sodré’s work can be considered an important cultural legacy and deserves to be revisited, given its ongoing relevance in many aspects, among them: his analysis of the nature of colonial economies and their superstructural manifestations; his effort to adapt Marxism to the study of colonial and neocolonial nations and his stress on the necessity of achieving intellectual independence in the periphery; and his definition of the “people” in Brazil. Despite limitations of some of Sodré’s research hypotheses, he will be remembered not only as a great Brazilian historian but also as a great example of struggles for social emancipation.

O artigo discute os problemas conexos da chamada questão nacional e da revolução brasileira na obra de Nelson Werneck Sodré à luz de alguns de seus críticos, propondo uma periodização que reflita melhor as mudanças de seu enfoque ao longo do tempo. Busca-se mostrar como a abordagem do autor evoluiu à luz das transformações da história do Brasil, mediante uma leitura de seus trabalhos que mescla o método da contextualização histórica e o da evolução diacrônica. A hipótese que se busca demonstrar é a de que a questão nacional evolui na obra do autor ao longo de três etapas; além de um primeiro período pré-marxista, o segundo seria referente ao chamado nacionalismo de tipo etapista e o terceiro referente à dependência. Concluímos que, diferentemente do que certa literatura crítica afirma, a abordagem de Sodré não pode ser considerada como estática e desvinculada das mudanças históricas pelas quais passou o Brasil, antes refletindo-a.

The last works of Joan Robinson showed increasing preoccupation with ecological and environmental issues. Some of these preoccupations were already present in some of her main earlier works, but as she approached old age, the discussion of these questions became more frequent, as well as of other issues such as the arms race and the nuclear threat to the human race. However, Robinson had not dealt with ecological and environmental questions by means of a systematic approach. This article evaluates Robinson’s views on ecology and environment not only because this is a gap in the literature on her work, but mainly because some of Robinson’s insights on these questions are yet to be fully developed. Therefore, this article mixes the history of economic thought with political economy, Robinson’s perspectives being summarized and then analyzed in light of the ecological critique as established by Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen. The article shows that despite the fact that Robinson could have developed more profoundly the logical consequences of some of her core contributions to economic theory to a broader ecological critique, many of her theoretical perspectives overlap with Georgescu-Roegen’s ecological economics, being able to contribute to a heterodox critique of the neoclassical approach.

This article focuses on the impeachment process of Dilma Rousseff in Brazil, as well as the economic policies and the performance of the economy under the Temer administration, between 2016 and 2018. The article shows that Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment favored a stronger neoliberal thrust advocated especially by financial markets, and that contrary to the proclaimed objectives of the new administration, the economic policies adopted against recession did not lead to an expressive economic recovery, or to an improvement of the fiscal situation of the central government. Instead, the accelerated privatization and denationalization of the economy since the impeachment has further perpetuated stagnation, reinforced indebtedness, and reduced the capacity of the central government to respond.

O texto propõe uma reavaliação das categorias pós-keynesianas tendo em vista o fenômeno das leis da entropia, tal como definidas por Georgescu-Roegen (1971), propondo a partir daí uma crítica à economia ambiental neoclássica a partir desta reavaliação categorial. Para tanto, faz-se de início uma revisão de importantes obras pós-keynesianas recentes, destacando-se sua omissão quanto ao tema (item 2). Posteriormente (seção 3), resume-se a perspectiva de Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen quanto à perspectiva do fenômeno entrópico. A seção subsequente (4) discute os conceitos pós-keynesianos de trabalho e investimento produtivos à luz da referida abordagem da entropia de Georgescu-Roegen. Da mesma forma, busca-se na seção 6 fazer uma reconsideração das noções de longo e curto prazos, bem como das noções pós-keynesianas de incerteza, preços e produtividade na seção 7. O objetivo do artigo é, então, adequar noções categoriais da óptica pós-keynesiana segundo as noções de entropia, tornando-a mais preparada para o diálogo crítico com teorias concorrentes. This work aims to reconsider Post-Keynesian categories related to Accumulation of Capital in light of the Entropy Law, such as defined by Georgescu-Roegen (1971) and to criticize neoclassical environmental economics by means of such reconsidered Post-Keynesian categories. In order to accomplish this purpose, the section 2 shows a review of the main Post-Keynesian late works, detaching their omissions related to the entropic phenomenon. Section 3 summarizes the perspective of Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen with regard to the Entropy Law. Section 4 reconsiders the Post-Keynesian notions of productive work and investment in light of the approach of Georgescu-Roegen. Similarly, section 6 aims to discuss the Post-Keynesian notions of short and long runs, as well as section 7 reconsiders notions of uncertainty, prices and productivity in light of the same above mentioned theoretical position originated from the work of Georgescu-Roegen. Summing up, the paper aims to adequate some of the Post-Keynesian categories in order to prepare them to the critical debate with neoclassical economics.

A economia dos Estados Unidos passou por uma grande crise economico-financeira iniciada no ano de 2008, a chamada crise do subprime. O desencadear desta crise coincidiu com a posse do primeiro presidente negro da historia dos Estados Unidos, o democrata Barack Obama. Sua administracao teve entao que lidar com os eventos subsequentes originados pela crise, particularmente mediante a aplicacao de politicas economicas bastante heterodoxas no campo monetario e fiscal. A partir de uma contextualizacao historica, de uma discussao da bibliografia e de uma analise de documentos e dados oficiais, o artigo avalia a politica economica adotada nos Estados Unidos durante a primeira administracao de Barack Obama (2009-2012), sob uma abordagem historico-economica.

Este trabalho faz um resumo da ascensão histórica de Chávez, e suas ideias sobre o socialismo. Partindo da história do planejamento socialista na segunda metade do século XX, o excerto então discute como as ideias de Chávez foram influenciadas não somente pelo contexto venezuelano, mas como por várias correntes do pensamento progressista latino-americano, assim como pela história da União Soviética e do planejamento socialista. O texto é finalizado com algumas reflexões à luz da crise econômica venezuelana atual.

O objetivo do artigo e analisar os aspectos historico-economicos do comportamento agregado e da politica economica na economia dos Estados Unidos nos anos 2000, partindo-se de um metodo historico-descritivo de corte pos-keynesiano. Assumindo-se a premissa de que no periodo o investimento liquido domestico fixo continuou sua tendencia historica de queda (vista desde os anos (19)80 do seculo passado), interpretam-se os investimentos no setor militar e o incentivo a um crescimento do setor imobiliario, pela administracao W. Bush no periodo 2001-2008, como opcoes de politicas expansivas a luz deste panorama de forcas desacumulativas.

This article reviews the recent growth period in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries up to the current crisis, to provide an assessment of trends observed in the world of labour. Our assessment includes demographic trends, the employment structure, trends in unemployment and wages and the trajectory of social, racial and gender inequalities. We argue that the LAC region has undergone significant structural changes due to shifting positions in the international division of labour. The rural exodus has persisted, but also the industrialization patterns of the past have given way to renewed emphasis on primary goods exports, as well as new specialization patterns which favour low paying jobs in services or industries of the ‘maquila’ type. The informal, or low productivity, sector has also expanded. The economic boom of the 2000s had some positive distributional effects, but made limited inroads into the established racial and gender hierarchies, which found expression in persisting super-exploitation and extreme levels of violence and mass incarceration.

Joan Robinson’s views on population growth have received scant attention. The aim of this article is to summarize and evaluate aspects of Robinson’s perspectives on population. The population question is considered in terms of four specific topics: the problem of growth, the labor market, effective demand and economic development. The article also interprets Robinson’s approach in light of the endogenous theory of economic growth in order to more explicitly elucidate Robinson’s own statements. It is concluded that an economic interpretation of population growth based on Robinson’s approach requires some specific adaptations if it is to be feasible. It is hoped that this line of approach is useful to scholars of the history of economic thought, economic development or theory of economic growth.

This chapter describes in a chronological fashion the adopted economic policies in Venezuela between the first presidential term of Hugo Chavez (which began in 1998) and the first presidential term of Nicolas Maduro (2013–2018). The successive economic policies are described and interpreted in their historical context, in light both of Chavez’s economic ideas and of a response to the changing political and economic environment, which included the external sector of the economy and the social conflicts that arose after Chavez’s first election. The chapter avoids a more deeper economic analysis of the consequences brought by the main economic decisions as well as an analysis of the economic structure as such, which will be both made with more details on the next chapter.

This chapter firstly summarizes the historical development of the economic theories related to socialist planning over the second half of twentieth century, focusing particularly on the question reforming the Soviet model which born over the 1920s–1930s. In light of that, the chapter tackles the economic ideas of Hugo Chavez and particularly his perspectives on socialism itself. The chapter concludes with an evaluation of Chavez’s ideas on socialism in light of historical developments of the socialist theory and policies particularly when regarding underdeveloped nations.

This chapter makes a summary of the Venezuelan history over the twentieth century, focusing particularly on the period 1958–1998, which preceded Hugo Chavez’s ascension as the president of the nation. The chapter firstly traces a narrative account of the main political events over the period, such as the so-called Punto Fijo Pact of 1958, the impacts of the 1973 oil crisis on the economy and the foundation of PDVSA, and the implementation of the neoliberal policies that followed. The chapter concludes with a brief empirical evaluation of the economy performance of Venezuela between 1980 and 1998.

This chapter traces Brazil’s Africa policy as a function of its changing position in the world economy and the trajectory of its internal contradictions. It is argued that the country’s policy towards Africa is an expression of the evolution of its own settler capitalism and its articulation with monopoly capital and finance. Brazil’s postwar transition, marked by conservative agrarian modernization, dependent industrialization and recent deindustrialization, has seen the rapid, systematic and violent expulsion of the black majority from the countryside, with universal suffrage only being established as late as the 1980s. This set the stage for a new set of contradictions that have left their mark in domestic and foreign policy alike. In its recent re-encounter with Africa, Brazil has been externalizing a set of domestic contradictions that are most clearly manifest in its conflicted approach to agricultural cooperation. The chapter outlines the main instruments and policies of cooperation in agriculture, as well as the general trends in economic relations.

This work aims to evaluate Argentina’s macroeconomic behaviour between 2003 and 2013. The article begins with a discussion and description of the main policies adopted by the government in the period. The second section contains an empirical evaluation of the overall economic behaviour of the economy during the 2003–2013 period, including inflation. The third section contains an interpretation of the recent Argentinian experience of economic growth and high inflation rates.

Este articulo analiza la evolucion de algunos datos materiales y energeticos referentes a la economia de los Estados Unidos, en el periodo entre 1980 y 2010. Se demuestra que, a pesar de la economia norteamericana haber evidenciado una gran elevacion de su productividad energetica por unidad de PBI (Producto Bruto Interno) a lo largo de los anos 1980-2010, no logro elevar la productividad ni energetica ni material por habitante para tal periodo. La conclusion es que su modelo de desarrollo encontrara obstaculos en el futuro en lo que se refiere a la existencia material de su base industrial, particularmente la escasez de combustibles fosiles como el crudo.

Este trabalho buscar explicar como o endividamento externo da economia norte-americana, a partir do início da década de (19)80, atenuou (e atenua ainda hoje) as decorrências macroeconômicas advindas da tendência para a estagnação do produto interno bruto. Segundo o argumento usado aqui, tal tendência para a estagnação origina-se da queda ao longo do tempo da parcela da acumulação produtiva sobre o produto. A tendência é explicada por um crescente diferencial no desempenho das taxas de lucro intersetoriais na economia, no qual as desvantagens para os setores industriais podem ser explicadas por suas mais elevadas razões capital/produto e conseqüentes menores taxas de lucro. Tal é intensificado por (a) pelo comportamento dos preços relativos, os quais conhecem uma queda maior dos preços dos bens industriais face a outros preços na economia; e (b) pelos crescentes déficits comerciais em bens. Particularmente, a tendência ao declínio foi intensificada pelas crises do petróleo (1974-1979) e pela política de juros altos no fim da década de (19)70 e meados de (19)80. O crescimento da financeirização surge assim como a outra face da moeda do movimento de diminuição da acumulação produtiva. Em segundo lugar, além de se tentar abordar as causas das flutuações em tendência decrescente do produto no período, tentou-se demonstrar como, em meio às flutuações do produto, o nível de endividamento correlacionou-se com a economia norte-americana no sentido de funcionar como elemento estabilizador. Dentro disto, buscou-se mostrar como a recuperação das taxas de lucro industriais, a partir do final da década de (19)80, e em meados da de (19)90, não levaram à queda da dívida externa. Isto se deu porque o nível de crescimento do setor industrial não logrou levar a economia a um patamar de crescimento que tornasse possível prescindir da dívida externa. Isto significava que a acumulação produtiva continuava insuficiente como mecanismo que permitisse uma diminuição do endividamento externo, principalmente devido às dificuldades relativas das taxas das de lucro industriais e das perdas no comércio exterior em bens tangíveis, não contornadas completamente pelo crescimento visto no período. Isto mostra que para sustentar os níveis de investimento e consumo, sem auxílio do endividamento externo, um volume muito maior de investimento teria de estar ocorrendo, o que não é possível pela queda relativa das taxas de lucro nos setores produtivos. Argumenta-se, assim, que o endividamento externo atenuou mas não solucionou fundamentalmente a continuidade da queda do investimento produtivo ao longo do tempo, processo que teria conduzido a economia a ainda menores taxas de crescimento na ausência do papel hegemônico do dólar na economia mundial. This work aims to explain how the external indebtedness of the U.S. economy since the 1980s attenuated and still attenuates the macroeconomic effects originated from the tendency of the gross domestic product to stagnate. This tendency comes from the fall of the productive accumulation in its relation to the national product, explained by the growing disadvantages of the industrial profit rates when compared to the financial ones. These disadvantages can be explained mainly by the bigger capital/product rates in the industrial sectors, lowering its rates of profit. This is intensified by (a) the performance of the relative prices, which shows an ongoing fall in goods prices and a increase in nongoods prices, and (b) by the increasing trade deficits, stressing domestic production. Particularly, these tendencies were intensified by the oil crisis and the high interest rates of the middle 1970s. The growing participation of the financial sectors in the national economy is the other face of this tendency of the productive accumulation to fall. Moreover, this work intended to discuss how the external indebtedness is correlated to the instability of the economy, showing how, during all the period, the external indebtedness worked as a mechanism of stabilization. The work then tried to describe this process of stabilization. After this, the work intended to explain why the absolute rise of the industrial rates of profit, since the middle 1980s, was not able to diminish the rate of the external indebtedness. This occurred because the financial rates of profit expanded still more rapidly, expressing the persistence of the above mentioned different performances between productive and non-productive sectors in the U.S. economy. It explains why the increase in profitability of productive capital during the 1990s continued insufficient to conduct the economy to smaller degrees of external indebtedness. This is the specific conclusion of chapter 9, which tries to demonstrate how a faster process of accumulation of capital did not take to a lesser external debt during the middle 1990s. It occurred because that process of economic growth needed a still more vigorous rate of productive investment to make possible a fall in external indebtedness. Hence, the conclusion that emerges is that only a much more stronger process of productive accumulation would be able to diminish the external indebtedness process - a not easy process, given the poorest domestic performance of industrial sectors in face of the other domestic sectors and in face of the international ones. That is, the external indebtedness attenuated but did not solve the occurrence of a falling rate of productive accumulation. So, this fall of the rate of profit in industrial sectors would have conducted the economy to a still more fragile degree of investment and consumption if there was not the hegemonic role of dollar in the international economy, which permits the above mentioned strategy of external indebtedness.

Esta dissertação ilustra como o regime fordista de acumulação brasileiro foi induzido à sua crise na década de oitenta, pelas políticas de ajuste econômico patrocinadas pelo FMI, e como na década seguinte a política de liberalização da economia terminou por reformatá-lo. Destacam-se as alterações estruturais na economia neste novo ambiente pós-fordista, e evidencia-se como este novo regime de acumulação não permitiu uma ampliação do produto e renda This master dissertation elucidates how the Brazilian accumulation of fordist type was driven into its crisis in the eighties, by the adjustment policies of International Monetary Fund and how, during the nineties, the liberalization of economy put another one in curse, the so called post-fordist regime. The work approaches the structural changes of the Brazilian economy under this new post-fordist regime, and attempts to show how it was not able foster new economic growth, as expected

The paper aims to evaluate the macroeconomic performance of the economy of the United States during first administration of Barack Obama (2009-2012).

A presente tese possui como questão central: quais foram os mecanismos que permitiram a recuperação econômica ocorrida no Brasil, entre 2003 e 2010? A hipótese proposta é que a recuperação aparente da economia local foi resultado da alta dos preços dos bens primários (as chamadas commodities). Para verificação da hipótese, foi analisado o balanço de pagamentos brasileiro, dando-se destaque especial para o balanço comercial. Estudou-se a composição do balanço, e a relação entre o setor externo e alguns dos indicadores macroeconômicos da atividade econômica local. Ainda, verificou-se qual foi a relação entre o desempenho brasileiro no comércio internacional e a distribuição de renda local. Os dados encontrados indicam que tanto a aparente recuperação econômica quanto a distribuição de renda favorável às camadas de menor rendimento se fizeram possíveis graças à alta da demanda chinesa pelas commodities. No entanto, a recuperação econômica não foi acompanhada de investimentos produtivos significativos, o que resultou no não aumento da produtividade local. A tese proposta é que, na ausência de investimentos significativos, os problemas estruturais da economia brasileira, em especial a dependência econômica e a baixa capacidade de acumulação de capital, não foram superados, e até se aprofundaram. The present thesis has the following central question: what were the mechanisms that allowed to the economic recovery occurred in Brazil between 2003 and 2010? The hypothesis proposed is that the recovery of the local economy was a result of the rise of commodities prices. To verify this hypothesis, the brazilian balance of payments was analyzed, with special emphasis on the trade balance. The composition of the balance of payments and the relationship between the external sector and some of the macroeconomic indicators of local economic activity were studied. The relation between the Brazilian performance in international trade and the distribution of local income was also analyzed. The data found indicates that both the economic recovery and the income distribution favorable to lower income population were made possible by the rise in chinese demand for commodities. However, the economic recovery was not followed by significant productive investments, which resulted in no increases in local productivity. The thesis proposed here is that, in the absence of significant investments, the structural problems of brazilian economy, especially the economic dependence and the low capital accumulation capacity, were not overcomen but actually increased.

A argumentação desenvolvida nesse trabalho gira em torno da ideia de que a partir da fase imperialista do capital, a especulação encontrou solo fértil para o seu pleno desenvolvimento. A estreita conexão existente entre a esfera monetária e financeira, e a esfera real e produtiva no imperialismo capitalista deu origem ao capital financeiro. Com o domínio das sociedades anônimas sobre a estrutura da economia capitalista deu-se grande impulso ao sistema de crédito (devido à necessidade de financiamento das sociedades por ações por intermédio da Bolsa de Valores), o que propiciou as condições para o desenvolvimento do capital fictício. The argument developed in this paper revolves around the idea that from the imperialist phase of capital, speculation has found fertile ground for its full development. The close connection between the monetary and financial sphere and the real and productive sphere in capitalist imperialism gave rise to financial capital. With the dominance of corporations on the structure of the capitalist economy, the credit system was given great impetus (due to the need to finance stock companies through the Stock Exchange), which provided the conditions for the development of fictitious capital.