Title: State intervention for industrial growth: a comparison between Brazil and Japan

Authors: Waldemiro Francisco Sorte Jr.

Addresses: Ministry of Planning, Budget and Management, Government of Brazil, Esplanada dos Ministérios, Bloco C, Sala 146, Brasilia-DF, 70046-900, Brazil

Abstract: This study examines recent industrial policies in Brazil, especially regarding the use of public procurement to stimulate the growth of domestic industries. It adds to the literature on development studies by presenting data on the recent Brazilian policy of offering margins of preference to domestic firms in public tenders and by conducting an initial analysis of the outcomes and prospects of such a policy. In addition, this paper explores the pattern of Japanese state intervention in the post-war period, which resulted in high levels of industrial and economic growth, in order to make a comparison with current Brazilian efforts to promote industrial development. This study identifies the lack of a clear focus on strategic industrial sectors and the absence of sector-specific measures for these industries as major constraints in recent Brazilian industrial policies. On top of that, it argues that the level of information exchange between the government and private firms in Brazil is insufficient to promote steady industrial growth and transformation in the long run.

Keywords: state intervention; developmental state model; Japanese government; Brazilian government; industrial policy; public procurement; economic growth; Brazil; Japan; preference margins; domestic firms; information exchange.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPP.2016.075214

International Journal of Public Policy, 2016 Vol.12 No.1/2, pp.1 - 27

Received: 06 Jun 2014
Accepted: 07 Apr 2015
Published online: 08 Mar 2016 *

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