Brazilian Economics Essay Research Paper Executive Summary

Brazilian Economics Essay, Research Paper Executive Summary Brazil is a big state with a big population. The natural resources that Brazil possesses are some of the richest in the universe. From minerals to timber to manpower, Brazil has all the natural stuffs to be an economic human dynamo. However, Brazil is being held back from doing great industrial paces. The job for Brazil lies in its inability to travel its supplies and merchandises. The roads, although better than they have of all time been, are non up to par with other industrial states. Until Brazil becomes more efficient they will non go an industrial giant. The economic crisis that has hit Brazil threatens to destruct all the advancement that has been made in the last decennary. Its high rate of rising prices must be brought under control for foreign investors to recover assurance. There is much promise in Brazil but its inefficiencies and current economic jobs must be overcome for Brazil to take its topographic point among the industrial giants. Introduction The Republic of Brazil is one of the largest states in the universe. Its population of more than one hundred sixty million topographic points it fifth among universe population centres. Its wealth of natural resources and easiness of entry makes it a valued trading spouse and an chance for new market growing. Population Brazil is one of the most thickly settled states in the universe. With a population of more than one hundred 60 million people it ranks 5th among universe population centres. The population growing rate of Brazil is keeping steady around 1.2 per centum. The birth rate is 20.4 births/1,000 population, this translates into about three million two hundred and 64 thousand unrecorded births each twelvemonth. Thirty per centum of Brazil s population is under 15 old ages of age and 65 per centum of the population is between 15 and 64 old ages old. Merely five per centum of the population is over 65 old ages of age. The ratio of work forces to adult females is.98 , which is about the same as the planetary ratio. One characteristic that has ever been present in Brazilian society is migration from one portion of the state to another. During the late twentieth century the western portion of the state has had the highest net inflow of population. The Southeast has besides received big Numberss of migrators, but these have been really unevenly distributed. The most rural southeasterly provinces have had steady decreases of their population through migration. There are three basic racial beginnings for Brazilian people. To the original dwellers ( Indians ) were added consecutive moving ridges of Europeans ( largely Portuguese ) and slaves ( largely Africans ) . The integrating between the Europeans and the Indians began shortly after colonisation ; it was non until the 1600 s that this procedure besides grew to include the freshly arrived Africans. A mixture of these three beginnings makes up the bulk of the Brazilian population. This is non to st ate that there are no other mixes in Brazil. Recently many people of Asiatic decent ( chiefly Japanese ) have begun to immigrate to Brazil. Members of all nationalities and races immigrate to Brazil every twenty-four hours in hunt of better things. Economic statistics and activity The GDP for Brazil is around one trillion dollars. This breaks down into the mean Brazilian holding about $ 6,300 of buying para. This figure is non bad, but it is non every bit high as the more industrialised states. This figure is expected to turn, but the economic crisis that has seized Brazil will most probably decelerate this growing. The growing rate is 2.9 % which shows that Brazilian industry is turning, merely non at an explosive rate. Brazil has an copiousness of natural resources, which, with suited direction, could go on to be good for coevalss to come. Improved transit has made more of these resources accessible either for export of for usage by Brazil s increasing industries and turning popul ation. Brazil is known to incorporate highly rich mineral sedimentations, this includes huge Fe ore militias. Brazil s industries absorb most of its other mineral production. This includes chrome, Mg, vitreous silica, Cu, lead, asbestos, and nickel. Brazil is a major gold and diamond manufacturer, but measures fluctuate widely from twelvemonth to twelvemonth and topographic point to topographic point as sedimentations are located and exhausted. Brazil is besides the largest universe provider of semiprecious rocks. These rocks include topazes, amethysts, opals, aquamarines, tourmalines, emeralds and others. Brazil has oil and natural gas militias, which became significant with the development of offshore Fieldss. The mineral militias are under changeless geographic expedition by authorities and private beginnings. Brazil is besides rich in biological resources. About two-thirds of the state is under wood, supplying about one-seventh of the universe s entire forest country. Hardwoods predominate in the Amazon and Atlantic coastal zone. Exploitation of the Amazon rain forest, nevertheless, has been hampered by the insufficiency of conveyance installations. Arable land is non abundant, sing the size of the state. With a coastline of more than 4,600 stat mis and legion well-stocked rivers, Brazil has entree to significant fishing evidences. This resource, nevertheless, is developing and productiveness is low. For a state every bit big as Brazil, development of an efficient agencies of transit has been a affair of critical importance. Throughout much of its history the state s different parts remained stray from each other, but this changed dramatically after World War II, foremost with the growing of air conveyance and, two decennaries subsequently, with the extension of a modern route web. Most rider and cargo traffic moves over the main roads, with coastal and inland transporting the following largest manner of transit. Brazil, like most states has four major man ners of transit. These manners include railroads, main roads, waterways, and airdromes. Except for commuter lines in the major metropoliss, railwaies are merely of minor importance in Brazil s transit web, Brazil has merely 27,000 kilometers of rail. Few new railroads of any significance have been built since World War II, when Rio de Janeiro was linked by rail to Salvador because German pigboats were taking a heavy toll on transporting. Most of Brazil s path day of the months from the nineteenth century, when the economic system was based on exports of natural stuffs. Brazil has improved its main road system greatly since the terminal of World War II. During the rainy season surface communications could be interrupted along the major regional links for hebdomads at a clip, marooning automobilists in countries with limited lodging and nutrient supplies. The building of Brasilia, the capital of Brazil in 1964, for which many bulky stuffs had to be airlifted in during the rainy season , alerted the state to the hapless province of its roads. When the armed forces assumed power in 1964, the upgrading of the route system became a primary aim. As a consequence, an first-class system of paved roads now connects all the major points in Brazil, including several links northerly into the Amazon part. Brazil has about two million kilometer of roads, of this one hundred 80 1000 stat mis are paved. Brazilian coastal transportation was, for many old ages, in no better status than its railroads. Like the railroads, the transportation industry was confined to transporting low-value majority goods that could digest long holds and non infrequent losingss. After the federal authorities launched a ship building plan in the 1960 s, nevertheless, the tunnage of ladings increased markedly, and more significantly a larger per centum of higher valued goods was carried. The more important ocean ports in Brazil are located in Rio de Janeiro, Paranagua, and Recife. The extended Brazilian river system has a entire river navigability of about 27,000 stat mis. Within the Amazon Basin navigable waterways are the rule means of transit in northern Brazil, widening into the Spanish speech production states to the West. The two rule Amazonian ports are connected by a modern, if at times fickle, steamer service are Belem, at the oral cavity of the river, and Manaus, some 1,000 stat mis inland. These and lesser ports are of import as trade centres for the broad assortment of trade that sail the Waterss of the chief rivers and some 1,000 feeders. As with most states, air passages are highly of import to the Brazilian economic system. Brazil has over two thousand five 100 airdromes, of this one thousand five 100s have paved tracks. Every capital and of import metropolis in Brazil has a major airdrome, and most of the smaller metropoliss are serviced by jet aircraft. Few locations are without a least a soil set downing strip. Most of the major metropoliss are besides linked by a shuttle service. However, overall flight frequences and the size of terminuss are at a much smaller graduated table than at comparable centers in west Europe or North America. This is due to the relatively high cost of fare and competition from inexpensive intercity bus services. Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo handle most of the international air traffic. Numerous airlines flourished in Brazil at one time or another, but they have been consolidated into three major ones that compete nationwide. Brazil has three major communication systems; telephones, radios, and television. There are over seventeen million telephones in Brazil. The Brazilian telephone system is fairly efficient as long as one remains close to a city. As the distance from a city increases, the number of phones and the reliability of service tends to drop. As one might expect there are no conventional phone lines in the deep Amazonian jungle. Radio broadcast stations are very important in Brazil. Brazilians own seventy-five million radios, and use them to listen to almost one thousand five hundred AM radio stations. Radios are cheaper than television sets so more Brazilians can afford them. Television is a major industry in Brazil. One hundred twenty stations can be found on Brazilian TV. This makes Brazil the fourth largest television broadcasting system in the world, reaching an estimated forty million Brazilians who own televisions. Foreign companies have been investing in Brazil for years. Because of its large population and plentiful natural resources, Brazil is very attractive to companies looking to expand into new markets. Large companies form Coca-Cola and Pepsi to Wal-Mart and Kentucky Fried Chicken have invested millions of dollars in order to gain a foothold in Brazil. One reason for the large number of companies with interests in Brazil is ease of entry. There are few barriers to entry in Brazil and the government encourages foreign investment. With Brazil s increasing population it can expect the foreign influx to continue for many years to come. Brazil exports about fifty billion dollars worth of products every y ear. The largest importer of Brazilian goods is the European Union (26%), followed by the United States (23%), Latin America (22%), and Argentina (11%). Brazil is the world s leading exporter of coffee, which is its most important single export. Most Americans think of Columbia as being the biggest producer of coffee, but Brazil produces almost twice as much as Columbia. Brazil is also a prominent producer of minerals. Brazil is one of the largest producers of iron ore in the world, and thanks to new mining techniques and technology this trend is expected to continue. Brazil also exports soybeans, tropical fruits, footwear, and sugarcane. Brazil is also the world leader in the production of semiprecious stones, gold and diamonds. Brazil imports about fifty-five billion dollars worth of goods every year. Crude oil is one of the major imports that Brazil receives regularly. In order to lessen its dependence on gasoline, the Brazilian government decided to run the country s vehicles on something a little less pricey, sugar. The government planned to replace gasoline with ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Processing the sugarcane in modern plants became the most successful such program in the world. For a number of years, virtually all new automobiles in Brazil have been engineered to run on this fuel. Brazil also imports other products that it is lacking at home. These products include capital goods for industry, chemical products, foodstuffs, and coal. Brazil has had a trade deficit for almost its entire history. There are many reasons for this but the main reason is a lack of ability to get to its resources. Brazil is a country with huge amounts of natural resources, but they are hard to get to. New roads and shipping channels have helped open up some more of Brazil s resources, but more must be done if Brazil ever expects to have a trade surplus. One thing that has been beneficial to Brazil is the influx of new business from outside the country that helps Brazil s abil ity to export more products. Unfortunately for Brazil its economy has recently taken a downturn. The inflation has gone through the roof and there has been a leveling off of foreign investment. The World Bank and the United States recently formulated a bailout plan for Brazil. This bailout included loans and other economic aid. The reason for the bailout lies in the belief that South America goes as Brazil goes; if Brazil encounters a recession than so will the rest of South America. A South American economic crisis combine with the one that has hit Asia would mean an almost certain worldwide recession. Brazil s labor force is a relatively strong one. Sixty-one million people are included in Brazil s work force, and this number is increasing every year. Forty-two percent of the work force is employed in services, while thirty-one percent work in agriculture, and twenty-seven percent work in industrial occupations. The unemployment rate is not large, but it is growing. Six percent of the Brazilian population is unemployed and the number is increasing with the recent economic crisis. Developments in science and technology With the help of foreign investors, Brazil is quickly increasing its technological capabilities. With the influx of new businesses from other countries, better technology became essential. These companies came into Brazil and trained their new Brazilian employees in the use of state of the art equipment. Advances were also made in the mining and extraction fields which were put to good use in Brazil. These advances will make it possible for Brazil to get back on its feet and compete in the global marketplace once the inflation is curtailed. Another reason for the growth of Brazilian technology is the educational system. More and more students are learning to use computers and at a younger age. There can only be benefits for Brazil in the long run if this trend continues. Channels of Distribution Brazil s businesses work in much the same way as they do in the United States. The retailers come in all shapes and sizes, from small family stores to multinational chains like Wal-Mart. Items are mainly purchased through cash transactions but buying through credit is also done. There seems to be less of a reliance on credit cards than the United States. The penetration of urban centers is high for the simple reason that there are more people able to buy products in urban areas. In rural areas it is more likely to see a small family store than a large outlet because there are simply not enough people to support a larger store. Media Brazil is a large country with a large population and therefore has many sources of media available to the public. Television, radio, and print media are all found in Brazil. Brazil s major newspapers are published in the cities of Sao Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro, but numerous others are published in the smaller cities and towns. There are also a number of weekly magazines that cover subjects from news t o hobbies. Press and broadcasting are intimately linked in Brazil, including television s TV Manchete and the TV Globo, which, with Radio Globo, is the largest and most influential of the county s broadcasting media. There are also several lesser networks in radio and television as well as a large number of regional and local stations. An educational channel broadcasts to a limited number of cities. Common television fare includes the tremendously popular prime-time novelas (soap operas), sporting events, news, special reports, foreign movies dubbed into Portuguese, and children s programming. In many ways television, in conjunction with massive urban migration, has furthered the homogenization of Brazilian culture and the modification of regional differences. When the Brazilian government as run by its military many of the stations were owned by the state. This is not the case today. Today television and radio stations operate in much the same manner as they do in the United States . Commercials are paid for by companies wishing to advertise in a form of media and are played. The only noticeable difference would be the amount of nudity on regular stations at all hours of the day. Bibliography Britanica Online. Brazil: Physical and Human Geography. http://www.eb.com:180/cgi-bin/g?DocF=macro/5000/84/24.html October 29, 1998. Brazilian Embassy, London. Brazil in Brief. http://www.brazil.org.uk. Oct 19, 1998. Brazilian Embassy, Washington DC. The Brazilian People. http://brasil.emb.nw.dc.us/bzpeople.htm. October 24, 1998. CIA Factbook. Brazil. http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/br.html October 29,1998. Eletronic Library. Brazil. http://www.encyclopedia.com, October19, 1998. Republica Federativa de Brasil. The Wonders of Brazil. http://psg.com/walter/brasil.htm. October 24, 1998. [Home] [Brazil] [Economic Paper] [cultural paper] [marketing]