Bridging The Gap

"Bridging the Gap" By Hélio L. Costa Jr.

There is a serious global economic crisis affecting markets and jobs around the world and this is changing both, the economy and the individuals’ behavior. However, the crisis opens a lot of opportunities, due to its cyclical characteristics, and therefore many people and companies are already preparing for the next moment: that is the recovery and growth. "During crisis, opportunities emerge", this phrase has been repeated millions of times and has become popular wisdom, but there is something good. Brings comfort and reminds us that in the long run, things tend to improve, even if they seem really bad in the short term. Here in Brazil, the crisis was very surprisingly soft, if you compare with the most developed countries. The worst period was December 2008, when there was a lot of uncertainty on the air, but soon, in the beginning of this year, big companies, aimed at the internal market, restarted their production and opened a lot of workplaces again. One fact that proves the Brazilian immunity for the global economic crisis is that Banco Santander Brasil, a Brazilian bank, made its IPO – Initial Public Offer - last October, resulting in trading of more than $ 8 billion, the highest IPO of the year throughout the world according to BBC News (2009). The fourth largest world’s IPO was from another Brazilian company, Visanet, as listed in a Wall Street Journal ranking published on October, 5th. “By almost every measure, Banco Santander Brasil has been growing during the rough world economic climate, due in part to its acquisition of Banco Real in August 2008 and organic growth from preexisting operations. Assets, customers, total deposits and profits rose in 2008 and again in the first half of 2009” (Cowan, 2009). At this moment I could say that there are a lot of open places to specialized workers in Brazilian companies and the problem resides just on the "specialization". This isn't a problem that could solve in a short term and other countries are best prepared to the new growth, after the bubble-burst. Of course that the demand for professional programs should rise at this time, but poverty still is a big issue in Brazil and due to our enormous geographical dispersion; it's hard to put good schools in far places. Distance education could bridge this gap, but there are other important questions to deal with, like basic communication, literacy and even access to computer and electrical energy.

Lula, Brazilian President, recognized it in recent interview to Juan Mabromata, from Time Magazine (September, 2008): “We have a historic debt to settle concerning education”. When asked about the poor quality of education in Brazil, he answered: “We are investing $28 billion in education. We have [computer] labs in all our technical schools, and between now and 2010 every urban school will have broadband access. So really, deep down we are revolutionizing education”. There are places in Amazon where a boy has to sail the river for 5 hours a day, to reach a school that doesn't have electrical light. Those people were not affected by the international crisis; however they do not participate in the global economic system and therefore, don't take part of the statistics of world crisis. “The woeful state of education in Brazil, the world's fifth largest country, is compromising productivity and competitiveness and acting as a brake on the country's development, according to economists, businesspeople and educators. With the economies of China and India surging ahead, thanks in part to their large pools of educated workers, the issue has become an urgent one for Brazilian business.” (Downie, 2007) The preparation for social inclusion of young people unfortunately cannot be treated as a problem of government, and the issues related to this preparation cannot be resolved within four or eight years. These are actions of a longer plan that could solve the problems of poorer countries such as Brazil. Would have to be created a state policy, which does not change in every change of government, and that could be maintained and improved over the decades. Crises just remind us that we must take steps to protect ourselves from them. Some are stronger other weaker, some countries and people are more or less affected, but the recognition that education is crucial to reduce inequality within a country and inequalities between nations cannot fail to be present in any discussion of public policy, especially the ones being made now and that will bring far-reaching transformations. Recently, HSBC bank launched an index of emerging markets using data from 13 countries to assess the performance of economies that are leading the world on the edge of recession. The quarterly index showed that manufacturing output and services grew in the third quarter to the highest level since the second quarter of 2008, to 55.3, versus 50.7 in the second quarter. The index reached a historic minimum in the fourth quarter of 2008, to 43.8. The chief economist of HSBC, Stephen King, said “the data suggests a strong recovery of emerging countries and they are leading the global recovery, unlike previous recessions, when the United States pulled the resumption” (Correio do Brasil, 2009). - The recovery in emerging markets is

stronger and more robust than in developed countries. In this new world, America is hear and the emerging countries are leading - he said. The fact that the emerging recovery is being driven by domestic demand may make it more sustainable. The index is formed by the BRIC Brazil, Russia, India and China – and Czech Republic, Israel, Mexico, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey. Young people around the world undergo a great opportunity to be able to take part, take a ride in this rebuilding of economies and rethinking the structures of education and work. We must to realize this and create the best conditions for this to happen. BBC News. (2009, October 9). Santander Raises $8bn in Brazil. Retrieved October 31st 2009, from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8294339.stm Correio do Brasil. (2009, October 6). Emergentes Lideram Recuperação Após a Crise do Capitalismo Mundial. Retrieved October 31st 2009, from: http://www.correiodobrasil.com.br/noticia.asp?c=158386 Cowan, L. (2009, October 5). Two IPOs to Top $1 Billion This Week. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 31st, 2009, from: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125469217652162681.html Downie, A. (2007, April 12). Back to School. Time Magazine. Retrieved October 31st, 2009, from: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1609790,00.html Mabromata, J. (2008, September 19). Lula in His Own Words. Time Magazine. Retrieved October 31st, 2009, from http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1842949,00.html