ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the latest industrial policy cycle in Brazil, which began in 2003 under President Lula (Workers’ Party or PT) and lasted until the impeachment of his successor, President Dilma Rousseff (also from PT) in 2016. This 13-year period was marked by improvements to regulatory frameworks, the introduction of sophisticated public funding mechanisms for business R&D, and unprecedented growth in government stimulus for science and technology. Yet the implementation of various innovation policies launched during this period – such as the Industrial, Technological, and Foreign Trade Policy (Política Industrial, Tecnológica e de Comércio Exterior or PITCE) in 2004, the Productive Development Policy (Política de Desenvolvimento Produtivo or PDP) in 2008, the Greater Brazil Plan (Plano Brasil Maior or PBM) in 2011, and the Business Innovation Plan (Plano Inova Empresa) in 2013 – has been unsteady, and advances have been regularly undermined by doubts, mistakes, and a loss of focus on technological innovation. These mixed outcomes highlight the need for renewed thinking about strategies for overcoming the low productivity of the Brazilian economy.
