Precio del agua y relocalización del recurso en la economía andaluza. Una aproximación desde un modelo de equilibrio general aplicado

El objetivo de este trabajo consiste en analizar los efectos que tendría un incremento en la tarifa del agua del sector agrario sobre la conservación del recurso, la eficiencia en el consumo y la posible relocalización del mismo entre los diferentes sectores productivos. La política tarifaria se aplicará sobre el sector agrario debido, por un lado, al excesivo consumo de agua realizado por dicho sector y, por otro, al bajo precio pagado por ella. La metodología que se utilizará para alcanzar el objetivo propuesto consistirá en un modelo de equilibrio general aplicado (MEGA), previamente diseñado para el análisis de impuestos directos de la economía andaluza (Cardenete y Sancho, 2003), mejorado y ampliado para incluir las emisiones contaminantes y la introducción de impuestos ambientales (André, Cardenete y Velázquez, 2005). Este modelo se modificará para introducir las variaciones en la tarifa del agua que trataremos de analizar mediante la introducción de un impuesto sobre la estructura de producción.reformas impositivas ambientales, equilibrio general aplicado, precio del agua.

Economic structural change over time: Brazil and the United States compared

Usando as matrizes de insumo-produto para as economias do Brasil e dos Estados Unidos, este estudo comparativo tem como objetivo analisar como a estrutura produtiva de dois grandes países, com níveis diferentes de desenvolvimento, mudou através do tempo (1958-77 para os Estados Unidos e 1959-80 para o Brasil). A mudança na estrutura produtiva e decomposta em três componentes iniciais (demanda final, tecnologia, e sua interação sinergética), após o que estes componentes são divididos em mudanças que são iniciadas dentro e fora do setor. A partir destas analises e possível identificar os padrões de mudanças estruturais nas duas economias. Os resultados indicam um grande grau de semelhança nos padrões do processo de crescimento de ambos os países, com diferenças mais significantes entre setores do que entre países. A análise capaz de capturar diferenças importantes na origem das mudanças da demanda, isto e mudanças internas versus mudanças externas ao setor.Using input-output tables for the economies of Brazil and the United States, this comparative study focuses on changes in the economic structure of two large countries with different levels of development over time (1958-77 for the United States and 1959-80 for Brazil). The change in the economic structure is decomposed into three initial components (final demand, technology, and their synergistic interaction) and thereafter these components are further divided into change initiated within the sector and outside the sector. From this analysis it is possible to identify patterns of structural change in the two economies. The results indicate a rather remarkable degree of commonality in the patterns of growth processes in both countries, with more significant differences between sectors than between countries. The analysis confirmed earlier findings about the role of demand changes but was able to capture important differences in internal-to-sector versus external-to-sector sources of demand change

Linkages and Multipliers in a Multiregional Framework: Integration of Alternative Approaches

In this paper, two literatures that have explored the structure of economies are brought together. In the first case, the approaches to key sector identification (initially associated with Hirschman and Rasmussen) that were modified by Cella, Clements and Rossi and Guilhoto et al. to reveal what may be referred to a pure linkage approach are related to the concerns of Miyazawa and his identification of internal and external multiplier effects. While Miyazawa was interested mainly in identifying the sources of change in an economy, his approach shares considerable commonality with the new ideas in key sector identification in which a sector or set of sectors are separated from the rest of the economy. Hence, in both cases, a decomposition of the economy needs to be considered; the present paper reveals the similarity of perspective and provides the formal link between the two methodologies

Neither here nor there: regionally targeted social policy or socially targeted regional policy? the first four years of Lula’s administration

The aim of regional policy is the attainment of a more efficient and/or equitable interregional distribution of economic activity (Temple, 1994). As demonstrated elsewhere (Haddad, 1999), Brazil has undergone, in the last twenty years or so, deep structural changes, responsible for the setback in the process of polarization reversal in the economy. After 1988, with the new Constitution, the central government was hampered by a profound loss in its revenues to the state and municipal governments. Nevertheless, the fiscal crisis reached all levels of government, decreasing their financial capability for carrying out new investment ventures. The lack of investment in economic infrastructure increased the average cost of production; producers were facing increasing costs due to the inefficient mechanisms of trade and transportation, which lagged technologically

Major Allergen Content in Allergen Immunotherapy Products: The Limited Value of Numbers

The prevalence of allergic disorders has increased drastically over the last 50 years to the extent that they can be considered epidemic. At present, allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) is the only therapy that targets the underlying cause of allergic disorders, and evidence of its superiority is based on data accumulated from clinical trials and observational studies demonstrating efficacy and safety. However, several aspects remain unresolved, such as harmonization and standardization of manufacturing and quantification procedures across manufacturers, homogeneous reporting of strength, and the establishment of international reference standards for many allergens. This article discusses issues related to the measurement of major allergen content in AIT extracts, raising the question of whether comparison of products from different manufacturers is an appropriate basis for selecting a specific AIT product. Allergen standardization in immunotherapy products is critical for ensuring quality and, thereby, safety and efficacy. However, lack of harmonization in manufacturing processes, allergen quantification (methodologies and references), national regulatory differences, clinical practice, and labeling shows that the comparison of AIT products based solely on major allergen amounts is not rational and, in fact, impossible. Moreover, when rating the information given for a specific product, it is necessary to take into account further inherent characteristics of products and their application in clinical practice, such as the state of extract modification, addition of adjuvant or adjuvant system, route of administration (sublingual/ subcutaneous), and cumulative dose as per posology (including the volume per administration). Finally, only convincing clinical data can serve as the basis for product-specific evaluation and cross-product comparability of individual products

Neither here nor there: regionally targeted social policy or socially targeted regional policy? the first four years of Lula’s administration

The aim of regional policy is the attainment of a more efficient and/or equitable interregional distribution of economic activity (Temple, 1994). As demonstrated elsewhere (Haddad, 1999), Brazil has undergone, in the last twenty years or so, deep structural changes, responsible for the setback in the process of polarization reversal in the economy. After 1988, with the new Constitution, the central government was hampered by a profound loss in its revenues to the state and municipal governments. Nevertheless, the fiscal crisis reached all levels of government, decreasing their financial capability for carrying out new investment ventures. The lack of investment in economic infrastructure increased the average cost of production; producers were facing increasing costs due to the inefficient mechanisms of trade and transportation, which lagged technologically

Social policies, personal and regional income inequality in Brazil: an I-O analysis of the "Bolsa Família" program

The study presents a Leontief-Miyazawa model to study personal and regional income inequality in Brazil. The economy is divided into 31 sectors, in 5 macro regions; households are allocated into 10 income brackets. The study identifies the contribution of different sectors to inequality. The model is used to simulate the capacity of social policies to reduce personal and regional inequality in the country. The analysis is conducted using the pro-poor “Bolsa Família” program which is a social program that provides direct income transfers to poor (with per capita income between BRL 60,01 and BRL 120,00) and extreme poor households (with per capita income below BRL 60,00). The results show that in the short run, the “Bolsa Família” program has proven to produce positive results, both at the personal income level and at the regional concentration level, and has surely paid large dividends in electoral terms. Solving inequality problems, however, might need other mid and long run policies which could improve competitiveness of lagging regions