State and market in post-reform Brazilian air transportation

Abstract

The changes that have taken place in Brazilian air transportation following the cycle of “market reforms” have turned this sector into an object of growing interest. This interest, in turn, has led to the emergence of a broad literature on the subject, characterized by the emphasis on an agenda of liberalization and the critique of State activism. The goal of the present article is to promote a confrontation between the different interpretations that have been made, incorporating the contributions of approaches inspired in Economic Sociology and in institutionalist analyses in order to draw attention to the importance that political variables, and the State in particular, have for economic performance. The post-reform context is characterized by an initial moment of greater State activism regarding air transportation, through re-initiation of stricter regulatory mechanisms and the re-opening of channels of dialog between state actors and firms. This is followed by a second moment in which state activism is abandoned, at the same time that the sector demonstrates expressive rates of growth, pushing it beyond its existing capacity and flight support infrastructure. This culminated in the episode known as the “apagão aéreo” (aerial black out) Analysis of testimonies of state and private sector actors regarding the “blackout” enables us to identify the flaws in the responsible state apparatus as one of the factors that led to the “blackout”. Our conclusions draw attention to the importance of taking political factors into consideration, and particularly the role of the State, in the development of air transportation in Brazil. Keywords: commercial aviation, politics and economics, regulation, Economic Sociology, Historical Institutionalism.