Unraveling Growth Models in Peripheral Economies: Kalecki’s Political Business Cycle and Brazil’s ‘Pink Tide’ Experience

This article critically examines the recent debate on growth models in Comparative Political Economy (CPE). It proposes a framework that combines the strengths of the Growth Model Perspective and the subsequent post-Keynesian criticism, arguing for an extension of Kalecki’s work's influence on the growth model literature. Particularly, it refers to considering the role played by the distributive conflict within the political business cycle, as it implies articulating economic and socio-political determinants of growth models under the same theoretical basis. Given the characteristics of the political business cycle, the Kaleckian-based approach to growth models becomes suitable for analyzing redistributive growth experiences, such as the South American ‘Pink Tide’ and its specific manifestation in Brazil (2003–2016). By stressing how the distributive conflict has shaped Brazil’s recent growth model, the findings highlight the importance of a social classes disputes for the growth model literature and contribute to a more nuanced understanding of growth models, suggesting analytical alternatives for evaluating similar experiences in peripheral economies.