Manufacturing Pluralism in Brazilian Economics

Contrary to the situation prevailing in most of Europe and North America, Brazilian economics can be justly described as pluralist, an outcome frequently ascribed to the role played by the Brazilian economics association (ANPEC) as conflict mediator. A crucial episode took place in the early 1970s,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of economic issues Vol. 53; no. 3; pp. 748 - 773
Main Authors Fernandez, Ramón Garcia, Suprinyak, Carlos Eduardo
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Routledge 03.07.2019
Subjects
ANPEC
Ford Foundation
Getúlio Vargas Foundation
pluralism
sociology of the economics profession
University of Campinas
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Summary:Contrary to the situation prevailing in most of Europe and North America, Brazilian economics can be justly described as pluralist, an outcome frequently ascribed to the role played by the Brazilian economics association (ANPEC) as conflict mediator. A crucial episode took place in the early 1970s, when ANPEC chose to welcome the filiation of the heterodox program at the University of Campinas (Unicamp) against threats of withdrawal from one of its most prestigious members, the Getúlio Vargas Foundation. After characterizing the nature of pluralism in current Brazilian economics, the article uncovers the process that led ANPEC to adopt a "pluralist" attitude, and how this related to the Brazilian political context from the 1970s. The outcome was significantly influenced by the actions of other institutions involved in Brazilian economics at the time, notably the Ford Foundation and the team of Vanderbilt University economists working in Brazil under a USAID contract. Choices made within a delicate political context opened the door to the institutionalization of theoretical plurality as a stable feature of the scholarly community of Brazilian economists.
ISSN:0021-3624
1946-326X
DOI:10.1080/00213624.2019.1644926