Brazil: Ministry of the Economy: Analysis of Key Functions and their Operational Macroprocesses: Benchmarking Operational Macroprocesses with Experiences from Canada, France, Peru, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States

Abstract

This technical note benchmarks Brazils Ministry of the Economy (ME) value chains and macroprocesses against relevant management models and practices used by ministries of finance, economy, or equivalent in selected Latin American and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. This analysis, undertaken in the context of the creation of the ME by merging five former ministries, was intended to help identify gaps in current practices and propose recommendations for enhancing specific macroprocesses in Brazil. A team, including former ministers of finance and experts from these selected countries, participated in the technical analysis and discussions together with specialists from the Inter-American Development Bank. The findings show: (i) positive initial results after the merge in terms of policy coordination, coherence, and efficiency; (ii) recent policy reforms in line with OECD practices, some of which have just started to be implemented; and (iii) opportunities to continue enhancing management practices in selected macroprocesses.

The Center of Government, Revisited: A Decade of Global Reforms

“…Thus, the tradeoffs associated with any reorganization in government structures must be carefully assessed, as these changes entail costs, may create internal conflicts, and usually require time before the new structures are fully operational. (See Chapter 3 regarding Brazil's recent consolidation of several ministries in a unified Ministry of the Economy; Mosqueira, Lafuente, and Gaetani, 2022).…”

“…INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR PLANNING, BUDGETING, AND TREASURY IN BRAZIL In 2019, Brazil created a new Ministry of Economy by merging five pre-existing institutions, including the Ministries of Finance and of Planning. A 2022 assessment(Mosqueira, Gaetani, and Lafuente, 2022) revealed that the opportunity for linking the budget and treasury with the results framework had been enhanced, and that overall coordination had increased. Still, given the scale of the merger and the distinct administrative cultures of each institution, important challenges remained.…”

“…For instance, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the United States is part of the Office of Management and Budget within the Executive Office of the President. In Brazil, the creation of the Ministry of Economy in 2019, by merging five previous institutions, also enabled a centralization of the regulatory review function, and a more systematic use of RIAs(Mosqueira, Lafuente, and Gaetani, 2022).…”