Brazil is a country that works hard but reaps little. For decades, politicians have used growth as a promise but have ignored the central driver of any lasting prosperity: productivity.
In this special series, the Power & Market analyzed the causes of productive stagnation in Brazil and the possible ways to break this cycle. Based on a classical liberal approach and critical of state interventionism, we explored the pillars that support — or sabotage — real economic development.
📚 Check out the articles in the series:
- What is productivity and why does it matter?
Understand the central concept that determines wages, competitiveness and growth — and why it is ignored by political discourse.
👉 Read the full post - Brazil works hard and produces little: a portrait of stagnation
International comparisons show that the problem is not effort — it’s return.
👉 Read the full post - Structural bottlenecks: education, infrastructure and bureaucracy
A direct analysis of the institutional failures that hinder the country's growth.
👉 Read the full post - The role of the State in low productivity: regulation, protectionism and investments
How too much government hinders those who produce, inhibits competition and creates unproductive privileges.
👉 Read the full post - Why productivity matters for Brazil's future
Productivity is the key to real wages, stability and economic freedom.
👉 Read the full post - The consequences of low productivity: stagnation, deficit and impoverishment
Unproductivity is costly: less investment, more debt and loss of purchasing power.
👉 Read the full post - Paths to increased productivity: liberal proposals
Pro-market reforms, trade openness and reduction of barriers are the only viable path to prosperity.
👉 Read the full post
What's at stake
Productivity is not just an economic issue. It is the border between a free and prosperous country and a country trapped in rhetoric and welfare.
While the state machine expands and the cost of Brazil increases, those who pay the bill are the workers, the small entrepreneurs and the investors who still believe in the future of the country.
Productivity cannot be imposed by decree. But it can be stifled by regulation, taxes, protectionism and a State that prefers to control rather than liberate.
Conclusion
Productivity is more than a statistic — it’s a moral and political issue.
It is the concrete expression of economic freedom, meritocracy and voluntary cooperation.
As long as Brazil continues to treat the market as an enemy and the State as a savior, it will continue to reap little — even when it works hard.
And that's why, to transform effort into results, there is no substitute for the free market.
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