Synopses & Reviews
Review
"Luna and Klein provide an unrivalled treatment of the principal changes that swept Brazil in the late 20th century. This volume will be an invaluable reference for teachers, students, research scholars, journalists, and anyone interested in contemporary Brazilian affairs."
William Summerhill, University of California, Los Angeles"For a vision of [what Brazil is] and where [it is] going, read the book by Francisco Vidal Luna and Herbert S. Klein... The book speaks of the country which has changed radically in the past 25 years."
João Sayad, Folha de São Paulo"Brazil has become a modern urban and industrial economy, and an agricultural power-house. Understand here why Brazil aligns with Russia, India, and China to mold the world economy in the 21st century. This book documents the profound transformation in Brazilian society in the last quarter century."
Edmar Bacha, Senior Fellow, Casa das Garças Institute, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Synopsis
This book is designed as a basic introduction to contemporary Brazil from a recent historical perspective and is one of the first such comprehensive surveys of recent Brazilian history and development - the shift, in effect, from a pre-modern to a modern economy and society - in any language.
Synopsis
This general survey tracks Brazil's societal, economic, and political development since 1980. In this period, during which Brazil was transformed from a predominantly rural and closed to a modern industrial democratic society, basic changes occurred: Brazil's fertility and mortality rates dropped, the economy repeatedly approached hyper inflation, and it became open to world trade. The book is designed as a basic introduction to contemporary Brazil from a recent historical perspective and is one of the first such comprehensive surveys of recent Brazilian history and development in any language.
About the Author
Francisco Vidal Luna is Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of Sao Paulo, and the Secretary of Planning and Budget of the Municipality of Sao Paulo. He has written extensively on Brazilian economic history and the Brazilian economy, and he is coauthor, with Herbert S. Klein, of Slavery and the Economy of Sao Paulo, 1750-1850 (2003).Herbert S. Klein is Director of the Center For Latin American Studies, Professor of History, and Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is the author of numerous books, including The Atlantic Slave Trade (Cambridge, 1999), A Concise History of Bolivia (Cambridge, 2003), and A Population History of the United States (Cambridge, 2004).
Table of Contents
Introduction; 1. Politics; 2. Economy; 3. Finance; 4. Agriculture; 5. Industry; 6. Demography; 7. Education, health and welfare; 8. Inequality; Conclusion.