Reforming Institutions from Inside: Federalism and Inequality in Brazil

Some authors argue that the federal system in Brazil leads to economic inequality. Nevertheless, there are federations with low levels of inequality, such as Canada, Australia and Germany. Using the Brazilian case as an example, we argue that this can be partly explained by the rules of intergovernmental transfers and taxation of the federation. I propose a typological theory of inter-jurisdictional transfers: inequality reducing transfers; transfers that maintain the status quo or are ambiguous; and inequality producing transfers. Gradual changes in these federal rules allowed Brazil to cease being the country of growing levels of inequality of the 60s and 70s and to become a country that drastically reduced inequality in the 2000s. I emphasize that many intergovernmental transfer reforms, especially regarding taxation, are in need to keep Brazil on the same path.

REFORMING INSTITUTIONS FROM INSIDE: FEDERALISM AND INEQUALITY IN BRAZIL

Some authors argue that the federal system in Brazil leads to economic inequality. Nevertheless, there are federations with low levels of inequality, such as Canada, Australia and Germany. Using the Brazilian case as an example, we argue that this can be partly explained by the rules of intergovernmental transfers and taxation of the federation. I propose a typological theory of inter-jurisdictional transfers: inequality reducing transfers; transfers that maintain the status quo or are ambiguous; and inequality producing transfers. Gradual changes in these federal rules allowed Brazil to cease being the country of growing levels of inequality of the 60s and 70s and to become a country that drastically reduced inequality in the 2000s. I emphasize that many intergovernmental transfer reforms, especially regarding taxation, are in need to keep Brazil on the same path

Compulsory Voting Can Increase Political Inequality: Evidence from Brazil

One of the most robust findings on political institutions is that compulsory voting (CV) reduces the participation gap between poorer and wealthier voters. We present evidence that in Brazil, the largest country to use such a rule, CV increases inequality in turnout. We use individual-level data on 140 million Brazilian citizens and two age-based discontinuities to estimate the heterogeneous effects of CV by educational achievement, a strong proxy for socioeconomic status. Evidence from both thresholds shows that the causal effect of CV on turnout among the more educated is at least twice the size of the effect among those with less education. To explain this result, which is the opposite of what is predicted by the existing literature, we argue that nonmonetary penalties for abstention primarily affect middle- and upper-class voters and thus increase their turnout disproportionately. Survey evidence from a national sample provides evidence for the mechanism. Our results show that studies of CV should consider nonmonetary sanctions, as their effects can reverse standard predictions

As razões da guerra civil: necessidade, crença e ganância

20520

DISCÍPULOS DE RAWLS EM BUSCA DE UMA CONCEPÇÃO COSMOPOLITA DE JUSTIÇA DISTRIBUTIVA INTERNACIONAL

Neste artigo, argumentamos que alguns “discípulos” de John Rawls, refletindo sobre princípios de justiçainternacional, apresentam uma posição mais consistente com o espírito da obra Uma teoria da Justiça do queseu próprio autor. Autores como Charles Beitz e Thomas Pogge defendem mecanismos de justiça distributivainternacional mais condizentes com o cosmopolitismo do “princípio da diferença” da obra Uma teoria daJustiça do que qualquer outro esforço que Rawls faz nesse sentido em sua obra posterior, mais voltada paraas questões internacionais: O Direito dos Povos. Mais especificamente, sustentamos que Pogge e Beitzdesenvolveram argumentos (a relativização do princípio da soberania absoluta dos Estados e a transferênciainternacional de recursos naturais) mais sólidos para transportar o “princípio da diferença” para o cenáriointernacional do que a proposta rawlsiana de “dever de assistência”, encontrada em O Direito dos Povos.Assim, demonstramos que os discípulos são mais fiéis ao espírito cosmopolita para o plano internacional doque Rawls por conta de três razões: a crença desses autores em uma comunidade global de concidadãosdentro de uma estrutura institucional internacional; a idéia segundo a qual a produção global de recursoscoletivos deve ser redistribuída a partir de um princípio distributivo denso; e, por fim, uma redistribuiçãoque somente pode ser justa se exigir reformas morais das instituições internacionais (Fundo MonetárioInternacional, Organização Mundial do Comércio, Banco Mundial, princípio da soberania etc.) no sentidode melhorar as condições de vida dos indivíduos mais pobres de todos os povos do sistema. Este artigopretende, portanto, discutir o legado mais progressista de autores que, ao inspirarem-se em Rawls,desenvolveram argumentos mais condizentes com o espírito cosmopolita para o plano internacional

The Bigger, the Better: Coalitions in the GATT/WTO

What does it take to make a coalition successful? Bigger coalitions are more likely to be successful because the GATT/WTO is a consensus-based institution and countries are informally penalized if they isolate themselves. Through a Bayesian statistical analysis, the article corroborates the above hypothesis. To further investigate the research question, qualitative case studies of the G-10 in the Uruguay Round and the Public Health Coalition in the Doha Round are conducted. These cases show that the more convincing the framing of a position, the better are the chances of coalitions keeping a large number of followers and supporters, thereby affecting their odds of success. By building a unique database and applying a new research design to the topic, the study rigorously tests theories about coalitions that had previously only been proposed but not empirically analyzed

Determinants of success and failure of the international coalitions in the negotiations of the World Trade Organization (WTO)

O principal objetivo deste trabalho é entender como coalizões de países em desenvolvimento são bem-sucedidas nas negociações do GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) e da Organização Mundial de Comércio (OMC). Normalmente, sustenta-se que coalizões temáticas são mais bem-sucedidas do que grupos abrangentes (Higgot e Cooper, 1990; Cooper, Higgot e Nossal, 1990); e que coalizões com maiores recursos de poder são mais bem-sucedidas do que grupos fracos (Narlikar, 2003). Como hipótese alternativa, sugerimos que quanto maior for o grau de abertura comercial da coalizão - ((exportações+importações)/PIB) - maior será a chance de elas serem bemsucedidas nas negociações do GATT/OMC. Utilizaremos uma abordagem multimétodos (qualitativa e quantitativa) para realizar nossa pesquisa. Analisaremos um número (N) médio (entre 28 a 39 casos) de coalizões internacionais para descobrir quais as principais causas dos sucessos e fracassos destes grupos de países. Codificaremos a variável dependente (sucesso versus fracasso) conforme as descrições de casos particulares conduzidos por pesquisadores independentes. A variável independente categórica (coalizões temáticas versus abrangentes) será mensurada segundo procedimento semelhante. Por fim, o PIB agregado das coalizões (nossa medida de poder) e a abertura comercial agregada e abertura comercial média das coalizões (nossas medidas de abertura comercial) foram coletadas na base de dados Penn World Table 6.2. Os trabalhos que conhecemos sobre o tema utilizam a abordagem qualitativa de maneira pura, especialmente estudos de casso. Assim, até onde sabemos, este trabalho realizará a primeira análise estatística sobre o tema.The main goal of this study is to understand how developing country coalitions obtain benefits in the GATT/WTO negotiations. Usually it is argued that issue-based coalitions are more successful than broad-based groups (Higgot and Cooper, 1990; Cooper, Higgot and Nossal, 1990), and that powerful coalitions are more successful than weaker ones (Narlikar, 2003). Alternatively, we suggest that the greater the degree of trade openness - ((exports+imports)/GDP) - the greater the chance that they will succeed in the GATT/WTO negotiations. We use a mix-method approach (qualitative and quantitative) to conduct our research. We will analyze a medium-N (from 28 to 39) cases of international coalitions to find out the main causes of coalitions\' successes and failures. We will code our dependent variable (success versus failure) according to cases studies conducted by independent researchers. Our categorical independent variable (issue-based versus broad-based coalitions) will be measured adopting the same procedure. Finally, aggregate GDP - our measure of power -, aggregate trade openness and mean aggregate trade openness of the coalitions - our measures of trade openness - were collected in the Penn World Table 6.2. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first statistical analysis on the subject

Reforming Institutions from Inside: Federalism and Inequality in Brazil

Some authors argue that the federal system in Brazil leads to economic inequality. Nevertheless, there are federations with low levels of inequality, such as Canada, Australia and Germany. Using the Brazilian case as an example, we argue that this can be partly explained by the rules of intergovernmental transfers and taxation of the federation. I propose a typological theory of inter-jurisdictional transfers: inequality reducing transfers; transfers that maintain the status quo or are ambiguous; and inequality producing transfers. Gradual changes in these federal rules allowed Brazil to cease being the country of growing levels of inequality of the 60s and 70s and to become a country that drastically reduced inequality in the 2000s. I emphasize that many intergovernmental transfer reforms, especially regarding taxation, are in need to keep Brazil on the same path