The impacts of imports and trade liberalization in Brazil: Insights from an aggregate cost function

Brazil has faced and continues to struggle with difficult economic challenges, including achieving noninflationary economic growth and a manageable external deficit. This paper presents the results of the estimation of an aggregate translog cost function with inputs of domestic capital and labor and imports and outputs of consumption and investment goods. The resulting calculated elasticities give insights into the relationships among the inputs, as well as the possible impacts of further reducing international trade barriers. The findings suggest that all of the inputs are substitutes for one another and that an increase in imports may have at least short-run negative effects on the demand for domestic capital and labor. However, imports appear to be particularly important in the production of investment goods, so an increase in imports may result in a more than proportionate increase in the output of those products and enhance the long-term growth of the economy. The responses to current challenges facing Brazil will affect its future economic growth as well as have a broader impact on the international scene. The results described here may help to inform policy makers as they address these issues, particularly with respect to international trade policies.