Revista Iniciativa Econômica - ISSN: 2358-5951

Brazil’s energy sector development

Joao Montenegro da Silva Pereir Reis — 2025-12-23

This article aims to analyze the scenario and propose ways to exploit traditional and emerging segments of the energy sector in Brazil so that they can not only ensure the country's energy security but also form an effective cog in socio-economic development, contributing to its process of autonomous external integration. The paper draws attention to the risks associated with what it calls ‘neo-colonialism via the energy transition’, which reinforces the status quo of the international division of labor and the asymmetries of power and wealth between nations. Based on academic contributions on ‘energy transition’ and ‘energy colonization’, we coined the concept of ‘neocolonialism via energy transition’, which, supported by a realist view of international relations, guides the analysis of the Brazilian energy sector in the context of the governments of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Dilma Rousseff, Michel Temer and Jair Bolsonaro.

Artificial intelligence applied by means of deep learning (neural networks) and by the traditional econometric method of ordinary least squares regression

Leandro Pereira da Silva — 2025-12-23

The field of application for instruments involving artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms is increasingly broad in today's world. In practically all sciences, this branch of learning advances in several areas and specificities. Thus, this research aimed to verify, in applied and didatic terms, whether the traditional econometric methodology of ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions and the neural network (NN) methodology have the same performance in different situations of empirical tests for overlapping data series in artificial intelligence algorithms. The research problem was to know whether the OLS method and the NN method, in general, present satisfactory results in statistical estimates and for certain types of AI algorithms. The research hypothesis is that traditional methods, such as OLS, work better for structured data, while neural networks excel with complex/random data. In advance, the quantitative econometric tests carried out demonstrated that the use of the NN and OLS methodologies are approaches that can be used together when applied to AI algorithms. The quantitative results also demonstrated that the RN technique, in general, presents better results for data with characteristics of random variables. And the traditional econometric method MQO presents, in general, better results when the observed data have characteristics of “more well-behaved” and less random variables in mathematical terms. Furthermore, the main criterion used to measure performance was the Mean Squared Error (MSE) indicator, in addition to the Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), and the Coefficient of Determination R² indicators.

Amazon agribusiness exports

Hugo Chaves — 2025-12-23

Between 2010 and 2019, the Brazilian agribusiness sector showed continuous growth, accounting for an average of 20.5% of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Cepea, 2020). In the state of Amazonas, agribusiness also recorded positive performance, with a trade surplus. This study aims to analyze the competitive profile of agribusiness exports from Amazonas during this period, identifying products with revealed comparative advantage. The methodology is based on ex post data obtained from the Comex Stat platform, provided by the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services (MDIC), using comparative performance indicators. The results show that, between 2010 and 2019, agribusiness exports grew and became more dynamic. However, the export portfolio is mostly composed of products that do not show comparative advantage compared to the main agricultural commodities.

The rare earth production chain (RE)

Ryan de Albuquerque da Silva — 2025-12-23

This article aims to describe and analyze the Rare Earth Production Chain - “RE”, highlighting the challenges and opportunities for its development in Brazil. RE are a set of 17 chemical elements, classified as strategic minerals of importance for the (ongoing) process of energy transition, technological sophistication and for the defense industry (national security). The methodology adopted will be a bibliographic review about RE in Brazil, anchored in the (neo) Schumpeterian sectoral perspective within the scope of Industrial Economics. In this sense, this article is structured as follows: section 1 introduces the theme. Section 2 describes the concept of RE, its fields of application, its location in Brazil, as well as draws a “parallel” with two other industries: steel and silicon. Section 3 reflects, within the (neo) Schumpeterian framework, the relationship between Pavitt's Sectoral Taxonomy (1984; 1989) and the RE Taxonomy. Section 4 describes the RE production chain, highlighting the Brazilian case for its development. Finally, section 5 corroborates the final considerations on the subject. In short, the importance of developing the RE production chain for the productive densification of the Brazilian industry is highlighted. However, despite Brazil's advantages/potential as a holder of this natural resource, it has challenges to be overcome for the “full development”/“verticalization” of this chain in the long term, the biggest of which is the production/separation of individualized RE oxides in the upstream stage of the aforementioned chain.

An interpretation of the phenomenon of dependence in Brazilian economic trajectory (1930-1961)

Maria Eduarda Mota Guimarães — 2025-12-23

The discussion on the development of the Brazilian economy is a topic that gained a lot of ground in the debates of the 20th century. Some of the forerunners in this debate were the theoreticians of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). The focus of this article is to carry out a critical investigation of the period from 1930 to 1961, covering the import substitution process up to the implementation of the Metas Plan. The aim of this work is to explain the process of industrialization and the condition of dependence. Therefore, in order to carry out this study, some works and theories were used to interpret this process, the theories produced by ECLAC, the thesis of Late Capitalism and the Marxist Theory of Dependence (TMD).

Digital platforms and antitrust laws

Eduardo Avancci Dionísio — 2025-12-23

Competition authorities in different countries have been conducting investigations and attempting to reform regulatory frameworks to avoid the monopoly power of platforms. Among these efforts, cooperation between the BRICS countries—originally Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—stands out, and has undergone a process of expansion in recent years. For this study, some of the new members, such as Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, were considered. This research has a dual purpose: to identify the trust-based practices employed by digital platforms in BRICS countries and to assess whether antitrust authorities in these countries have responded to the threats to competition. We used the World Bank’s global database of antitrust action related to digital platforms to achieve these objectives. Our results showed that most trust practices perpetrated by digital platforms are related to mergers and acquisition, particularly in the e-commerce, passenger transportation and food delivery sectors. Despite this, it was mainly in China and Russia that we observed more forceful measures, such as the imposition of fines and/or the interruption of anticompetitive practices by platforms. India and South Africa have also taken regulatory action, albeit on a smaller scale and with less frequency. The other BRICS countries have not done the same.

Knowledge as a new techno-economic paradigm

Bruno Pacheco Heringer — 2025-12-23

This paper seeks to discuss the nature, workings and some implications of knowledge as a new techno-economic paradigm, seen in a theoretical and practical guise. Its proper comprehension requires not only a new theoretical model, but also its apprehension in terms of a new axis of economic and social-institutional transformation. Keeping that in mind, some of the mutations occasioned by it are pointed out, as well as new ways to overcome the barriers imposed on its wider dissemination and generation, grasping some of its effects on the contemporary world economy.