The Brazil of the Future - Towards Productivity, Inclusion, and Sustainability (English)

This report argues that for Brazil’s development agenda to regain steam it will need to better mobilize all Brazilians. Indeed, a more inclusive Brazil will mean a more prosperous Brazil - the virtuous cycle. This requires overcoming the country’s historical legacy of exclusion, rooted in Brazil’s early development model, including a long experience with slavery. For historical reasons, there are still several Brazil's. At one extreme is an upper class predominantly white, formalized, well educated, urban, and southern or southeastern. At the other are those in the bottom 30 percent, predominantly of color, informal or in subsistence agriculture, uneducated poor, rural, and northern or northeastern. Brazil also developed an important urban middle and upper middle class, which is more heterogenous racially, more often formally employed but seldom highly educated, and vulnerable to falling back into poverty. Exclusion remains strong in Brazilian society and can harm Brazil’s future. Allowing more Brazilians to contribute to Brazil’s economy can make Brazil a more prosperous and inclusive society in the following twenty years.