One of the most important public issues in every country is Social Security. That is normal. Retirement is too serious a matter to be disregarded by the State. Human beings are not always rational and their choices might also be based on subjective factors, such as the importance given to social status. Individuals can choose to consume too much today and not save for retirement. The result would be poverty in old age. This is a problem faced by Japan, where social security rules are very restrictive, but it could easily make its way to Brazil.
Zeina Latif is chief economist at XP Investments. She holds master and doctorate degrees in Economics at University of Sao Paulo (USP).
Previously she worked at Royal Bank of Scotland as senior economist for Latin America, and ING, ABN Amro and HSBC Asset as chief economist for Brazil.
She is columnist at the newspaper Estado de São Paulo and she is counselor at the Social and Economic Development Council of the Republic Presidency.
There is often a lack of consensus among economists when it comes to public policy recommendations. While sowing confusion among the ordinary citizens, who cannot tell which side is “right”, this debate is an important element for the functioning of democracy and is healthy for public policy planning, argues Zeina Latif.
Nov 1, 2019
One of the consequences of low growth is that the economic recovery is not widespread across sectors. Some continue to perform well in the midst of stagnation – and even contraction, in the case of many others.
Oct 1, 2019
Privatization and asset sales are on the agenda for the Bolsonaro administration as it seeks to restore the fiscus; but time is running short for the government to start delivering, warns Zeina Latif.
Sept 24, 2019
The current fragile state of Brazil’s economy carries high risks. This time around, there are no buffers, because the unemployment rate is already at record highs. A recession now would entail social costs much greater than those of 2015, warns XPI's Zeina Latif.
Jun 14, 2019