Trade Liberalization, Inequality and Poverty in Brazilian States.

This paper studies the impact of trade liberalization and international trade on household income inequality and poverty using detailed micro-data across Brazilian states, from 1987 to 2005. Results suggest that Brazilian states that were more exposed to tariff cuts experienced smaller reductions in household poverty and inequality. If significance of results on Brazilian states depends on the choice of poverty and inequality indicators, robust and contrasting results emerge when we disaggregate into rural and urban areas within states. Trade liberalization contributes to poverty and inequality increases in urban areas and may be linked to inequality declines in rural areas (no significant effect on rural poverty appears from our study). In terms of observed integration to world markets, import penetration plays a similar role as trade liberalization for Brazilian states as a whole. On the contrary, rising export exposure appears to have significantly reduced both measures of household welfare.Poverty; Trade liberalization; Brazil states; Inequality;

Inequality of Outcomes and Inequality of Opportunities in Brazil

This paper departs from John Roemer's theory of equality of opportunities. We seek to determine what part of observed outcome inequality may be attributed to differences in observed 'circumstances', including family background, and what part is due to 'personal efforts'. We use a micro-econometric technique to simulate what the distribution of outcomes would look like if 'circumstances' were the same for everybody. This technique is applied to Brazilian data from the 1996 household survey, both for earnings and for household incomes. It is shown that observed circumstances are a major source of outcome inequality in Brazil, probably more so than in other countries for which information is available. Nevertheless, the level of inequality after observed circumstances are equalized remains very high in Brazil.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40016/3/wp630.pd

About gender and genres: a feminist reading of The Hunger Games

The beginning of the 21st century has witnessed the success of young adult literature, particularly in the form of sagas adapted to the screen which, with their expanded universes, have turned into mass phenomena with the capacity to reach a globalized audience. This paper reflects on literature for young adults through the case study of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games and its film versions. Our work is based on the contribution of the gender perspective and feminist epistemology, since the text incorporates interesting elements both from a political point of view and in relation to its subversion of gender stereotypes.El inicio del siglo XXI asiste al éxito del género literario juvenil, especialmente las sagas adaptadas al cine que, con sus universos expandidos, se convierten en fenómenos de masas con capacidad de llegar a un público globalizado. Este artículo reflexiona sobre la literatura para jóvenes a través de la trilogía Los juegos del hambre de Suzanne Collins y sus versiones cinematográficas mediante las aportaciones de la perspectiva de género y la epistemología feminista, dado que la obra contiene interesantes elementos tanto desde el punto de vista político como desde su apuesta por la subversión de los estereotipos de género

Mad Men de Matthew Weiner como ejercicio de metapublicidad1

Considering TV serialized fiction as a new media phenomenon, this paper reflects about the elements which characterize the series considered «quality TV», focusing on a paradigmatic production: Mad Men. It can be affirmed that Mad Men is a meta-advertising discourse. Not only is it situated in the world of advertising, it also deals with advertising as a topic. Not only does it talk about advertising, it is advertising in itself. Since the academic or divulgative literature produced to date has not dealt with Mad Men from the point of view of advertising as such, this paper provides an original perspective that will enrich the scientific reflection about the show and that will contribute new materials to the process of educating about the media.Partiendo de la consideración de la ficción seriada televisiva como nuevo fenómeno mediático, el presente trabajo reflexiona sobre los principales elementos que identifican las obras que se han considerado de calidad a través del análisis de una producción paradigmática: Mad Men. De ella puede afirmarse que es una discurso metapublicitario. No solo está ambientada en el mundo de la publicidad, sino que versa sobre la propia publicidad. No solo habla de publicidad, sino que es publicidad. Teniendo en cuenta que la literatura académica o de divulgación publicada hasta este momento no ha abordado Mad Men desde el punto de vista de la propia publicidad, el presente texto ofrece una perspectiva original que podrá enriquecer la reflexión científica sobre la serie y que aportará nuevos materiales para la educación en medios

Inequality of Outcomes and Inequality of Opportunities in Brazil

This paper departs from John Roemer's theory of equality of opportunities. We seek to determine what part of observed outcome inequality may be attributed to differences in observed 'circumstances', including family background, and what part is due to 'personal efforts'. We use a micro-econometric technique to simulate what the distribution of outcomes would look like if 'circumstances' were the same for everybody. This technique is applied to Brazilian data from the 1996 household survey, both for earnings and for household incomes. It is shown that observed circumstances are a major source of outcome inequality in Brazil, probably more so than in other countries for which information is available. Nevertheless, the level of inequality after observed circumstances are equalized remains very high in Brazil.Inequality of Opportunities, Intergenerational Educational Mobility

Queen versus Pawn: Female Genius in The Queen’s Gambit

La miniserie Gambito de dama, protagonizada por una ajedrecista huérfana, con problemas emocionales y dependencia de los fármacos y el alcohol, fue la ficción más vista en la historia de la plataforma Netflix en 2020. En este artículo se realiza un análisis feminista de ella mediante un enfoque interpretativo y con una metodología cualitativa, con el objetivo de dilucidar hasta qué punto la serie rompe con el paradigma mainstream de representación femenina, caracterizado por la estereotipia sexista, el énfasis en el cuerpo y la belleza o la instrumentalización de la violencia sexual. El estudio revelará que esta ficción brinda una heroína imperfecta, que rompe estereotipos de género, aunque no exenta de algunos problemas, como la descripción de la genialidad, a caballo entre el patrón masculino y el extravío mental estereotípicamente femenino.The miniseries The Queen’s Gambit, whose protagonist is an orphaned chess player with emotional problems and a dependence on drugs and alcohol, was the most watched fictional drama in the history of the Netflix platform in 2020. This article develops a feminist analysis thereof with an interpretive approach and a qualitative methodology, in order to elucidate to what extent it disrupts the mainstream paradigm of female representation, which is characterized by sexist stereotyping, an emphasis on the body and beauty, or the instrumentalization of sexual violence. Our study reveals that the series displays an imperfect heroine who disrupts gender stereotypes, yet is not wholly free of problems, such as the description of the concept of genius, which is trapped between the male pattern and a mental deviation typically seen as feminine

Benefit in the wake of disaster: Long-run effects of earthquakes on welfare in rural Indonesia

We examine the long-term effects on individual economic outcomes of a set of earthquakes - numerous, large, but mostly not extreme - that occurred in rural Indonesia since 1985. Using longitudinal individual-level data from large-scale household surveys, together with precise measures of local ground tremors obtained from a US Geological Survey database, we identify the effects of earthquakes, exploiting the quasi-random spatial and temporal nature of their distribution. Affected individuals experience short-term economic losses but recover in the medium-run (after two to five years), and even exhibit income and welfare gains in the long term (six to 12 years). The stocks of productive assets, notably in farms, get reconstituted and public infrastructures are reconstructed with some improvements, seemingly partly through external aid, allowing productivity to recover. These findings tend to discount the presence of poverty traps, and exhibit the potential long-term benefits from post-disaster interventions in context where disasters primarily affect physical assets

Income dynamics in Argentina during the 1990's: "mobiles" did change over time

Este artículo investiga la dinámica de ingresos familiares en el corto plazo durante los años 90. La educación universitaria, como forma de protección contra caídas de ingresos, ciertos rangos demográficos asociados con mayores pérdidas y hogares en los que el jefe de hogar es una mujer, con mayores ganancias relativas, son las únicas variables que explican la movilidad económica de manera persistente a través de los años. La relación entre la posición económica inicial y el subsecuente cambio en los ingresos es contingente y especifica al período investigado. Si acaso, la relación entre ingreso inicial y movilidad es positiva.Using panel data from Argentina during the 1990's, this paper concludes that, in Argentina, income 'mobiles' did change over time. Among the household variables with a structural relation with income dynamics, we find university education, protecting from income declines though not necessarily linked to upward movements, certain age ranges of the highest earner positively associated with family income losses and households in which the highest earner is a woman exhibiting larger income gains. Interestingly, once we controlled for other correlates, no clear structural relationship was found between initial economic position and subsequent income change. If any, this relationship is positive.Instituto de Investigaciones Económica

Analyzing Income Mobility and Inequality: The Case of Argentina during the 1990’s

The aim of this work is to analyze income mobility and inequality during different economic shocks in Argentina in the 1990’s, using five one-year panels: 1991/1992, 1993/1994, 1994/1995, 1998/1999, and 1999/2000. In particular, we address two questions. First, what can we say about the relationship between income mobility and the inequality cross-sectional analysis? Second, who got ahead, who fell behind and who kept up economic position during the different economic cycle facts that occurred in the 1990 decade? In other words, were the ‘upwardly mobile’, ‘immobile’ and ‘downwardly mobile’ always the same kind of individuals, or can we establish different group characteristics depending on the type of economic shock?Facultad de Ciencias Económica

A ClpB Chaperone Knockout Mutant of Mesorhizobium ciceri Shows a Delay in the Root Nodulation of Chickpea Plants

Several molecular chaperones are known to be involved in bacteria stress response. To investigate the role of chaperone ClpB in rhizobia stress tolerance as well as in the rhizobiaplant symbiosis process, the clpB gene from a chickpea microsymbiont, strain Mesorhizobium ciceri LMS-1, was identified and a knockout mutant was obtained. The ClpB knockout mutant was tested to several abiotic stresses, showing that it was unable to grow after a heat shock and it was more sensitive to acid shock than the wild-type strain. A plant-growth assay performed to evaluate the symbiotic performance of the clpB mutant showed a higher proportion of ineffective root nodules obtained with the mutant than with the wild-type strain. Nodulation kinetics analysis showed a 6- to 8-day delay in nodule appearance in plants inoculated with the Delta clpB mutant. Analysis of nodC gene expression showed lower levels of transcript in the Delta clpB mutant strain. Analysis of histological sections of nodules formed by the clpB mutant showed that most of the nodules presented a low number of bacteroids. No differences in the root infection abilities of green fluorescent protein tagged clpB mutant and wild-type strains were detected. To our knowledge, this is the first study that presents evidence of the involvement of the chaperone ClpB from rhizobia in the symbiotic nodulation process