Postgraduate Studies Program in Economics
Presentation
The Postgraduate Studies Program in Economics of the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo offers activities at the stricto sensu Master level and has the following objectives:
- Provide the degree of Master in Economics, in accordance with the requirements of the didactic-scientific regimen of the Program;
- Provide training to personnel, at the Academic Master's level, in order to foster higher education teaching and research;
- Stimulate and develop research activities with didactic, scientific and technological purposes, aiming the production, instruction, deepening and dissemination of knowledge;
- Train qualified professionals to carry out research and develop methodological and conceptual instruments suitable for the field of economic sciences;
- Generate and disseminate knowledge and tools for economic analysis;
- Develop research and extension programs using research policies;
- Foster the development of research and teaching careers and other related activities;
- Host Postdoctoral projects that may contribute to the development of the Program;
- Maintain academic and scientific relations with similar programs offered by Brazilian and foreign higher education institutions;
- Promote and extend teaching and research activities both in the national and international context, in order to contribute with the scientific, cultural, economic and social development of the country and of the humankind.
History
The Postgraduate Studies Program in Economics was created in 1977 as an alternative to the Postgraduate Studies in Economics offered in the country. Its founders were renowned economists such as Pedro Calil and Paul Singer. Throughout its history, other important economists had outstanding performance such as Guido Mantega, Walter Barelli, Armando Barros de Castro, among others. Since its creation, the Program has gone through a continuous process of revision, improvement and updating of the course and faculty. In 1997, the Program joined ANPEC, becoming part of the Deliberative Council of this Entity. Evaluated by CAPES since the beginning of its activities, it maintained the concept 4 (four) in the quadrennial evaluation of 2017-2020 (http://www.capes.gov.br), within a maximum scale of up to 5, attributed to Master Programs that do not maintain an in-house Doctorate Program in its structure
Research Lines
The Postgraduate Program in Economics has been developing six lines of research for several years, defined according to the fundamentals of the areas of concentrations in Economics. The lines of research comprise the broad research scope in the areas of concentration of the Program, where Economics is understood as a social, political and pluralistic science:
- Industrial Economics, Work and Technology
- World Economy, Development Economics and Economic Policies
- State and Public Policies
- Currency and Credit
The lines of research focus on traditional themes of economic analysis, such as industrial and labor economics, technical progress, monetary and financial economics, regional and agricultural economics, in addition to more recent topics of interest, such as the environmental and social economics, where there is a wide space for interdisciplinary analysis. The lines of research also include reflection on the world economy and on issues related to the state and public policies.
Within the lines of research, ongoing research projects reflect the interests of the faculty and the theoretical approaches they work with. Several research projects address themes and concerns from different lines of research, which enables dialogue between different theoretical approaches.
- Industrial Economics, Work and Technology
This line of research aims to examine economic theories and empirical aspects related to the behavior of industry, including the so-called services industry to technical progress and to the labor market in economies at different levels of development. It also investigates the availability of human resources and the ability of economies to adjust themselves to the needs arising from new technologies.
- World Economy, Development Economics and Economic
This line of research aims to study the long-term impacts of the most significant state-related dynamics on the international economy. It also analyzes the globalization process of the world economy, in parallel with the continuous national character of economic policies, the polarization and displacement of development spaces, emphasizing the great contradictions of the technological advancements, without a corresponding capacity for political-administrative organization.
- State and Public Policy
This line of research develops studies related to the role of the State in contemporary society and economy. It is oriented towards the historical and theoretical investigation of the current situation and about the perspectives governmental intervention in the economy. This area of research addresses the characteristics, consequences and limits of governmental intervention, notably for the Brazilian case. Specific emphasis is given to issues related to the welfare state, the fiscal crisis, liberalism and Keynesianism.
- Currency and Credit
This line of research covers monetary policy and exchange rate policy, financial and capital markets, actions performed by Central Banks and other public entities, public and private financial institutions and issues related to currency and the external scenario in public economics. The surveys highlight the Brazilian problems and also the international scope, with emphasis on Latin America and the USA.
The Program
The duration of the Master's course corresponds to a minimum length of 18 months and a maximum of 30 months, which may eventually be extended for a further 6 month-period.
To obtain the degree of Master in Economics, the student must cumulatively meet the following requirements, according to the Academic Policy of the Program currently in force:
- Accomplishment of at least 30 (thirty) credits, of which 15 (fifteen) credits in mandatory subjects and 9 (nine) in basic or elective subjects, in addition to 6 (six) in preparing the master's dissertation. Credits in academic support courses cannot be considered among the minimum number of credits required.
- Submission of the partial version of the master's dissertation, with welldeveloped chapters, to the examining board and approval in the Qualifying Examination.
- Approval in the English language proficiency exam.
- Approval of the final version of the master's dissertation submitted to the examining professors of the Master's Board.
- Completion of the Master's credits. Credits obtained in up to one discipline taken in stricto sensu graduate courses accredited by CAPES may be considered, provided that (a) the enrollment in this disciple has been indicated by the advising professor and approved by the Program Coordinator; (b) the approval obtained by the student in the discipline has a grade equal to or greater than B, or equivalent; (c) there must be equivalence between the syllabus content of the external discipline and the corresponding discipline of this Political Economy Program.
- The Master's student must have submitted and approved the chapters of his/her dissertation in a qualification exam carried out up to 40 days before the delivery of the dissertation copies and prove proficiency in the English language by the end of the fourth semester of the course. Every six months, the Program Coordination performs a proficiency test in English, thus allowing the student to meet this deadline.
The minimum compulsory attendance in each subject is 86.6%, with a passing grade of seven (7.0) or "B".
Research Groups accredited by CNPq
Every Professor in the Program belongs to one or more Research Groups registered at the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development – CNPq, as Leader, Vice-Leader, or Participant.
- International Scenario Analysis - NACI
About the group: An interdisciplinary research group integrated with the Social Sciences Program that studies topics related to integration processes, the economy and contemporary societies and develops research on international, institutional, geopolitical and economic aspects and foreign policy, with focus on regional and international processes, interregional integration processes where the Economy, Society and Politics are presented as interdisciplinary fields of knowledge.
Professor: Regina Maria d'Aquino Fonseca Gadelha
Link to the website: www.pucsp.br/naci - Economic Development and Economic Policy - DEPE
About the group: The failure of neoliberal reforms and its inability to create conditions for sustained growth with improved quality of life for the population, indicate the need to study alternative policies. The aim of the group is to analyze these issues and provide alternative views, especially related to Brazilian reality in the light of economic theory and empirical studies of the experiences from other countries.
Professor: Antônio Corrêa de Lacerda - Industrial Economics, Work and Technology - EITT
About the group: Dedicated to the knowledge and dissemination of analyzes of economic theories and empirical aspects of the behavior of Industry, Work and Technology with a focus on Brazil and Latin America. Part of the EITT publications aim to support government policies with an impact on industrial activities, technology and work. The group holds an Annual Cycle of Debates with a further publication of the articles presented.
Professor: Prof. Dr. Anita Kon
Link to the website: www.pucsp.br/eitt - World Economy – EM
About the group: Dedicated to the study of long-term impacts of the most significant state-related dynamics on the international economy and analyzes the globalization process of the world economy, in parallel with the continuous national character of economic policies, the polarization and displacement of development spaces, emphasizing the great contradictions of the technological advancements, without a corresponding capacity for political-administrative organization.
Professor: Prof. Dr. Ladislau Dowbor - State and Public Policy – EPP
About the group: The group operates on the following fronts: a) seminars on theoretical topics related to the capitalist state; b) presentation and discussion of master's dissertation projects whose research line incorporates the State as an instance of politics in the approach to Economics; c) promote debates of academic texts aimed at discussing the capitalist state; d) conducting research on public policies in Brazil.
Professor: Prof. Dr. Antonio Carlos de Moraes - Policies for Human Development-PDH
About the group: The group aims to develop research and studies on human development in Brazil, with a focus on issues related to inequality (income/wealth, employment/access to services and actions that integrate social protection) and the importance of social policies that generate rights and compensations, it also studies government policies, monitors their processes and results, analyzes international experiences and proposals for changes in social policies in our country.
Professor: Prof. Dr. Rosa Maria Marques
Link to the website: www.pucsp.br/desenvolvimento_humano
Scholarships
Criteria for Granting Scholarships
Scholarships are granted to candidates of the Postgraduate Studies Program in Political Economy according to the availability observed in the semester of admission.
The granting of Capes scholarships follows the ranking prepared by the Program's Scholarship Commission.
The classification ranking will take into account the scores obtained in the ANPEC exam, with emphasis on the score obtained in the Brazilian Economy test as well as the evaluation of a Preliminar Research Project that must be presented by the candidate on the Admission Process.
The evaluation of the Preliminar Research Project will take into account its connection with the existing lines of research of the Program. Following the same criteria above, 30% of the Program's scholarships are aimed at students within the ethnic-racial quotas according to the racial selfclassification informed by the candidates upon registration for the ANPEC exam.
In case there are scholarships available throughout the year, the new beneficiary will be chosen sequentially, according to the ranking described above.
The structure of the Preliminar Project must contain the fundamental constitutive elements, observing the ABNT Technical Norms:
- THEME AND PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH: relevance of the theme, explanation of the reasons (theoretical, practical and personal) for carrying out the research and consistent arguments, possible contributions to the field of knowledge to be studied.
- DELIMITATION OF THE PROBLEM: relevance, contextualization, argumentation, connection with current scientific production.
- OBJECTIVES: delimitation, clarity, coherence with the research problem (central question).
- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: examination of the stage of theoretical production on the subject, relevant existing theoretical production to the research problem, definition of the fundamental concepts of study.
- METHODOLOGICAL PROCEDURES: explanation of the survey process, systematization, analysis and interpretation of data, work plan with a forecast of the structure of the dissertation.
- FEASIBILITY: compatibility between the proposed deadlines and objectives and the time to complete the Master, availability of information, etc.
Admissions
ANPEC Exam
The admission profess for the Master's Program is carried out by the annual exam held by the National Association of Graduate Centers in Economics – ANPEC (http://www.anpec.org.br).
Pre-approved candidates must present, at the time of enrollment, an undergraduate diploma recognized by MEC and the respective school transcript.
Journal
- Pesquisa & Debate (Research & Debate)
About the Journal: Founded in 1985, Pesquisa & Debate is an electronic scientific publication of the Postgraduate Studies Program in Economics and of the Department of Economics at PUC-SP. It publishes original articles and reviews in Portuguese, Spanish and English in the field of Economics and Social Sciences. It is published at every six months and, in the four-year period 2016 - 2020, it obtained a Qualis A4 assessment.
Visit: http://revistas.pucsp.br/index.php/rpe
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