This groundbreaking work is the first volume in English to examine Brazil's historic policy reforms of the 1990s and the political, economic, and social results. For years the large and ineffective government of Brazil could neither improve the country's greatly uneven distribution of wealth nor maintain inflation at reasonable levels. In the 1990s, long overdue changes bettered the government's fiscal performance, tamed inflation, and addressed chronic social ills stemming from the imbalance of wealth. But many problems, and many questions, remain. Why is Brazil still so poor, and why is inequality so intransigent? Were some of the reforms counterproductive, or could they have been implemented in a more effective way? Collecting essays by top Brazilianist scholars from various disciplines and intellectual traditions, Reforming Brazil provides new insights for international policy makers, economists, and scholars of Brazil.

This important new text provides a clear, comprehensive, and accessible overview of major economic issues facing Latin America today, including balance of payments problems, inflation, stabilization, poverty, inequality, and land reform. It captures trends and common issues and at the same time illustrates the diversity of national experiences.Each chapter centers around an economic problem from such new topics as debt to more enduring issues like poverty and agrarian reform - and presents major economic theories on the causes and solutions to the problem. Complex equations and formulas are omitted; instead, the discussion focuses on the underlying logic of contending policy prescriptions. Cardoso and Helwege provide numerous cross-country examples and tables to demonstrate how individual countries are affected differently by economic trends or policies, gradually building a sense of the complexity of the Latin American economy and the policy implications behind economic solutions. Chapters also include helpful summaries and ideas on what the future may hold.Both authors are at Tufts University. Eliana Cardoso is Associate Professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and Ann Helwege is Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy.