Academic theory, policy and politics: a personal experience

In this webinar, YSI and Professor Carlota Pérez welcome Luciano Coutinho, former president of the Brazilian Development Bank and Professor at the University of Campinas, to discuss his experience as both an academic and policymaker. In the second half, the floor will be open for the audience to interact with him and derive lessons about the challenges and satisfactions of working in policymaking.

The main focus of Luciano Coutinho's academic career has always been industrial policy and the real economy. He holds a PhD in Economics from Cornell University (US), a Master's degree and a B.A., both in Economics from the University of São Paulo (USP). During his first degree, Coutinho received the Gastão Vidigal Award for best Economics student in São Paulo.

He has been a guest professor at the Universities of São Paulo, Paris XIII, Texas and Instituto Ortega y Gasset, besides being a tenure professor at the University of Campinas (Unicamp).

An expert in industrial and international economics, he wrote and organized several books, besides an extensive list of articles, published in Brazil and abroad. In 1994, he coordinated the Study on the Competitiveness of Brazilian Industry, a work involving almost one hundred specialists who mapped out the Brazilian industrial sector with unprecedented thoroughness.

Between 1985 and 1988, he was Executive-Secretary for the Ministry of Science and Technology and took part in the structuring of the Ministry. While there, Coutinho was also involved in conceiving policies addressing highly-complex areas, such as biotechnology, information technology, fine chemistry, precision mechanics and new materials. He was a partner at LCA Consultores, acting as a consulting specialist in competition defence and foreign trade before taking office as President of the BNDES in 2007.

While presiding over the BNDES' activities, Coutinho has worked on implementing the Production Development Policy (PDP), with the objective of carrying out the expansion of the Brazilian industrial sector, the advancement of innovation and competitiveness, as well as the implementation of infrastructure works with the federal government's Growth Acceleration Plan (PAC).