THE BRAZILIAN ECONOMY - RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND FUTURE-PROSPECTS

Brazil is currently undergoing important structural changes, which mak e it difficult to assess the current and future situation. Moreover, t he strains of this transition are more pronounced owing to Brazil's ea rlier economic protection, its size and its social and regional inequa lities.This article begins with a brief background description of the Brazilian economy before it was opened up to external competition at t he beginning of the 1990s. The article continues by looking into the m ain changes that have taken place since then, analysing the achievemen ts and shortcomings and presenting as accurate a picture as possible o f the present situation. In the final section, the author draws on the two previous sections as well as recent work carried out by the Brazi lian Institute for Applied Economic Research, to reach conclusions abo ut Brazil's future prospects.