In terms of research, the Institute is organized into different centers. They are as follows: Center of Economic Analysis and Policy Studies (CECON); Center of Economic Development Studies (CEDE); Center for Studies of International Economic Relations (CERI); Center of Union and Labor Economics Studies (CESIT); Center for Applied Economics, Agricultural and Environmental Research (CEA); Center of Industrial and Technology Economics (NEIT); Center of Social, Urban and Regional Economics (NESUR); Center of Finance (NIF); Center of Economic History (NIHE); Center of Quantitative Methods applied to Economics (NIMQAE).
The diversity of the researches hosted at IE is also reflected into different methods. In addition to the indexed journals, IE’s written intellectual production is also disclosed in an expressive manner on books, papers published in scientific event proceedings and articles published in newspapers and magazines.

Research Centers

The objective of the Center of Economic Situation and Policy Studies (CECON), created in 1985, is to systematically monitor the evolution of the economy and economic policy in Brazil, as well as other countries and regions. The research activity congregates professors and students of Unicamp’s Institute of Economics. The Center regularly holds seminars open to the university community, as well as seminars attended by researchers arising from other education and research institutions.

The Center of Economic Development Studies - CEDE acts primarily in the promotion of academic studies and researches, preparation of technical report on regional and urban issues, and promotion of discussions and events. The problem on the economic development in its multiple spatial determinations in Brazil and Latin America is the current attention focus of the center.

The main objectives of Ceri are as follows: i) Analyzing the structural evolution of the global economy, by particularly taking into consideration its repercussions on the Brazilian economic development; ii) Analyzing the behavior of the international economic situation, specially from the point of view of its reflections on the Brazilian economy; iii) Studying the economic relations between Brazil and the international trade dynamics, international investment and finance; iv) Analyzing the economic relations in Latin America and the political-economic outlooks and agenda for Mercosur; v) Discussing Brazil’s relations with the United States, European Union, China, Japan and other Asian countries; vi) Promoting publications that assure the regular disclosure of its works, as well as arranging or seminars, colloquiums, study weeks and conferences; vii) Keeping contact with domestic and foreign institutions with similar objective, in order to support the exchange of experiences in the analysis of the international economic relations.
Currently, Ceri has been guiding its research and reflection agenda around two simultaneous and complementary cores, namely: a) evolution of the international scenario; and b) interpretations of global capitalist development.

Since its foundation, CESIT has been giving priority to issues related to the labor market, labor relations, unionism, public policies on employment, productive restructuring, new labor organization forms, social policies. For the development of its activities regarding education, research and extension, CESIT gathers an interdisciplinary group of researchers specialized in different subjects related to the labor world, social issues and policies.
In activities of graduate studies, since 2003, many professors have been part of the structuring and development of an International Master’s Degree on Globalization and Labor Policies, in partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO), Friederick Ebert Foundation (FES), Berlin School of Economics and Kassel University (German Universities), Witswatersrands University (South Africa), Tata Institute (India), CUT, COSATU, DGB. In this scope of this project, Global Labour University, CESIT’s professors coordinate and attend the international master’s degree course provided at UNICAMP’s Institute of Economics (Social Economics and Labour), in addition to participating in academic activities relating to the other three master’s degree courses developed at universities in Germany, South Africa and India.

A national reference center targeted to the discussion, research and development of projects in Agricultural, Agrarian and Environmental areas. That is the outcome of the academic proposal taken by the members of the Center for Applied Economics, Agricultural and Environmental Research (CEA).
Throughout its history, one of the main actions taken by CEA was insert agriculture and agrarian issue into the Brazilian economic development milestones. In this regard CEA is considered one of the pioneers in the discussion of the agriculture and livestock sector in the Brazilian economy, by providing particular attention to the articulations with the upstream industrial sectors, as well as the foreign market, State, financial, multilateral and research institutions.

With intense activities and qualified professors, the Center has a complete infrastructure in order to provide the entire support to the domestic and foreign students and researchers. From undergraduate degree to doctorate degree, the students are counseled by a specialized faculty. One of the principles of education follows the application of methodologies acknowledged by professionals of the area, as well as the constant refreshing of the faculty on research subjects and projects developed at CEA. Visible vocation in the various publications of articles and theses found in renowned journals of the area.


The Center of Industrial and Technology Economics (NEIT) of UNICAMP’s Institute of Economics has been congregating, since 1985, professors, researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, and external collaborators developing individual and collective researches in the Industrial Economics, Technology, Innovation and International Competitiveness areas.

The developed projects encompass a broad set of subjects: industrial organization, industrial development, global and regional value chain analysis, international exports and competitiveness, transnational corporations and FDI, University-Enterprise linkages, industrial and technological policy, innovation economics, amongst others.

NEIT continues to seek to follow up and analyze, through its researches, holding of seminars and papers published by professors, researchers and undergraduate and graduate students, the developments arising from the technological advance associated to the 4.0 industry, combined with the important changes of the productive, technological, organizational and financial accumulation that characterize the contemporary economy. In addition, it permanently seeks to evaluate how those changes affect the possibilities for the domestic economic development.

Under construction

The line of research of the Center of Finance (NIF) proposes to advance the study of the monetary and financial theory under Post-Keynesian school, with a focus on transmission mechanisms of the monetary policy and interdependence of the macroeconomic policies (tax, monetary and currency exchange).

The objective of the Center of Economic History (NIHE) is the study of subjects that allow people to understand the current Brazilian economy in light of its historic formation: the colonial past, the dynamics and the effects of slavery.

Development of statistic and econometric methods applied to economic and social issues in support to the research and educational activities carried out at the Institute of Economics.