Guilherme Jeronymo      Reporter Agência Brasil

Rio de Janeiro – The government’s focus on stimulating certain specific economic segments is one of the reasons for sluggish economic growth, says economist, Fernando de Holanda Barbosa Filho, of the Getulio Vargas Foundation. He calls the 0.4% GDP growth in the second quarter, compared to the first quarter, a weak performance.

“What we have seen over the last year is the government trying to resolve a global problem with surgical measures at localized points. This has not had the globalized effect on the economy that has been hoped for,” Barbosa Filho told Agência Brasil.

“It’s pretty disappointing. Last year, everybody bemoaned GDP growth of 2.7%, which will be very good if it happens this year. Estimates are for GDP growth of less than 1.8% - closer to 1.5% than 1.8%,” said the economist.

Barbosa Filho’s formula for growth is more spending at the same time that production costs are slashed. He points to the problem of what is known as the Brazil Cost (“Custo Brazil”), which consists of a long series of cascading costs that fall on goods made in Brazil as they move to market or export ports making them more expensive, such as taxes, infrastructure, logistics, raw material and labor.

Allen Bennett – translator/editor The News in English

Link - Crescimento do PIB é tímido por causa de medidas econômicas pontuais, avalia economista