Ideas and economy in the policy reforms of the Brazilian oil sector: 1995 to 2010

Abstract This paper examines changes in oil revenue management in the period from the market-oriented reforms of the 1990s to the new oil sector regulatory framework introduced in 2010. Grounded on a combination of the long-term view afforded by historical institutionalism and the tools for modelling agents’ behaviour offered by rational choice institutionalism, it stresses the importance of ideas and associated interests in the policy outcome, considering stakeholder interaction in the process, the institutional framework, the new critical juncture, and the new domestic and international setting. The result indicates that the Brazilian oil policy follows the ideas path during the 1990s and 2000s, reflecting the dominant interests in each phase. As well, the domestic economic outlook was critical to determine the extent to which the government had to follow international agencies policy recommendations.