The Economy of Brazil, 1980 to Present: Problems & Possibilities

Brazil is largest economy in Latin America and the 9th largest in the world, yet it also has one of the highest rates of income inequality in the world. What has gone right and wrong in Brazil, and how can this diverse country emerge from the Covid-19 economic crisis on a path to greater prosperity for all of its citizens? Edmar Bacha (IDE MA ’65, Yale Economics PhD ’68) was part of a group of economists who came up with a plan based on a virtual currency, Units of Real Value (URV), that succeeded in slowing Brazil’s rampant inflation in the 1990s and helped turn the economy around. Now he returns to Yale (virtually) to give a presentation, “What's gone wrong with Brazil's economy?” and discuss research with Ana Cecilia Fieler, Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics at Yale. The event is part of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of EGC and the 65th of the International Development and Economics (IDE) Masters program at Yale.