Two essays on urban sprawl and the provision of public goods by local governments

Texto em inglêsOrientador : Prof. Dr. Alexandre Alves PorsseDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Sociais Aplicadas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Desenvolvimento Econômico. Defesa : Curitiba, 26/03/2017Inclui referências : f. 48-50Resumo: Esta dissertação é composta por dois ensaios sobre o fenômeno urban sprawl nas cidades brasileiras. O primeiro ensaio tem como objetivo investigar o fenômeno urban sprawl em grandes e médias cidades no Brasil. A investigação emprega dois índices para medir o urban sprawl, o coeficiente de variação e o índice gravitacional. Para avaliar a relação entre desigualdade de renda e pobreza e urban sprawl, o índice gravitacional é calculado com base em dados da população geral classificada em três classes de renda. Os resultados revelam que o urban sprawl é um fenômeno comum nas maiores cidades do Brasil e afeta principalmente as pessoas com maior vulnerabilidade social. O segundo ensaio examina os efeitos do urban sprawl sobre o custo da prestação de serviços públicos nas cidades brasileiras. A análise se baseia nas cidades pertencentes a médias e altas concentrações urbanas e utiliza modelos econométricos espaciais para avaliar o gasto municipal agregado e nove itens de gastos municipais desagregados (administração, saneamento básico, cultura, gestão ambiental, habitação, polícia local, assistência social, esportes e lazer e infraestrutura urbana). Os resultados fornecem evidências de que a expansão urbana afeta positivamente o custo per capita de prestação de serviços públicos locais de cidades de alta concentração urbana. Palavras-chave: Urban sprawl. Brasil. Finanças públicas municipais.Abstarct: This dissertation consists of two essays about the phenomenon of urban sprawl in Brazilian cities. The first essay aims to investigate the phenomenon of urban sprawl in big and medium cities in Brazil. The investigation employs two indexes to measure urban sprawl, the coefficient of variation and the gravitational index. In order to evaluate the relation between income inequality and poverty and urban sprawl, the gravitational index is calculated by using data from the overall population classified into three income classes. The results reveal that urban sprawl is a common phenomenon in the biggest cities in Brazil and it affects mainly the more disadvantaged people. The second essay examines the effects of urban sprawl on the cost of providing public services in Brazilian cities. The analysis is based on the cities belonging to medium and high urban concentrations and uses spatial econometric models do evaluate one aggregate and nine disaggregate items of local spending (administration, basic sanitation, culture, environmental management, housing, local police, social assistance, sports and leisure, and urban infrastructure). The results provide evidences that the urban sprawl positively affects the per capita cost of provision of local public services of cities from high urban concentration. Key-words: Urban sprawl. Brazil. Local public finance

Relating Sustainable Development Goals in a Conceptual Integrated Model of Growth and Welfare

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) is one of the most relevant efforts aiming at the promotion of sustainable development around the world. Many indicators serve as a guide to evaluate the actual level of development and to identify the issues that need more attention. What is not clear yet is the association between the goals and their indicators. This can limit the information on effective political tools to reduce inequalities at the national and local levels. Based on that, the paper aims to explore the connections between SDGs. Its approach involves i) the proposal of a conceptual integrated model of sustainable development rooted in the literature and connectable with the SDGs; ii) based on World Bank (2019) data on sustainable indicators over two decades, the test of a two-stage econometric model, one to explain product per capita and a second one to explain lack of happiness, assessed by the suicide rate. From the results, it is possible to identify the factors that influence the level of wealth and happiness while integrating Sustainable Development Goals

DECOMPOSITION OF THE EFFECTS OF THE TERMS OF TRADE CHANGES ON THE BRAZILIAN INDUSTRY IN THE PERIOD FROM 2008 TO 2014

Este artigo analisa os efeitos das variações dos termos de troca sobre a indústria em um período recente da economia brasileira (2008-2014). O objetivo é identificar os setores mais sensíveis a essas variações e os impactos na produção e no emprego. Utilizando-se um modelo de equilíbrio geral computável (EGC) dinâmico, realiza-se uma simulação histórica considerando os movimentos observados, no período compreendido entre 2008 e 2014, das principais variáveis macroeconômicas, incluindo-se as variações dos termos de troca. De maneira geral, os resultados indicam que os setores mais impactados são os intensivos em recursos naturais e mão de obra. Os resultados apontam também que a valorização dos termos de troca do período 2008-2011 não foi determinante para o desempenho setorial da indústria, enquanto que a queda ocorrida no período 2012-2014 se mostrou importante para o bom desempenho setorial da indústria.This study analyses the effects of terms of trade changes on the industry in a recent period of the Brazilian economy (2008 to 2014). The goal is to identify the most sensitive industries to terms of trade and its impacts on production and sectoral employment. Using a dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, we have performed a historical simulation considering the observed values of the main macroeconomic variables including the terms of trade changes. Overall, the results indicated that the most affected sectors would be the ones related to heavy industry, natural resources intensive and labor intensive. The results also indicate that the terms of trade improvement in the period 2008-2011 was not relevant to the industry performance, while the terms of trade decrease in the period 2012-2014 was very important to the industrial performance

Climate change, droughts and economic impacts: an analysis for the São Paulo Metropolitan Area

Secas, mudanças climáticas e impactos econômicos locais são os temas tratados nesta tese. Tendo a Região Metropolitana de São Paulo (RMSP) como base, o objetivo do estudo foi avaliar a ocorrência de secas nessa região e estimar os impactos econômicos sobre suas atividades econômicas. A análise foi dividida em duas partes. Na primeira, por meio de dados climáticos históricos e projetados, foi realizada uma avaliação sobre as mudanças climáticas pelas quais a região já passou e as mudanças no clima projetadas em diferentes cenários. Como resultado, mostrou-se que a região onde se localiza a RMSP enfrentou diversos eventos de secas com diferentes intensidades ao longo do século XX e que os municípios metropolitanos têm grande sensibilidade às secas, as quais podem se tornar mais intensas e frequentes no futuro. Na segunda parte foram estimados os potenciais impactos econômicos que podem ser associados às secas na RMSP. Essa estimação foi feita por meio de uma modelagem integrada que inclui um modelo econométrico e um modelo Espacial de Equilíbrio Geral Computável (EEGC). Os resultados do modelo econométrico permitiram identificar que os setores industriais mais intensivos em capital e tecnologia são os mais sensíveis aos efeitos das secas na RMSP. No modelo EEGC foram realizadas simulações para analisar como os efeitos específicos de secas em alguns setores afetam a economia como um todo. Essas simulações mostraram que a produção total e a renda disponível dos municípios metropolitanos podem apresentar variação negativa significativa, e que diversas atividades econômicas podem ser indiretamente afetadas, tais como transporte terrestre, construção civil e serviços pessoais. Com a agregação dos resultados municipais em suas respectivas sub-bacias hidrográficas foi identificado que as maiores perdas econômicas devidas às secas podem ocorrer nas sub-bacias com menor disponibilidade hídrica. Ao final da tese foram discutidas as possíveis políticas públicas que podem ser adotadas para se reduzir a vulnerabilidade às secas e as questões que ainda carecem de mais estudos na economia das mudanças climáticas.Droughts, climate change, and local economic impacts are the themes addressed in this thesis. Having the Metropolitan Area of São Paulo (SPMA) as its focus, the aim of the study was to evaluate the occurrence of droughts in this region and to estimate the potential effects of drought on its economic activities. I divided the analysis into two parts. In the first, I carried out an analysis on the climate change and droughts that occurred in the region using historical and projected climate data. The analysis showed that the region where the RMSP locates faced droughts of different intensities over the 20th century and that the municipalities in the region are highly sensitive to droughts, which may become more intense and frequent in the future. In the second part, I evaluated the potential economic impacts that can be associated with droughts in the RMSP. I did this assessment through an integrated modeling scheme that includes an econometric model and a Spatial Computable General Equilibrium (SCGE) model. The results of the econometric model suggested that the capital and technology-intensive industries are the ones more sensitive to droughts in the SPMA. In the EEGC model, I carried out simulations to analyze how the specific impacts of droughts on some sectors affect the economy. The results from the simulations showed that the total production and disposable income of metropolitan municipalities can decrease and that several economic activities can be indirectly affected, such as land transport, construction, and personal services. With the aggregation of municipal results in their respective hydrographic sub-basins, I identified that the greatest economic losses because of droughts can occur in the sub-basins with lower water availability. In the end, there are suggestions of possible public policies to reduce vulnerability to droughts, and a discussion about issues that still need further studies in the economics of climate change

Interação universidade-empresa : uma análise do padrão de relacionamento entre as empresas nacionais e multinacionais no Brasil

Orientador: Walter Tadahiro ShimaMonografia(Graduação) - Universidade Federal do Paraná,Setor de Ciências Sociais Aplicadas, Curso de Ciências EconômicasResumo: Este trabalho investiga os padrões de relacionamento entre as empresas de capital controlador de origem nacional e estrangeiro com as universidades e institutos de pesquisa presentes no Brasil. A análise é baseada em dados da pesquisa Brasil Survey realizada em 2009 por pesquisadores ligados ao Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq). Nessa pesquisa foi enviado um questionário para as empresas, identificadas no Diretório de Grupos de Pesquisa(DGP) do CNPq, que tinham algum relacionamento com as universidades e institutos de pesquisa. Fizeram parte da amostra, 225 empresas cuja origem do capital controlador é nacional e 39 cuja origem do capital controlador é estrangeira. A análise descritiva dos dados da pesquisa Brasil Survey indica que há algumas diferenças no que diz respeito ao desenvolvimento de atividades de P&D por parte das empresas nacionais e multinacionais bem como algumas diferenças na importância da cooperação com universidades e institutos de pesquisa para cada uma das empresas

Enhancing drought resilience and vulnerability assessment in small farms: A global expert survey on multidimensional indicators

The purpose of the paper is to evaluate drought vulnerability and resilience within the context of small-scale farms. Small-scale farms are distinguished by their family-oriented motives, which prioritize maintaining the stability of the household farm system. This type of farming is responsible for a significant part of the world's food production, thus identifying their vulnerability and resilience to drought is essential to avoid adverse socioeconomic impacts. The paper contributes to this issue by presenting the findings of a comprehensive global survey conducted among experts on drought risk analysis, focusing on indicators related to drought resilience and vulnerability in small-scale farming. An online questionnaire was sent to experts asking them to rate a list of 36 indicators in terms of five metrics: relevancy, accessibility, objectivity, understanding, and temporal consistency. Each indicator was rated on a three-point scale (low, medium, and high). The survey was entirely completed by 120 experts from 42 countries and different areas of expertise. The survey results offer a comprehensive evaluation of multiple indicators, contributing to future research by guiding the selection of indicators for composite drought resilience indexes and enhancing the understanding of farmers' and food systems' climate resilience. The survey results indicate that: i) government and institutional indicators are very relevant for drought resilience assessment; ii) there is an undefined role for social indicators in drought vulnerability assessment; iii) experts still do not perceive the importance of local engagement in drought risk management; iv) the use of relevant indicators in drought risk assessment can be limited because of a lack of accessibility and temporal consistency.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy

In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. A key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process vs. those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process); thus, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation needs to be differentiated from stimuli that result in increased autophagic activity, defined as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the field understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy

In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. A key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process vs. those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process); thus, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation needs to be differentiated from stimuli that result in increased autophagic activity, defined as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the field understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field