A Markov Switching Model for the Brazilian Demand for Imports: Analyzing the Import Substitution Process in Brazil

Authors

  • Igor Alexandre C. de Morais Chief Economist at Federação das Indústrias do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil (FIERGS)
  • Marcelo Savino Portugal Professor of Economics, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), and associate researcher of CNPq.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12660/bre.v25n22005.2504

Abstract

The aim of the present paper is to apply a Markov Switching model to check the charac- teristics of the Brazilian demand for imports equation based on annual data from 1947 to 2002 and on quarterly data from 1978:I to 2002:II. The results show that this model satisfactorily describes the structural and conjunctural characteristics of Brazilian for- eign trade in the last decades. The long-term analysis, based on annual data, allowed for the identification of cyclic periods of trade closure and openness that coincide with the historical events of Brazilian economy. The conjunctural analysis, based on quarterly data, indicates different elasticities for a regime with rise and fall in imports.

Downloads

Published

2005-11-01

Issue

Vol. 25 No. 2 (2005)

Section

Articles