Antônio Delfim Netto (born May 1, 1928) is a Brazilian

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

, former

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

, and

Planning Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is consi ...

of Brazil,

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

and

congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

. During his incumbency as Minister of Finance of Brazil, the country experienced the so-called ''Milagre Econômico'' (the Economic Miracle), a time of unprecedented economic growth. The Milagre Econômico overseen by Delfim Netto relied on a heterodox, developmentalist model. The economic expansion relied on low wages, rapidly rising exports, and foreign capital inflows. Delfim Netto originated the phrase "cake theory" in reference to this model: the cake had to grow before it could be distributed. Although the "cake" in his metaphor did grow, it was highly unequally distributed.

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1928 births Living people Brazilian economists University of São Paulo alumni Democratic Social Party politicians Reform Progressive Party politicians Progressistas politicians Brazilian Democratic Movement politicians Finance Ministers of Brazil Government ministers of Brazil Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil) from São Paulo Ambassadors of Brazil to France Agriculture ministers of Brazil {{Brazil-economist-stub