Title: Global economic integration, business expansion and consumer credit in Brazil, 1994-2010

Authors: Jose Ricardo Barbosa Gonçalves; Maria Alejandra Caporale Madi

Addresses: State University of Campinas, Rua Doutor Olimpio da Silva Miranda 68, Cidade Universitária, Campinas - SP 13083-010, Brazil ' State University of Campinas, Rua Sergipe 627, apto 144, São Paulo, SP 01243-001, Brazil

Abstract: Recent interpretations of Brazilian business performance suggest that it is driven by increased aggregate consumption in the context of economic global integration. This performance may have been due to conditions of low inflation, higher economic growth, well-focused social programmes and a policy of real increases for the minimum wage. Against this background, we aim to analyse the evolution of the business expansion and the consumer credit market in Brazil in the period between 1994 and 2010. Our research contribution emphasises how business performance and the consumer credit expansion have been recently shaped by a redefinition of government intervention strategies, aimed at promoting economic growth and social inclusion in the context of global economic integration. Our concern is to enhance further understanding of the sustainability of the rapid growth of retail banking and consumer credit market in Brazil.

Keywords: global economic integration; business sustainability; consumer credit; retail banking; Brazil; business expansion; sustainable development; business performance; government intervention; economic growth; social inclusion.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGE.2013.058164

International Journal of Green Economics, 2013 Vol.7 No.3, pp.213 - 225

Published online: 13 Sep 2014 *

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