Industrial development in the Brazilian Northeast and the tax credit scheme of article 34/18 1

In this article we consider a twofold problem: (a) the foreign aid cost of changing a stagnant or ‘trapped’ economy to one which is capable of sustaining its own growth, and (b) the accrued benefits of a family planning programme in achieving this. Specifically, we cite the case of an economy trapped in a so‐called low‐level equilibrium and evaluate the change in the amount of foreign aid that is required to achieve self‐sustained growth when the birth rate declines. By use of a simplified model, we conclude that a general 10 per cent reduction in age‐specific birth‐rates may lead to savings of 2 5–50 per cent in discounted aid requirements.