Institutional modernisation and the legacy of corporatism: The case of port reform in Brazil

Doctor, M

Abstract

This article analyses some of the difficulties of institutional modernisation based on a study of Brazilian port reform in the 1990s. It explains how and why Brazilian business managed to organise collective action for dramatic reform of the port structure and labour regime, but was unable to maintain the consensus to ensure full implementation. It emphasises how the formal rigidities and informal outcomes of the corporatist institutional structure hampered an efficient pace of modernisation. The analysis applies two complementary theoretical approaches, institutional analysis and the logic of collective action, to illuminate the evolution of Brazilian corporatism in the context of a more democratic society and open market economy.

Citation

Doctor, M. (2003). Institutional modernisation and the legacy of corporatism: The case of port reform in Brazil. Journal of Latin American Studies, 35(2), 341-365. https://doi.org/10.1017/S002216X03006783

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 1, 2003
• Publication Date: May 1, 2003
• Print ISSN: 0022-216X
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 35
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 341-365
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S002216X03006783
• Keywords: Geography, Planning and Development; Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous); Sociology and Political Science
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/409350