Brazil First Programmatic Loan for Sustainable and Equitable Growth

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The Programmatic Loan for Sustainable and Equitable Growth Project significantly increases Brazil's sustainable economic growth potential, increases employment, and reduces poverty. The main objective is sustainable, equitable economic growth. In logistics, key actions will cut customs release times b y 40 percent, cut container handling costs in ports by 10 percent, lower road transport costs b y about 5 percent and increase non-road transportation by 10 percent. Improvements to the business environment will increase public-private partnership, increase cartel prosecutions by the competition authorities, halve the time to register a business in selected cities, and increase the speed of resolution and the recovery value of insolvent enterprises under new bankruptcy law. Financial sector reforms will reduce bank overheads, increase financial access and reduce credit risk, accelerate the expansion of the insurance industry, and increase access to bank accounts. A new innovation law will increase technology transfer contracts between universities and the private sector b y 20 percent, and increase the private share in research and development by 10 percentage points. Supported improvements in the Clean Development Mechanism will generate carbon credits. A successful program of continued sound economic management, structural reforms, and implementation of actions in the four areas supported b y the loan could contribute to Brazil reaching an average annual growth rate of 4 percent or more. The loan will strengthen a broad, ambitious, coherent, and politically feasible set of microeconomic reforms for sustainable, broad-based growth, employment generation, and poverty reduction through higher investment and rising productivity. Higher growth is also important to reinforce Brazil's economic stability by reducing debt ratios and to finance Brazil's new and effective social programs. Actions to increase productivity are important to make growth sustainable: environmentally, through lower resource usage, and economically, by increasing export competitiveness and thus reducing reliance on foreign savings. Measures to increase the financial access of small business and poorer households are expected to make growth more pro poor. Measures to reinforce carbon trading are expected to improve environmental sustainability. The loan will also reduce external vulnerability by covering part of Brazil's external financing requirements and bolstering net international reserves. Government performance on economic management has reassured markets, and this will be reinforced b y this program; a well executed growth program should increase investor confidence and mitigate external vulnerability. Political and fiscal risks may occur due to reduced support for the government macroeconomic program and could undermine fiscal discipline and thereby reduce growth. Pressures for quick social results may lead to policy choices detrimental to long-run growth. Risks are mitigated by the Government's commitment and the complementary Fiscal Reform Loan series and Technical Assistance (TA). Risks that the set of actions covered by the operation is not broadly enough defined will be mitigated by due diligence on areas of slower policy reform. TA loans in energy and the financial sector. Other risks may be caused by weak execution of components of the growth program. A single tranche will be disbursed after effectiveness.

FY17 - Financial Sector,FY17 - Industry, Trade and Services,FY17 - Public Administration,FY17 - Transportation

World Bank Group

Project

Road, Warehouse, Seaport, Government, Education