Growth, crisis and the contradictory behavior of the profit rate between Brazil and the United States in 1995-2008
Please cite the paper as:
“Ricardo Dathein, (2014), Growth, crisis and the contradictory behavior of the profit rate between Brazil and the United States in 1995-2008, World Economics Association (WEA) Conferences, No. 1 2014, Is a more inclusive and sustainable development possible in Brazil?, 5th May to 12th August 2014”
Abstract
The paper analyzes the evolution of the economies of Brazil and the U.S., with a focus in the 1995-2008 years. The crucial variables studied are the profit rate and its distributive and technological components. The theory emphasizes the importance of the profit rate behavior for the understanding of the economic trajectory, and the concept of fictitious capital as a crucial determinant of the recent international dynamics. Starting with the performance of growth rates and investment rates, the study examines the relative behavior of the two countries through the profit rate, the output-capital ratio, the share of economic surplus to GDP and the wage share in National Income. The results show a significantly different behavior and even opposite between Brazil and the U.S., especially after 2003/2004.