What Is the Impact of the Bolsa Família Programme on Education?

Many researchers have shown that Brazil?s Bolsa Família programme had a large impact on reducing poverty and income inequality. But evidence for the programme?s impact on educational outcomes is in short supply. Does Bolsa Família increase school enrolment? Does it reduce dropout rates? Does it improve grade promotions? (...)What Is the Impact of the Bolsa Família Programme on Education?

Wage gender discrimination and segmentation in the Brazilian labor market

This study calculates the returns to education and experience, wage gender discrimination and market segmentation, based on the earnings equations coefficients, obtained by using a sample selectivity bias correction model. To this end, a detailed analysis using a multinomial logit model is developed, where the dependent variable takes value 0 if a person is not working, 1 if he or she is in the formal market place, or 2 if the individual is employed in the informal sector. Based on the coefficients estimated in the polychotomus choice model, a lambda variable (inverse of Mill’s ratio) is calculated and used in the wage equation to obtain consistent estimates without sample selectivity bias. Large differences are observed when comparing the returns to education and experience obtained from the coefficients of the earnings equations when both correcting and not correcting for sample selectivity bias. The men's return to education in the informal sector, for example, more than double when excluding lambda. Large gender discrimination was found when the women's average estimated wages is obtained by substituting their characteristics in the men's structure. While the actual average women’s earnings is approximately 25% below the men’s wage, the estimated average women’s earnings surpassed the average men's earnings. Finally, it was observed that 20% of the earnings differentials between formal and informal sectors is attributed to market segmentation

The Impact of Child Labor and School Quality on Academic Achievement in Brazil

We analyze the impact of child labor on school achievement using Brazilian school achievement test data from the 2003 Sistema Nacional de Avaliação da Educação Básica (SAEB). We control for the endogeneity of child labor using instrumental variable techniques, where the instrumental variable is the average wage for unskilled male labor in the state. Using our preferred OLS estimates, we find that child labor causes a loss in students' school achievement. Children and adolescents who do not work have better school performance than students who work. Up to two hours of work per day do not have a statistically significant effect on school performance, but additional hours decrease student's achievement. Differences in work conditions affect school performance. For high school students in Portuguese, compared to students who have schooling as their only activity, students who work only at home score 4 percent lower on the tests. Those students who only work outside the house are worse off than those who only work within the house, with test scores decreasing by 5 percent. Students who work both inside and outside the house have the lowest test scores of all the working conditions, decreasing by up to 7 percent.child labor, school achievement, Brazil

Betulinic Acid–Doxorubicin-Drug combination induced apoptotic death via ROS stimulation in a relapsed AML MOLM-13 cell model

In this study, cell death regulation and induction in AML cell line from a relapsed MLL-rearranged cell model (MOLM-13) was investigated with doxorubin (Dox) and betulinic acid (BetA), singly and in combination. CyQUANT Direct® and Annexin V/propidium iodide double staining were used to measure the cytotoxic and cell death induction effects of the compounds, respectively. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was measured using 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescin diacetate staining. Expressions of proteins and genes were examined by Western blot and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis, respectively. BetA (20 μM) and Dox (1 μM) indicated a synergistic growth inhibitory effect on MOLM-13 cells. The combined drug caused more cells to reside in irreversible late apoptotic stage compared to the single treatments (p < 0.05). Elevation in ROS may be the synergistic mechanism involved in MOLM-13 cell death since ROS can directly disrupt mitochondrial activity. In contrast, in leukaemic U-937 cells, the combination treatments attenuated Dox-induced cell death. Dox and the drug combination selectively reduced (p < 0.05) a recently reported anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein isoform p15-20-Bcl-2 in MOLM-13 by our group, without affecting the usually reported p26-Bcl-2-α. Further studies using known inhibitors of apoptosis are required to confirm the potential of Dox-BetA combination to modulate these pathways

Impact Evaluation of the Brazilian Social Programs on Family Welfare.

Impact Evaluation of the Brazilian Social Programs on Family Welfare Key‐words: impact evaluation; cash transfer; public policy; labor supply; child labor; school attendance. This study uses an impact evaluation methodology to analyze the non-contributory pension program BPC on family welfare. The program provides a minimum wage to individuals 65 years-old or more with a per capita family income no greater than 25% of the current minimum wage. It means that the grant is addressed to very poor households and it is well targeted. We also verified that the amount transferred can be considered large when compared to other Brazilian social programs. Therefore, we expect important shifts in life quality of recipients and their families. Primarily we looked for changes in the living arrangements in recipients' households. We found some evidence of increased probability of elders living alone. We considered elders living with the spouse as living alone as well. Some authors argue that old-age pensions could be associated to more independence from the offspring, the spouse, and relatives which could influence their decisions. As our estimates are short run effects, future studies with longitudinal data can pick this effect up if it really exists. When we look at the number of co-residents, we found an increased number of members between 30 and 49 years-old in beneficiaries' households. The results show decreases in the co-residents' labor force participation due to the pension. There is a large decrease in the elderly labor force participation just above the cutoff age and some decrease for adults of more than 30 years of age, but no effect for young adults between 18 and 29 years-old. People with more than 30 years old are very likely to be the adult sons of the beneficiary who may be in charge of the elder. This sort of relationship may be one explanation of this decrease in the labor force participation at that age. Also there could be some intergenerational human capital transfer. Beneficiaries could become more supportive of their grandsons' studies, implying a better school attendance rate of their grandsons and less child labor. We found no effect for school attendance, but we found significant effects for reducing child labor, especially for the younger ones. In this study we could only evaluate the effect upon children co-residing with beneficiaries, but possibly there is a spillover for households of relatives, what lead us to think that the benefit is actually larger than the one we have estimated

Atributos determinantes valorizados pelos consumidores do varejo brasileiro de materiais de construção

This article analyzes the determinant attributes valued by the retail consumer of construction materials in São Paulo State, Brazil, using a survey with 450 consumers from two large retail networks of construction materials in three Brazilian cities testing two hypotheses regarding the differences in attributes valued by the consumes when choosing a point of sale. The Correspondence Analysis (CA) was used to examine relationships of the valued attributes from one city to another. The results showed that there are 45 determinant attributes valued by the consumer, classified into 9 categories (relationship, service, convenience, pricing policy, point of sale, product, services, promotion and brand). The categorization proved to that some categories, for example, convenience, have different meanings in cities with different profiles. Other attributes appreciated by customers were product variety, location of store, personalized service, price, quality of products, and store image. The results of the study contribute to the field by enhancing knowledge of determinant attributes valued in construction materials retail, helping store managers to shape their marketing strategies.Este artigo analisa os atributos determinantes valorizados pelo consumidor varejista de materiais de construção no Estado de São Paulo, Brasil, utilizando uma pesquisa com 450 consumidores de duas grandes redes varejistas de materiais de construção em três cidades brasileiras, testando duas hipóteses sobre as diferenças nos atributos valorizados na escolha de um ponto de venda. A Análise de Correspondência (CA) foi usada para examinar as relações dos atributos valorizados de uma cidade para outra. Os resultados mostraram que existem 45 atributos determinantes valorizados pelo consumidor, classificados em 9 categorias (relacionamento, serviço, conveniência, política de preços, ponto de venda, produto, serviços, promoção e marca). A categorização provou que algumas categorias, por exemplo, conveniência, têm significados diferentes em cidades com diferentes perfis. Outros atributos apreciados pelos clientes foram a variedade de produtos, a localização da loja, o serviço personalizado, o preço, a qualidade dos produtos e a imagem da loja. Os resultados do estudo contribuem para o campo, aumentando o conhecimento de atributos determinantes valorizados no varejo de materiais de construção, ajudando os gerentes de lojas a moldar suas estratégias de marketing

Existe explicação econômica para o sub-registro de crimes contra a propriedade?

O intuito deste estudo foi buscar evidências que permitissem responder a seguinte questão: é possível uma explicação econômica para o sub-registro de crimes contra a propriedade? Especificamente, examinou-se a influência dos fatores socioeconômicos, demográficos e de segurança pública sobre o sub-registro de roubos em quatro capitais brasileiras. Para isso modelou-se, empiricamente, o processo de decisão de uma vítima de crime em registrá-lo ou não às autoridades competentes, fundamentando-se na hipótese da racionalidade econômica da vítima. Utilizando microdados na estimativa de um modelo probit, foram encontradas evidências que sustentam a hipótese de que as vítimas de crimes agem racionalmente, avaliando os custos e benefícios esperados de registrá-lo ou não às autoridades. Observou-se que algumas características pessoais das vítimas, os prejuízos, a eficiência da justiça e o medo de represália são fatores que afetam o resultado da decisão.In this paper we intend to analyze the influence of socioeconomic factors on the under-recorded crimes against property. The victim's decision to record a crime or not to the competent authorities, is based on the hypothesis of the victim's economic rationality. Using individual data from a victimization survey undertaken in four capitals of Brazil and a probit model, we found evidences in favor of the hypothesis that the victims of crimes act rationally, evaluating the costs and expected benefits of recording or not the crime to the authorities. It was observed that the some of the victim's personal characteristics, the losses, law enforcement and the fear of reprisals are factors that affect his or her decision

As despesas familiares com educação no Brasil e a composição de gênero do grupo de irmãos

Estudou-se a existência de viés de gênero nas escolhas paternas em gastar recursos na educação da prole. Obteve-se uma amostra de famílias da Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares (POF) 2002-2003, do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE). Foram utilizados modelos Tobit para estimar curvas de Engel das despesas familiares com educação e de gastos com grupos de itens dessas despesas, como função das características socioeconômicas e demográficas das famílias. Foram utilizados testes de Wald para verificar a igualdade dos parâmetros estimados do número de filhos e filhas matriculados. Tais testes não indicaram discriminação contra as filhas nos desembolsos com educação.This paper analyses the existence of a gender bias in the parents' decisions when they spend money on the education of their children. A sample of families is obtained from a Household Budget Survey (POF) collected in 2002-2003, by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistic (IBGE). Tobit models are used to estimate Engel curves for the family education expenses and expenditures with educational items, as a function of socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the households. Wald tests are used to check the equality of the parameters estimated with the number of enrolled sons and daughters. Such tests do not indicate discrimination against daughters regarding educational fees