Blog

There’s a consensus that Brazil’s development progress has been underpinned by sound macroeconomic management. The introduction of the Real Plan in the mid-90s, which ended regular, destructive outbreaks of hyperinflation is widely regarded as the starting point, but is it the whole s

Last week I met up with the amazing researchers on the IRIBA project at a workshop in Rio. All 12 research papers were presented and scrutinised in depth, and there was much debate about how and where the key points might be useful for African countries. While there’s some more work t

Next week we’re running a workshop in Rio to help finalise the 12 research papers spanning the Brazilian development experience. I’m really looking forward to hearing all the authors present their work, and thinking about the opportunities to translate the research into an African con

Professor Werner Baer of the University of Illinois is one of the leading international experts on the Brazilian economy. His classic book The Brazilian Economy is now in its 7th edition and he’s studied Brazil for decades. We’re lucky enough to have Prof. Baer onboard with the

Professor Armando Barrientos, IRIBA co-research director Last month, the Ministry of Social Development (MDS) in Brazil launched Mundo sem Miséria (World Without Poverty), a new platform to share lessons among low and middle income countries. Mundo sem Miséria forms part of the curren

The following article by IRIBA research directors Professor Armando Barrientos and Dr Ed Amann was recently featured in The Guardian:   Brazil isn’t getting the best press at the moment, with ongoing problems with the construction of the World Cup stadiums and protests abou

Brazil (like pretty much every country) isn’t without its problems. But it has made big progress – particularly when you take a slightly longer term view. It’s a country that has taken 22 million people out of poverty since 2003. A key factor in achieving this has been a r

There’s a fantastic new RSA animation questioning what we want our economies to achieve, based on a talk by Kate Raworth, which is well worth watching.   It seems very pertinent to the approach we’re taking with the IRIBA project. Brazil hasn’t had the most spectacular head

Major problems surrounding the construction of the stadiums has dominated the build-up to the World Cup this year. Although it’s a common refrain around many major sporting events, IRIBA’s joint research director Dr Ed Amann argues that the problems epitomise a broader malaise surroun