Regional development of education as a "coordination game"

In this paper, we try to assess the ability of educationally backward countries, such as Portugal, to catch-up with more developed nations within the EU. For that purpose, we use a framework composed by a symmetric coordination n person game that is played by a set of candidates to attend a post-compulsory educational degree, such as university. Higher education has a positive payoff only if a "critical mass" (indeed the unanimity) of students with a low socioeconomic background decide to attend the university. Two strict Nash equilibria exist in this game: either all players decide to attend the university or none does it in equilibrium. By using the "risk dominance" approach to the selection of a unique Nash equilibrium that was suggested by HARSANYI and SELTEN (1988), we are able to recognize the factors that make either strict Nash equilibrium the likely solution. In spite of the progress they have achieved in schooling, structurally lagging countries such as Portugal seem to be hindered in education development by the fact that, in a large majority of households, income is low and parents lack post-compulsory education. While low household income makes the relative cost of university education high even if tuition fees are modest, a small share of highly educated parents makes the achievement of a "critical mass" of students who attend the university more difficult and thus renders the benefits of college education riskier and less safe.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Analysis of space south region agribusinesses: a study the municipal government for the year 2010

This work aimed to check the geographic patterns of agribusiness industries distributed on municipalities in the south of the Brazil for the year 2010 in order to determine whether there is the phenomenon of concentration/agroindustrial crowding around the central cities. The methodology used is Exploratory Analysis of Spatial Data (ESDA) and spatial econometric. The results showed the existence of positive spatial autocorrelation between the municipalities of the southern region. With spatial dependence, the more appropriate econometric models were the spatial lag models (SAR) and Model Space error (SEM), which indicated positive sign and significant value  for agricultural variables and industry; income per capita; and total rural population. In the results, the agricultural industries are focusing in the main centers of each state under study, that is, companies are close to areas with larger population, the consumer market

Competitividade das exportações da carne bovina dos países do Mercosul: uma análise a partir do Constant-Market-Share

The meat of bovine animals is one of the mainly products exported by the countries of Mercosur, including Brazil, this way, analyzing this commodity’s behavior and competitiveness in the international market is considered relevant, thereby becoming the objective of this text. The analytical period extended from 1991 to 2011, but three sub-periods were considered to obtain characteristic information of changes in the external scenario to explain the behavior of bovine meat trade flows in the countries of this group. To achieve the objective, a Constant Market-Share model has been used, which has shown results – for the sources of growth’s breakdown analysis in period II in relation to period I, as well as period III in relation to period II –, that the growth of trade effects and competitiveness are positive, while the destine of exports’ effect has been negative.Keywords: meat exports, Mercosur, market-share.A carne bovina está entre os principais produtos da pauta exportadora dos países do Mercosul, sobremaneira do Brasil. Logo, analisar o comportamento e a competitividade dessa commodity no mercado internacional torna-se relevante, constituindo- se no objetivo central deste texto. O período analítico estendeu-se de 1991 a 2011, porém, foram considerados três subperíodos, cuja finalidade foi obter informações características das mudanças do cenário externo à explicação do comportamento dos fluxos de comércio de carne bovina dos países do Bloco. Para isso, utilizou-se o modelo Constant Market-Share, tendo como resultados, tanto na análise da decomposição das fontes de crescimento do período II em relação ao período I quanto do período III em relação ao período II, que os efeitos do crescimento do comércio mundial e da competitividade são positivos, enquanto o efeito do destino das exportações foi negativo.Palavras-chave: exportações carne bovina, Mercosul, market-share

The development of higher education in Europe as a "coordination game"

This paper tries to explain differences in high education growth across European countries by using a coordination game (Stag Hunt) played by n candidates to college education. The payoff of enrolling in the university is positive only if there is "una­ nimity", i.e. if all candidates engage in higher education, being zero otherwise. This coordination requirement follows from the specialized nature of skills acquired through higher education, which can only be made profitable if each graduate is matched with graduate complementary specialists. This game has two strict Nash equilibria, where either all youngsters enter the university or none does. We show that the assessment of the factors that explain the differential growth of universities across countries is related with alternative ways of selecting a Nash equilibrium in the coordination game. By using empirical data, we can conclude that demographic trends and a cumulative causation factor play a major role in tertiary education growth, while the "wage premium" asso- ciated with college attendance also matters but is relatively secondary. "Tuition fees" and other direct financial costs do not appear to be a significant cause or hindrance of university development.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Transmissão de preços no mercado de algodão em pluma: Uma análise da influência dos preços internacionais sobre os preços domésticos (2000 - 2012)

A cotonicultura sofreu grandes transformações nas últimas décadas, passando de tradicional à empresarial, esse processo colocou o Brasil no grupo dos principais produtores e exportadores de algodão. Dos vetores de crescimento do setor, a opção pela orientação externa leva o presente artigo a buscar evidências sobre a relação criada dentro de um mercado potencialmente integrado. O período de análise compreende o ano que marca uma balança comercial de algodão em pluma superavitária, janeiro de 2000, e encerra no primeiro semestre de 2012. A metodologia adotada para testar a Lei do Preço Único (LPU) parte de um mecanismo de correção de erros (MCE). Os resultados preliminares indicam que existe uma relação de equilíbrio de longo prazo entre os preços doméstico e internacional, cerca de 93% dos choques foram repassados.

Analysis of space south region agribusinesses: a study the municipal government for the year 2010

This work aimed to check the geographic patterns of agribusiness industries distributed on municipalities in the south of the Brazil for the year 2010 in order to determine whether there is the phenomenon of concentration/agroindustrial crowding around the central cities. The methodology used is Exploratory Analysis of Spatial Data (ESDA) and spatial econometric. The results showed the existence of positive spatial autocorrelation between the municipalities of the southern region. With spatial dependence, the more appropriate econometric models were the spatial lag models (SAR) and Model Space error (SEM), which indicated positive sign and significant value  for agricultural variables and industry; income per capita; and total rural population. In the results, the agricultural industries are focusing in the main centers of each state under study, that is, companies are close to areas with larger population, the consumer market