This paper deals with the possible future strengthening of the economic integration
among the countries of Mercosur, similar to the European integration related to the
Maastricht agreement. Some of the problems associated to the coordination of macroeconomic
policies and the monetary unification are presented and the feasibility of an agreement
similar to Maastricht by the members of Mercosur is defended. Finally, a proposal of schedule
– to be announced in 2002 and to occur in the year 2012 – to achieve a monetary integration
among Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and eventually other countries is made.

JEL Classification: E40; E50; F33.

A new wave of conservative thinking in economic theory and policy, which
emerged in the mid-1970s, made the dominance of Keynesian views among macroeconomists
its priority target. This wave takes various forms, but all have in common the critique
of the interventionist ideas commonly attributed to Keynes or his followers. There is no
doubt that Keynesianism, in all its incarnations, has a strong interventionist component.
This work examines the fundamentals of this interventionist bias in Keynes’ original work,
exploring works little explored or known as those produced during the Second World War,
in which that author served as a high advisor to the English government.

JEL Classification: B22; B31; E12.

Although A. Gerschenkron some decades ago argued very convincingly that the
preconditions for a country’s industrialization are not rigid nevertheless it still makes sense
to try and identify the preconditions that should be approximately fulfilled in order that a
country may industrialize. This idea is applied to Brazil in the XIXth century.

JEL Classification: N66; O25; O14.

This article aims to present an alternative interpretation of the logic of the II
PND’s conception and implementation. It uses the contribution of Weber and other authors
that developed the concept of patrimonialism to better understand the way Brazilian State
conducted that project. It emphasizes that the plan was not guided exclusively by an economic
logic but also by political reasons.

JEL Classification: N16; O21.

This paper deals with a controversial aspect of the Brazilian public policies: the
way urban investment and the provision of urban services are financed. The failure of pat
solutions, based on a highly centralized decision-making process of channeling budgetary
resources and forced savings to state and local governments, led to a situation in which financial
difficulties became one of the main reasons of the deteriorating urban infrastructure
and urban services in most of the major Brazilian cities. Against this background the paper
argues for a through revision of the way and means of urban development financing, based
on recommendations of pooling available resources, implementing professional management
and moving toward better intergovernmental coordination of urban policies. Confidence
in the newer rules, and in its maintenance over time, is also emphasized as an important
requisite for attracting private capital to important areas, such as sanitation, transportation
and housing.

JEL Classification: R11; R58; O23.

The transition from the 80’ s to the 90’ s points to the growing of a new pattern
of industrialization and development. In this process, new forms of intra and inter firms
organization develop. The purposes of this paper are to characterize the “new” form of firm
organization, “network”, and to discuss the theoretical basis which support this new kind
of shaping the management of the inter-dependences among the economic agents. Two main
lines are identified, centered, respectively, in the allocation and in the creation of resources,
that give distinct visions of the organization process and of the delimitation of the inter-
-relations among firms.

JEL Classification: L11; L10: L22.

Senior indetermination stresses the limitations of “pure” theory to derive normative
conclusions. This paper tries to show that Lucas runs into the so-called Ricardian Vice,
when he goes straight from abstract theoretical models to economic policy formulations. It
is argued that such a procedure is related to Lucas methodological positions. That is, the “as
if” methodology – inherited from Friedman – would lead to disregard of external elements
in policy prescriptions.

JEL Classification: B22; B31.