Evaluating the Impact of Brazil?s Bolsa Família: Cash Transfer Programmes in Comparative Perspective

Bolsa Família, CCT, Cash Transfer

Where Are the Jobs that Take People Out of Poverty in Brazil?

In Brazil?s urban areas, job opportunities determine economic mobility and poverty. But not every job provides enough earnings to take families out of poverty. Jobs for poor workers are scarce in the formal sector. To improve their income, the poor resort to informal, unregistered jobs that are highly vulnerable. The contribution of informal jobs to poverty reduction should not be neglected.Where Are the Jobs that Take People Out of Poverty in Brazil?

Do Changes in the Labour Market Take Families out of Poverty? Determinants of Exiting Poverty in Brazilian Metropolitan Regions

The objective of this Working Paper is to estimate the likelihood of the exit of households from poverty and identify the determinants of this transition, taking into consideration the length of time that households have spent in poverty. Our focus is to analyze whether short-term changes in the labour market affect the probability of exiting or remaining in poverty. We use the only panel data that are available in Brazil for carrying out this kind of analysis: the Monthly Employment Survey (PME), which was conducted from March 2002 to May 2007. However, since this survey follows households for a very short period of time, we had to adopt estimation techniques that control for cases of right- and left-censoring. The most important results in this Working Paper are: 1) the longer the spell of poverty, the lower the probability of exiting it; 2) households that entered into poverty with zero income (namely, their poverty income gap was equal to one) are not those with the lowest probability of exiting this condition; 3) changes in the unemployment rate of household members do not directly affect the duration of the household?s poverty; and 4) the increase of the average wage of informal workers has a significant, positive effect on the probability of the exit of poor households from poverty.Duration of poverty spell; Poverty exit; Labour market; Survival models for left-censored data.

Palestinian-Jews and Israel’s Dual Identity Crisis

This paper looks to explore the complex combination of those who are both Arab in culture and Jewish by faith. This complex dual identity is generally known as Mizrahim or Arab Jews. Within the general Arab-Israeli dispute, this identity complicates the conflict by challenging the normative understanding of nationalism. Moreover, this paper examines the history of the Mizrahim through the Palestinian-Jewish experience in pre-establishment Israel and further examines the social changes that affected Mizrahim within the Israeli State after the 1948 War. Various primary source documents, essays, personal accounts, peer-reviewed journals, and surveys are used to understand the identity and role of the Mizrahim within Israeli society. This paper seeks to illuminate the fact that Israeli society is not homogenous, but a state with a diverse population, making it difficult for the Israeli state to establish a strong unified sense of nationalism

Integrated geomechanics and geological characterization of the Devonian-Mississippian Woodford Shale

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Oklahoma, 2011.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-101).In this thesis, preserved Woodford Shale samples of different mineralogy compositions were obtained from a shallow research well in Oklahoma and prepared for various laboratory mechanical characterizations including the Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) measurements, the unconfined compressive test, and the Inclined Direct Shear Testing Device (IDSTD™). In addition, the Woodford Shale fracture propertie, including anisotropic tensile strength and fracture toughness, were investigated through a suite of Brazilian Tensile and Chevron tJotched Semicircular Bend (CNSCB) tests with acoustic emission (AE) recorded during testing. The geomechanics characteristics of the Woodford Shale were modeled with correlation to mineralogy and micro-fabric on its effects on the mechanical properties were also studied with results from thin sections and XRD analysis performed on tested samples. The UPV and Brazilian test results show a clear anisotropic nature of Woodford Shale poroelastic properties and tensile strength. Investigations on the effects of shale mineralogy and morphology on its anisotropic mechanical properties show correlation between the degrees of anisotropy with clay packing density variation. Despite the limited number of tests reported, an increasing trend of Woodford Shale tensile strength with carbonate content could be observed. This proportional increase of tensile strength with carbonate content may suggest the strength-increasing nature of carbonate minerals in the Woodford Shale. CNS CB test results showed that the fracture toughness of the quartz-rich Upper Woodford samples is significantly higher (up to 57%) than the fracture toughness of samples from the more clay-rich Middle and Lower Woodford. This will lead to a lot of variability in hydraulic fracture planning and design. Also, the acoustic emissions prior to the fracture propagation in CNSCB tests could only be observed for the lower clay samples belonging to the Upper Woodford. Furthermore, the integration of these results with the previously defined sequence stratigraphic framework resulted in the definitions of brittle and ductile couplets at the parasequence scale, which might be valuable for well placement and completion designs

Style investing: International evidence

This dissertation studies the impact of investor sentiment on a portfolio formed of sin stocks—publicly traded companies in the alcohol, tobacco, and gaming industries. It also investigates the returns of a new type of sin stock in the UK—online gambling. Chapter 3 first uses a vector autogressive model to study the impact of both rational and irrational investor sentiments on pure sin returns. Next, making use of a variety of sentiments-augmented asset pricing models, this research examines whether investor sentiment is a risk factor for sin stock returns and if the abnormal returns of sin stocks persist after controlling for investor sentiment. Finally, the possible relationship between investor sentiment and the conditional volatility of the sin portfolio is studied by utilizing a generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity-inmean model. The results indicate that rational-based sentiments shocks illicit a larger positive response in pure sin returns, than do irrational-based sentiments shocks. After controlling for the role of investor sentiment, the asset-pricing results suggest that the abnormal returns for sin stocks found in previous studies disappear. Furthermore, findings show that both individual and institutional investor sentiment are priced factors in sin stock returns. Additionally, results indicate that investor sentiment has a significant impact on sin stocks’ formation of volatility. Chapter 4 of this dissertation examines the financial performance, time-varying betas, and time-varying correlations of an internet gambling portfolio relative to both the market and socially responsible portfolios. Findings indicate that the online gambling portfolio underperforms relative to both the market and socially responsible portfolios. The evidence also suggests that beta is time-varying for the online gambling portfolio. Furthermore, market betas and correlations for the online gambling portfolio increase considerably around the passage of the Gambling Act 2005

Interaction of phenol-formaldehyde condensates with isoprene rubber

The study is concerned with the interaction between p-tertiary butyl phenol-formaldehyde condensates and isoprene rubber under conditions resembling those used in industrial vulcanization processes, and involves investigations of reaction rates, mechanisms of reactions and structures produced. The work is an extension of an earlier study (A. Fitch, Thesis for Ph.D. (C.N.A.A.), 1978). 'Model' phenol-formaldehyde condensates (2-methylol 4- tert.butyl 6-methyl phenol and the ether derived from it by thermal condensation) are shown to interact with isoprene rubber (cis-l,4-polyisoprene) to form adducts containing chroman structures. The ether reacts somewhat more quickly and more efficiently than the methylol compound. 'Lewis acid' catalysts will greatly accelerate the reaction, but cause concurrent structural isomerization of the isoprene rubber, to an extent depending on the nature of the catalyst. In separate experiments involving only rubber and catalyst, it is found that, of the three catalysts examined, tin(II) chloride dihydrate causes extensive isomerization, tin(II) chloride (anhydrous) causes little isomerization and zinc(II) chloride (anhydrous) causes negligible isomerization, under the appropriate reaction conditions. The structural changes are evaluated, and involve cis-trans interconversions double-bond shifts, cyclization and crosslinking. Using zinc(II) chloride as catalyst, a study is made of the effectiveness of five different polyfunctional phenol- formaldehyde condensates as vulcanizing agents for isoprene rubber. The condensates consist of 2,6-dimethylol 4-tert. butyl phenol and four of its derivatives containing different molar proportions of methylol, dibenzyl ether and diaryl methane groups. One of the derivatives is a commercially-available vulcanizing agent. Measurements of rubber-combined phenolic material and of crosslink concentrations are made at different times of reaction, and results show that the condensates containing high proportions of dibenzyl ether links are the most efficient vulcanizing agents. Efficiency may be further improved by the addition of a formaldehyde donor to suppress side-reactions. The results indicate that, in all cases, combination with the rubber occurs through chroman linkages and the crosslinks contain at least two phenolic nuclei joined by dimethylene ether or methylene links

The Programa Subsidio de Alimentos in Mozambique: Baseline Evaluation

The Food Subsidy Programme (Programa Subsidio de Alimentos, PSA) is the main basic social protection programme of the government of Mozambique in terms of coverage. It was established in 1990 to help the destitute elderly (women above 55 and men above 60), people living with a disability, the chronically sick and their dependants by providing a monthly cash transfer. The programme falls under the mandate of the Ministry for Women and Social Action (MMAS), while implementation is the responsibility of the National Institute for Social Action (INAS), the Ministry?s executing agency. By the end of 2008, the PSA covered 143,455 households with a total of 287,454 beneficiaries. The main direct beneficiaries were the elderly (93 per cent), followed by people living with disabilities (6 per cent) and the chronically ill (1 per cent). The general eligibility criteria are: age, residency for more than six months in the selected area, per capita earnings less than the minimum benefit on the PSA scale, and/or recognised by medical declaration to be chronically ill or living with a disability. Potential beneficiaries are selected by a local intermediary (known as a Permanente) chosen by the community and appointed by INAS, after which the application undergoes an approval process within the INAS delegation. Although the PSA is a national programme, it does not reach the entire eligible population and its coverage is unequally distributed across districts. This is the result of the absence of an expansion strategy based on poverty incidence and population density. Expansion of the PSA was initially restricted to urban areas in order to mitigate the effects of the post-war structural adjustment programme on the urban population (Low et al., 1999). Currently, expansion to remote rural areas is a programme priority. The programme?s administrative cost is considered high relative to the amount transferred to the beneficiaries (Ellis, 2007). Though the programme is the largest in terms of the number of beneficiaries, its coverage is low relative to the potential universe of beneficiaries. Expansion of the programme tends to diminish the administrative costs in relative terms. In 2008, the PSA underwent two important reforms. First, the subsidy scale increased. The subsidy amount for the first (direct) beneficiaries rose from 70 to 100 meticais (US$2.5 to US$3.6), and the additional benefit for dependants increased from 10 to 50 meticais (US$0.36 to US$1.80) per dependant up to four. The second reform was the greater focus on the inclusion of eligible dependants as indirect beneficiaries in the payment scheme, and the monitoring and evaluation system. Though it is a relatively old programme, it has never been evaluated before. An opportunity to conduct an evaluation has arisen in the context of the reforms. This Policy Research Brief seeks to improve knowledge of the PSA by presenting the first part of the PSA impact evaluation?that is, the summary of the baseline report.The Programa Subsidio de Alimentos in Mozambique: Baseline Evaluation

Debating Targeting Methods for Cash Transfers: A Multidimensional Index vs. an Income Proxy for Paraguay?s Tekoporã Programme

There is a lively global debate on how to target beneficiaries of Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programmes. In this Evaluation Note we analyze alternative targeting methods for Paraguay?s CCT programme, Tekoporã. The major practical choice for Paraguay is between a multidimensional quality-of-life index and a proxy-means test for income. We focus on the efficiency and efficacy of these approaches by examining primarily the trade-off between leakage and coverage. Tekoporã is a CCT programme that is being scaled up in Paraguay. Like other recent CCT programmes, it was designed in the context of a national strategy for combating poverty, as part of the general effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Its pilot started in August 2005, covering 4,500 households in five districts of two departments. Tekoporã is gradually expanding and intends to cover 35 districts by 2008. These districts were selected from the pool of 66 districts that had been judged to have the most vulnerable populations, according to a scoring system based on a Geographical Prioritization Index (IPG). Tekoporã?s objective is to break the intergenerational transmission of poverty by means of the cash transfer and follow-up activities for beneficiary households. This follow-up consists of the monitoring of co-responsibilities (between beneficiaries and the programme) with regard to the supply and use of health and education facilities and the development of related family-support activities. (...)Debating Targeting Methods for Cash Transfers: A Multidimensional Index vs. an Income Proxy for Paraguay?s Tekoporã Programme