Fundamental changes in Brazilian economic policy in the mid-1990s have increased growth and dramatically slowed inflation. Just as important, they provide the opportunity to address social issues such as educational reform that were overshadowed for years by the country's macro economic problems.
Opportunity Foregone: Education in Brazil examines how to improve the achievement level of Brazilian school children and increase the efficiency of the educational system. It also offers a frank assessment of why education levels in Brazil have lagged behind other countries and examines the barriers to educational reform.
While Brazil has made progress in increasing enrollment rates, these studies document how the relatively poor quality of basic education has constrained productivity and wages. As the authors note, reforming Brazil's troubled education system ultimately is as much an economic as a social issue: sustaining the country's macroeconomic reforms clearly will demand a more highly skilled and better educated work force.
