12 - The demography of inequality in Brazil: summary and conclusion

Summary

The ideas in this volume are put forth at a time when the discipline of development studies is in crisis. In a recent article, Hirschman (1981: 1) suggested that (mainstream) development economics is a field in decline. Although “articles and books are still being produced…the old liveliness is no longer there…and the field is not adequately reproducing itself.” This state of affairs, according to Weisskopf (1983), is linked to theoretical dilemmas internal to the discipline of economics, as well as to a more general shift in political discourse. Development economics, Weisskopf contends, drew its primary theoretical inspiration from Keynesian principles. This orientation meant, among other things, that economists readily endorsed the premise that a neutral and activist state could, through orchestrated development policies, overcome the structural barriers that could not be resolved by a free market alone.

Events in the last three decades have dashed Keynesian hopes. Stagflation afflicted the developed economies in 1970s, followed by recession in the 1980s. Some Third World nations showed impressive growth. Others did not. Nearly all failed to resolve the problems of inequality, unemployment and political tension. Such setbacks bolstered the position of conservative economists, especially their contention that an unhindered market could and would do the job. Moreover, for reasons having more to do with contemporary politics and ideology than strictly intellectual competition, the right has gained considerable ground.