IPD was initially invited to Brazil in April of 2003 by the Council for Economic and Social Development to help formulate policy guidelines on issues ranging from pension reform to new ideas on stimulating long-term growth. The Council, which is made up of representatives from government, academia, the business community, trade unions, and NGOs, was created by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as a forum for inclusive policy debate. IPD has since held two events with the Council with the goal of stimulating dialogue on economic policy alternatives.
In August 2003, IPD held a Country Dialogue in Brazil entitled "Policy Regimes for Growth and Development" to discuss macroeconomic imbalances, fiscal accounting and industrial policy. The final session, co-sponsored by one of the major Brazilian newspapers, VALOR Economico, brought together over 400 participants. IPD successfully broached the issue of accounting methods, previously largely absent from public debate. Alternative accounting frameworks are particularly important, as the measurement of IMF targets can vary greatly depending on which accounting method is used. Since the dialogue, Brazil has had discussions with the IMF on changing accounting standards, specifically proposing policy options that IPD brought to the discussion.
IPD’s first event in Brazil was a Country Dialogue on Pension Reform in April 2003, held in response to an invitation of the Council for Economic and Social Development, a forum created by President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva for inclusive policy debate on current national issues. In holding this dialogue, Brazil hoped to generate methods to reduce the deficit in the civil servants pension regime, and as tasked, IPD presented alternative reforms to the pension system, drawing on the experiences of other countries. Following the dialogue, the Council presented a recommendation for pension reform to President Lula.
