Market Power and Fiscal Policy in OECD Countries

We compute average mark-ups as a measure of market power throughout time and study their interaction with fiscal policy and macroeconomic variables in a VAR framework. From impulse-response functions the results, with annual data for a set of 14 OECD countries covering the period 1970-2007, show that the mark-up (i) depicts a pro-cyclical behaviour with productivity shocks and (ii) a mostly counter-cyclical behaviour with fiscal spending shocks. We also use a Panel Vector Auto-Regression analysis, increasing the efficiency in the estimations, which confirms the country-specific results.Fiscal Policy, Mark-up, VAR, Panel VAR.

Market power and fiscal policy in OECD countries

We compute average mark-ups as a measure of market power throughout time and study their interaction with fiscal policy and macroeconomic variables in a VAR framework. From impulse-response functions the results, with annual data for a set of 14 OECD countries covering the period 1970-2007, show that the mark-up (i) depicts a pro-cyclical behaviour with productivity shocks and (ii) a mildly counter-cyclical behaviour with fiscal spending shocks. We also use a Panel Vector Auto-Regression analysis, increasing the efficiency in the estimations, which confirms the countryspecific results. JEL Classification: D4, E0, E3, H6Fiscal Policy, Mark-up, Panel VAR, VAR

Brazilian multinationals positive after the global crisis

Sociedade Brasileira de Estudos e Empresas Transnacionais e da Globalização Econômica (SOBEET), a Brazilian think tank dedicated to research into the internationalization of the Brazilian economy; and the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment (VCC), a joint undertaking of the Columbia Law School and The Earth Institute at Columbia University in New York, are releasing the results of a survey of outward investors from Brazil today. The survey, conducted in 2010, covers the year 2009. The broader context of the present report is a long-term study of outward investment from emerging markets, led by the VCC, that currently includes 15 countries

Monetary developments and expansionary fiscal consolidations : evidence from the EMU

This paper provides new insights about the existence of expansionary fiscal consolidations in the Economic and Monetary Union, using annual panel data for 14 European Union countries over the period 1970-2012. Different measures for assessing fiscal consolidations based on the changes in the cyclically adjusted primary balance were calculated. A similar ad-hoc approach was used to compute monetary expansions, in order to include them in the assessment of non-Keynesian effects for different budgetary components. Panel Fixed Effects estimations for private consumption show that, in some cases, when fiscal consolidations are coupled with monetary expansions, the traditional Keynesian signals are reversed in the cases of general government final consumption expenditure, social transfers and taxes. Keynesian effects prevail when fiscal consolidations are not matched by monetary easing. Panel probit estimations suggest that longer and expenditure-based consolidations contribute positively for its success, whilst the opposite is the case for tax-based ones

The policy mix in the US and EMU : evidence from a SVAR analysis

We use a SVAR approach to the effects of fiscal and monetary policies, as well as their interactions (policy mix) for the US and the Euro Area (EMU). Overall, our results show that these two cases are different from each other. First, while in the case of the US there is evidence of Keynesian monetary policy, the same is not true in the case of the EMU. Second, considering the effects of the global economic and financial crisis, there is evidence of non-Keynesian fiscal policy in the case of the EMU (expansionary fiscal consolidation), while it does not hold in the case of the US. Third, there is evidence supporting the traditional inverse relationship between monetary policy interest rates and inflation in the case of the US, whereas in the case of the EMU there is a price puzzle (frequent in SVAR studies). Fourth, the baseline model seems to be robust in the case of the US, when considering the effects of the economic and financial crisis 2007-2009, while the opposite holds in the case of the EMU. However, in both cases, the policies seem to act as complements. Another similarity appears when analysing the relationship between public spending and taxation, where there is evidence supporting a fiscal retrenchment.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The influence of packaging on consumer purchase intention of craft beer

The craft beer segment has been growing exponentially in Portugal, with the development of established players and the entrance of new ones. With so many different offers on the market, brands are trying to get noticed and added to shoppers’ carts, with one of the main ways of doing this being through packaging. Packaging has been a widely researched topic in marketing literature as it represents the first physical point of contact between consumers and a product, playing an essential role in attracting consumers’ attention, influencing their opinions, and impacting their decision-making process. Thus, this study aims to research the relationship between packaging/packaging elements and consumer purchase intentions of craft beer, as well as to investigate the relative importance of packaging as a purchase criterion, describe consumers’ preferences regarding craft beer packaging and identify possible trends in these preferences. To answer these questions three methodologies were employed: a semi-structured interview with the marketing manager of a Portuguese craft beer brand, two focus groups with participants of different age groups and a questionnaire of 200 respondents. Qualitative findings suggest that the importance attributed to packaging varies according to the level of consumers’ market knowledge and that, generally, packaging influences consumers’ purchase intentions. Quantitative findings suggest that label layout is the only packaging element that has an impact on consumer purchase intentions of craft beer and that there is a correlation between packaging style preference and consumers' age and gender, with younger/female consumers preferring modern packaging and older consumers preferring classic packaging.O segmento das cervejas artesanais tem crescido exponencialmente em Portugal, com o desenvolvimento de empresas estabelecidas e a entrada de novos concorrentes. Com uma oferta tão variada, as marcas tentam destacar-se e ser adicionadas aos carrinhos dos clientes, sendo um dos principais métodos através da embalagem. A embalagem é bastante investigada em marketing, pois representa o primeiro ponto físico de contato entre produto e consumidores, desempenhando um papel essencial na atração e influência de opiniões/decisões de compra dos clientes. Assim, este estudo pretende investigar a relação entre a embalagem/elementos da embalagem e a intenção de compra de cerveja artesanal, investigar a importância relativa da embalagem como critério de compra, descrever as preferências dos consumidores relativas às embalagens de cerveja artesanal e identificar possíveis tendências nessas preferências. Para responder a estas questões utilizaram-se as metodologias qualitativa e quantitativa: uma entrevista semiestruturada com o gestor de marketing de uma marca portuguesa de cerveja artesanal, dois focus groups com participantes de diferentes idades e um questionário a 200 pessoas. Os resultados qualitativos sugerem que a importância da embalagem varia conforme o nível de conhecimento do mercado dos consumidores e que, geralmente, a embalagem influencia as intenções de compra. Os resultados quantitativos sugerem que o layout do rótulo é o único elemento da embalagem que tem impacto nas intenções de compra de cerveja artesanal e que há uma correlação entre a preferência de estilo de embalagem e idade/género, com consumidores mais jovens/mulheres a preferir embalagens modernas e consumidores mais velhos a preferir embalagens clássicas

Cálculo da alíquota de contribuição previdenciária atuarialmente equilibrada: uma aplicação ao caso brasileiro

O objetivo do artigo é calcular a alíquota de contribuição que iguala os valores presentes esperados das contribuições e aposentadorias em um sistema previdenciário. É desenvolvido um exercício teórico que possibilita o cálculo de tal alíquota, complementado por uma parte empírica, com dados brasileiros. A alíquota é calculada em diversas situações, abarcando diferenças de gênero, nível educacional e tipo de aposentadoria. A principal conclusão é que alíquotas da ordem de 31%, como as existentes no Brasil, são excessivas para benefícios tipicamente previdenciários, como a aposentadoria por tempo de contribuição, mas insuficientes para a aposentadoria por idade, especialmente para as mulheres.The aim of this paper is to calculate the contribution tax rate that equals expected present values of contributions and old-age benefits in a social security system. A theoretical exercise is developed to generate an analytical formula for the contribution rate, complemented for an empirical analysis, using Brazilian data. The tax rate is calculated in diverse situations, including differences of gender, educational level and type of retirement. The main conclusion is that contribution rates around 31%, as the observed in Brazil, are too high for retirement by contribution time, but insufficient for the retirement by age, especially for women