Uma outra estratégia é possível

Neste artigo, analisa-se a estratégia política econômica adotada pelo novo governo brasileiro, primeiramente do ponto de vista do erro de diagnóstico do Governo em relação: (a) à conjuntura internacional; (b) ao comportamento dos agentes nos mercados financeiros; e (c) à situação estrutural da conta corrente brasileira. Mostra-se, então, que essa estratégia, além de ter custos elevados, está fadada ao fracasso, se não for alterada rapidamente. Segue-se, então, uma lista de oito pontos que ilustram o tipo de mudança radical de estratégia, com o objetivo de tornar o combate à restrição externa da economia brasileira a prioridade número um da política econômica

Inflação inercial e desindexação neutra

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As leis de rendimento nas teorias neoclássicas do crescimento: uma crítica sraffiana

The paper examines critically the exogenous and endogenous neoclassical growth theories, with particular attention given to the question of assumptions on marginal returns to factors and returns to scale. It shows that a number of deficiencies In the treatment of topics such as the connection between accumulation and growth and increasing returns to scale, together with many of their most implausible results and artificial assumptions, are In fact the high price imposed by the insistence on basing the theory of growth In the traditional and flawed marginalist explanation of distribution.Este artigo examina criticamente as teorias neoclássicas de crescimento, exógenas e endógenas, com atenção particular para a questão das suposições de retornos marginais para os fatores e os retornos de escala. Mostramos que muitas das deficiências no tratamento de tópicos tais como a conexão entre acumulação e crescimento e os retornos crescentes de escala, junto com muitos de seus resultados implausíveis e hipóteses artificiais, são, na realidade, o alto preço imposto pela insistência em baseara teoria do crescimento na tradicional e problemática abordagem marginalista da distribuição. Palavras-chave Crescimento endógeno; Sraffa; retornos crescentes de escala

Marx e a mercadoria força de trabalho

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Uma sugestão para simplificar a teoria da taxa de juros exógena

RESUMO O objetivo deste artigo é tentar esclarecer alguns pontos do extenso debate heterodoxo sobre a taxa de juros monetária, sugerindo o uso do que se chamará de abordagem da taxa de juros exógena. Essa abordagem parte de dois princípios bem gerais, que são: (a) o governo não quebra em sua própria moeda; e (b) os bancos só emprestam para clientes considerados solventes. Buscar-se-á reforçar os argumentos Lavoie (2006), mostrando que esses ficam mais claros e melhor fundamentados a partir dos princípios da abordagem da taxa de juros exógena. Para tanto, discutir-se-ão (a) os problemas com a visão da taxa de juros determinada pela oferta e pela demanda por moeda e (b) a determinação exógena da taxa de juros (e a questão da endogeneidade da quantidade de moeda) e o "spread" dos empréstimos privados de longo prazo sob a ótica da abordagem da taxa de juros exógena. Palavras-chave: taxa de juros exógena; moeda endógena; Economia Monetária. TÍTULO EM INGLÊS A suggestion for simplifying the theory of exogenous interest rate ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to clarify some points in the extensive heterodox debate about the monetary interest rate, suggesting the use of what we call the exogenous interest rate approach. This approach is based on two very general principles: (i) the government cannot be forced to default in its own currency and (ii) banks will only lend to creditworthy clients. We will reinforce Lavoie’s (2006) arguments showing that they can become clearer and better founded on the principles of exogenous interest rate approach. To this purpose, we discuss (i) some problems with the view that the interest rate is determined by supply and demand for money and (ii) the determination of exogenous interest rate (and the issue of endogeneity of money supply) and the private long-term spread from the perspective of exogenous interest rate approach. Key words: exogenous interest rate; endogenous money; Monetary Economy. Classificação JEL: E43 - Interest Rates: Determination, Term Structure, and Effects Artigo recebido em maio 2013 e aceito para publicação em jun. 2013. ENDEREÇO PARA ENVIO DE PUBLICAÇÃO DOS DOIS AUTORES: Av. Pasteur, 250. Instituto de Economia, UFRJ. Urca, Rio de Janeiro - RJ CEP: 22.290-24

Social Perceptions of Forest Ecosystem Services in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The forests of the Albertine Rift are known for their high biodiversity and the important ecosystem services they provide to millions of inhabitants. However, their conservation and the maintenance of ecosystem service delivery is a challenge, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Our research investigates how livelihood strategy and ethnicity affects local perceptions of forest ecosystem services. We collected data through 25 focus-group discussions in villages from distinct ethnic groups, including farmers (Tembo, Shi, and Nyindu) and hunter-gatherers (Twa). Twa identify more food-provisioning services and rank bush meat and honey as the most important. They also show stronger place attachment to the forest than the farmers, who value other ecosystem services, but all rank microclimate regulation as the most important. Our findings help assess ecosystem services trade-offs, highlight the important impacts of restricted access to forests resources for Twa, and point to the need for developing alternative livelihood strategies for these communities

Canagliflozin and renal outcomes in type 2 diabetes and nephropathy

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to <90 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 of body-surface area and albuminuria (ratio of albumin [mg] to creatinine [g], >300 to 5000) and were treated with renin–angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of <15 ml per minute per 1.73 m2), a doubling of the serum creatinine level, or death from renal or cardiovascular causes. Prespecified secondary outcomes were tested hierarchically. RESULTS The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring committee. At that time, 4401 patients had undergone randomization, with a median follow-up of 2.62 years. The relative risk of the primary outcome was 30% lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group, with event rates of 43.2 and 61.2 per 1000 patient-years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59 to 0.82; P=0.00001). The relative risk of the renal-specific composite of end-stage kidney disease, a doubling of the creatinine level, or death from renal causes was lower by 34% (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P<0.001), and the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease was lower by 32% (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.86; P=0.002). The canagliflozin group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.95; P=0.01) and hospitalization for heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.80; P<0.001). There were no significant differences in rates of amputation or fracture. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular events was lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 2.62 years

Outcomes from elective colorectal cancer surgery during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

This study aimed to describe the change in surgical practice and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on mortality after surgical resection of colorectal cancer during the initial phases of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century