Celso Furtado and the beginning of industrialization in Brazil

Several authors have been referring these last decades to the absence in Celso Furtado’s historical works of any more elaborate explanations on the origins and initial evolution of the Brazilian economy’s manufacturing sector. In an attempt to test empirically the validity of these assertions, the article presents the result of systematic revision not only of the famous book on The Economic Growth of Brazil, but also of the Author’s other works. By its way, some quite different conclusions were reached. These conclusions don’t have the purpose of criticizing previous affirmations, rather intending to synthesize and characterize Furtado’s ideas on this very important process of our country’s economy history.

KEYWORDS:
Industrialization; coffee; economic history