Structural Reform Priorities for Brazil

IMF Working Papers, October 8, 2018

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Over the last few decades, Brazil has experienced relatively weak economic growth due to stagnant productivity.
To boost productivity, Brazil should embark on an ambitious structural reform process while selecting a few reform priorities to avoid dispersing political capital on an overly broad reform agenda.
The paper identifies Brazil’s reform priorities in two steps:
- It estimates the impact that different reforms have on Brazil’s productivity.
- It analyzes survey data to assess the extent of public support for reforms.
The results show that banking sector reforms would generate the largest productivity gains and have the highest level of public support; they would also be relatively easy to legislate and generate significant fiscal savings.

Banking sector reforms yield the largest productivity gains.
Other reform areas analyzed (implied by subject keywords) include labor market reforms, legal system, and measures addressing monopoly power and state intervention.
Focus on total factor productivity and production as central outcomes.

Survey analysis is used to assess public support for reforms.
Banking sector reforms score highest on public support and political feasibility ("relatively easy to legislate").

Select a small number of high-impact reforms rather than pursuing an overly broad reform agenda.
Prioritize banking sector reforms given their combination of:
- Largest estimated productivity gains.
- Highest level of public support.
- Relative ease of legislation.
- Potential for significant fiscal savings.

Structural Reform Priorities for Brazil, WP/18/224, October 2018
- Structural Reform Priorities for Brazil, WP/18/224, October 2018 (Markdown version)
- Structural Reform Priorities for Brazil, WP/18/224, October 2018 (PDF)