Opening the Convergence Black Box: Measurement Problems and Demographic Aspects

Brazil, regional convergence, regional growth, birth cohorts, micro data

Educational quality and regional disparity: one application of hierarchical model to Brazilian dataset

The quality of the educational system is crucial to the most diverse socioeconomic and cultural aspects of a country. The objective of this paper is highlighting the importance of quality of education to explain the wide income disparities between Brazilian people. In face of such evidence, and considering the need to better understand the factors associated with education quality and efficiency, this study aims to investigate which factors are the most significant to determine elementary school students’ performance in capital and small towns. For this purpose, it will be used the Brazilian Educational Search (SAEB) for 4th grades of elementary education. The estimation method is the hierarchical regression, which, in this work, will be structured into 2 levels, respectively: students, and school. The results suggest, after socioeconomic control, the positive correlation of principal’s characteristic; class-time, kindergarten and presence of library to a better performance. In opposite way, the influence of professor’s turnover seems to be quite harmful to determine the student´s score in capital city and small towns respectively. These results can serve as aid to public policies aimed at equity and educational qualification.

WAGE DIFFERENTIALS BY FIRM SIZE: THE EFFICIENCY WAGE TEST IN A DEVOLOPING COUNTRY

Using data from the Brazilian Labor Monthly Survey (PME/ IBGE) for the years of 2006 and 2007, the paper investigates if the wage differential by firm size in Brazil can be explained by the predictions of the Efficiency Wage Theory. It is adopted a Switching Regression Model to estimate if large size companies pay a higher wage premium for dispended labor effort, as compared to smaller enterprises. The results proved the EW predictions. Besides the positive relation between effort and wage differentials by firm size, the results also showed that such wage differences favors larger firms, as compared to smaller ones, because they tend to remunerate better more skilled employees with long term contracts.

Possible regional impacts of agricultural trade liberalization in Brazil: some insights based on the estimation of soybean supply function

An important debate exists on whether soybean expansion in Brazil is responsible for putting more pressure on the Amazon forest or if it allows land use intensification through the recuperation of degraded pasture. In this paper, we estimate regional soybean supply own and cross price elasticity in order to better assess the possible impacts of agricultural trade liberalization in old and new soybean production basins. Applying a panel data estimation technique, we find large substitution supply elasticity between soybean and beef in Brazil Moreover, own price elasticity of soybean supply is much higher in Cerrados regions that in the South of the country. These results allow to discuss possible regional consequences of soybean trade liberalization on the Amazon forest. The current movements to promote sustainable and responsible soybean production in Brazil could certainly modify the future response of the sector to trade liberalization and its long term impacts.International Relations/Trade,

Towards a better estimation of agricultural supply elasticity: the case of soybean in Brazil

International audienceBrazil is a major exporter of several agricultural commodities and has shown strong interest in agricultural trade negotiations. For several commodities, trade liberalization is expected to be followed by farmgate prices increase and to boost domestic production. However, in a country as big as Brazil, possible supply responses to price increase will probably strongly differ from one region to another. This paper focus on soybeans for which Brazil became a top exporter. Based on panel data estimation technique, a soybean supply response function is estimated at the national and regional levels, allowing to better assess soybean supply own and cross price elasticity. Soybean supply is shown to be very price elastic. Moreover, soybean supply own price elasticity is much higher in the Center-North regions than in the South of the country. Substitution between livestock and soybean is also very significant in the Center-North region. World agricultural trade models should take account for such regional variability of soybean supply elasticity. The results also allow to discuss the issue of soybean expansion at the Amazon border

Peers , Bullying and School Performance: Exploring the Role of Friendships

Evidence in studies from different fields point to the harmfulness of being bullied on indicators of success in an individual s life Aiming to measure and understand the impact of this inherently social event this paper investigates how the friendships of lower secondary education students in the city of Recife influence their likelihood of being victims of such a phenomenon and its effect on the academic performance of these students The two-stage least squares method is applied to an IV-SLX model using indirect friendship ties as an instrument and significant results are found at 95 confidence increasing the chances of being victimized by bullying by 10 on average reduces the Portuguese language score by 2 33 and the math score by 2 7

"Faz parte da família": contradições do trabalho doméstico remunerado, uma narrativa a partir da memória de quartinhos de empregada

The object of this dissertation is to study the relationship between paid domestic work, black women, and racism. The central objective is to critically reflect on the historical trajectory of this profession, which is largely made up of black women, whose access to labor rights occurred very late. Since the beginning of colonization, the enslaved black woman had a socially devalued place in the tasks of reproduction of life, determined by the sexist and racist division of labor imposed by the western pattern of power that came to establish itself here. In the theoretical development of chapters 1, 2 and 3, I used bibliographical and documental research and official data from Federal Government agencies. In the development of the last chapter, I combined Conceição Evaristo's Escrevivência method and the autoethnography method, employed by Silvio Matheus in his thesis, to reproduce accounts of the experience of suffering and contradiction lived by domestic workers with whom I have had and still have close ties since childhood. In the practical development, I used the Escrevivência method, based on the work of Conceição Evaristo combined with autoethnography, collecting accounts of my own experience and of the domestic workers who are/were part of my life. The data is analyzed based on the research of Lélia Gonzaléz, Abdias Nascimento, Clóvis Moura, Silvio de Almeida, Neusa Santos Souza and other authors who denounce Brazilian structural racism and its institutional and everyday effects. In this way, it is hoped to contribute to the production of antiracist public policies.A presente dissertação tem como objeto de estudo as relações entre trabalho doméstico remunerado, mulheres negras e racismo. O objetivo central é refletir criticamente em torno da trajetória histórica dessa profissão, majoritariamente constituída por mulheres negras, cujo acesso aos direitos trabalhistas ocorreu muito tardiamente. Desde os primórdios da colonização, coube à mulher negra escravizada um lugar socialmente desvalorizado nas tarefas de reprodução da vida, determinado pela divisão sexista e racista do trabalho imposta pelo padrão ocidental de poder que aqui veio se estabelecer. No desenvolvimento teórico dos capítulos 1, 2 e 3, utilizei pesquisa bibliográfica, documental e dados oficiais de órgãos do Governo Federal. No desenvolvimento do último capítulo, combinei o método da Escrevivência, de Conceição Evaristo, e o método da autoetnografia, empregado por Sílvio Matheus em sua tese, para reproduzir relatos de experiência meus e contradições vividas pelas empregadas domésticas com quem mantive elos estreitos desde a minha infância. No desenvolvimento prático, foi utilizado o método da Escrevivência, a partir da obra de Conceição Evaristo combinado com a autoetnografia, colhendo relatos de minha própria vivência e das empregadas domésticas que fizeram parte da minha vida. Os dados são analisados a partir das pesquisas de Lélia Gonzaléz, Abdias Nascimento, Clóvis Moura, Silvio de Almeida, Neusa Santos Souza e outros autores que denunciam o racismo estrutural brasileiro e seus efeitos institucionais e no cotidiano. Desse modo, deseja-se contribuir com a produção de políticas públicas antirracistas.CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superio