The author characterizes the Brazilian economic crisis within the context of
the present world economic situation based on an analysis utilizing the concept of the
Kondratieff economic cycle. He reaffirms the necessity to prioritize economic growth and
indicates measures that could be taken for the reorientation of domestic production, the development
of new financing mechanisms, and the redefinition of Brazil’s relationship with
the rest of the world, oriented not only in terms of managing the present crisis but also overcoming
it.

JEL Classification: O40; E32.

As regards the controversy surrounding effective demand and the work of
Michal Kalecki, it must be understood that he not only formulated an adequate theory of
economic cycles but, by revealing the limits of this theory, dealt with a more complex set of
problems which are specific to the movement of capitalism: the question of the simultaneous
determination of cycles and trends. To develop this theory entails reformulating the above
concepts to grasp the antinomy of the trend in capitalism and its interactions with fluctuations
and changing circumstances. This in turn requires a critique of the concept of economic
time, or more precisely a clarification of capitalist temporality. It is also necessary to re-assess the theoretical status of the principle of effective demand, concerning a theory of capital
and capitalist calculation, within a theory of instability; the temporalization of this principle,
as effected in macroeconomic models is not sufficient for the comprehension of capitalist
dynamics as a whole.

JEL Classification: O40; E32; B51.

The transformation problem is one of the basic features of the marxist discourse
and of its critique of Classical economics. The Bortkiewicz solution to the error in the algebraic
formulation of this problem involves strict specifications of the numéraire used to express
prices and values. This paper aims to show that these specifications not only do not contradict
Marx’s monetary theory but really imply it once we abandon labour as the substance
which determines value. The paper also suggests that money as the “general equivalent” is the
true medium through which transformation is possible and should substitute for “labour” in
expressing the idea of a “social energy” which determines capitalistic exchange values.

JEL Classification: B51; D46.

The objective of this paper is to present a critique of Garegnani’s essays on
the Marxian labor theory of value. Garegnani has been seen as one of the main representatives
of the neo-Ricardian school, which breaks away with Marx’s labor theory of value.
According to Garegnani, the labor theory has proved to be unable to provide adequate answers
to the objectives it poses. This paper is aimed at showing that Garegnani’s position,
which reduces the meaning of Marx’s labor theory to a non-circular determination of prices
and profit rates, is fallacious. Furthermore, the paper tries to show that the importance of
Marx’s theory goes far beyond the role that Garegnani has assigned to it and that it constitutes,
in fact, an indispensable tool to understand the laws of motion of the capitalist system.

JEL Classification: B51; D46.

The first part of this article analyzes the mechanism of regional subordination
which had its start in the thirties. This mechanism tended to strengthen the structural factors
which inhibited an internal dynamic. Later it seeks to explain how this subordination was
consolidated in a higher stage of monopoly capitalism where the State was a fundamental
element that made this policy viable. It concludes by examining the limits of the reproduction
of capital on a regional level from the perspective of a differentiated and limited geographical
space.

JEL Classification: R11; R10; O14.

The evolution of the Brazilian petrochemical industry is analysed based on the
economic development model set up in the second half of the fifties and on the political system
stablished in 1964. The State undefinition in the first period of this industry (48 – 64)
holds down the sector growth in adequate proportion to the economic model requiring a
great leap in the second period (64 – 80), possible by the “tripartite” enterprise (association
among the State, local capital and multinationals). When the conditions that support this enterprise
role are finished, it starts to fall down, and the local private entrepreneurs get more
dependent on their own capabilities to compete with the multinationals in a process that
seems to draw the characteristics of the third phase of the industry.

JEL Classification: L71; L32.

This paper analyses the theories proposed to explain the economic development
and underdevelopment on the Marxist school and those influenced by it, particularly in the
20th century.

JEL Classification: B24; O11.

Argentina, Chile and Uruguay are pioneers in providing social security in Latin
America. This paper analyses the elements related to the historic development, the characteristics
and perspectives of their respective social security systems.

JEL Classification: J83; J26; J32.

Although the current crisis affecting the Brazilian economy relates to the depletion
of the economic model in force since the 1960s and the international financial system’s
crisis, undoubtedly it is equally a result of the actions from the government. This note intends
to demonstrate how this contractionist agenda is much to blame for the difficulties
Brazil undergoes.

JEL Classification: O40; H60.