Domestic tourism and regional inequality in Brazil

This paper analyzes the consumption patterns of tourists coming from different domestic origins and choosing other domestic destinations in Brazil, in terms of expenditure level and composition. We also look at the different alternatives of financing tourist expenditures and their implications for the net multipliers in an integrated framework. We use survey data for domestic tourism in Brazil to consolidate an interregional matrix of expenditures by tourists and then use an interregional input-output system for Brazil to compute the tourism multiplier effects based on alternative hypotheses for the sources of financing of expenditures by tourists. The results are analyzed, and their implications for regional inequality in the country are discussed

Modeling Interjurisdictional Tax Competition in a Federal System

Interjurisdictional tax competition is a controversial theme little studied in an empirical approach in spite of the great advance in the theoretical debate at last decades. This paper aims to build a bridge between such theoretical issues and the empirical tools using an interregional general equilibrium model to evaluate the welfare effects of an experimental game of tax competition between two regional governments of the Brazilian federal system. The model recognizes the horizontal and vertical fiscal linkages underlying the Brazilian federalism. The results imply in a welfare-improving Nash equilibrium, in opposition with many theoretical issues. It can be seen that the fiscal externalities of tax competition does matter for such output not only due the mobility of the regional tax base but also because the substitution effect between regional goods and international goods since tax competition reduces the domestic prices. Additionally, the constitutional rules impose a rigid mechanism of fiscal transfers from central government to regional governments and contribute to alleviate the reduction pressures on the regional public goods because the increase in central government’s tax base also increase the regional government revenues. Then, interjurisdicional tax competition in the Brazilian federal system can be associated with gains in private consumption that overcome the reduction in regional public good provisions, reinforcing the welfare-improving equilibrium.

Estimation of Regional Trade Substitution Elasticities for Brazil

This study estimates elasticities of regional trade in Brazil considering 110 products and 558 regions. For this, a large database was generated, becoming one of the most important stages in the trajectory of the study given the highly intensive procedures performed to obtain the final interregional trade flows. The elasticities were estimated using the Armington (1969) model, adapted from Bilgic’s (2002) suggestion regarding the definition of variables. Few studies were identified in the literature that aimed at estimating elasticities of substitution in regional trade, adding relative importance to this study. This fact may be related to the generation of the database because of the non-triviality in the numerous requirements and specific information of the economy. The estimation results presented, in general, coefficients with expected signs and the elasticities changed according to the types of products. Products related to agricultural and mining activities had less elastic coefficients than the coefficients of the service activities. The products related to industrial activities presented jointly an average coefficient equal to -1.775.Armington elasticity; regional trade

Perspectivas da implementação da Alca na economia brasileira: impactos setoriais e regionais da abertura comercial

FTAA; ALCA; computable general equilibrium; regional models

Structural Interdependence among Colombian Departments

This paper advances on the analysis of the structural interdependence among Colombian departments. The results show that Bogotá has a large influence in the other regional economies through its purchasing power. Additionally, it can be observed a centerperiphery pattern in the spatial concentration of the effects of the hypothetical extraction of any territory. From a policy point of view, the main findings reaffirm the role played by Bogotá in the polarization process observed in the regional economies in Colombia in the last years. Any policy action oriented to reduce these regional disparities should take into account that, given the structural interdependence among Colombian departments, new investment in the lagged regions would flow through Bogotá and the major regional economies.Input-output; extraction method; Colombia Classification JEL: R12; R15.

Impact assessment of interregional government transfers in Brazil: an input-output approach

Redistributive policies carried out by the central government through interregional government transfers is a relevant feature of the Brazilian federal fiscal system. Regional shares of the central government revenues in the poorer regions have been recurrently smaller than the shares of central government expenditures in those regions. Appeal to core-periphery outcomes could be made, as São Paulo, the wealthiest state in the country, concentrated, in 2005, over 40% of total Federal tax revenue, receiving less than 35% of Federal expenditures. These figures suggest a redistribution of public funds from the spatial economic core of the economy to the peripheral areas. This paper investigates the role interregional transfers play in the redistribution of activities in the country, using an interregional input-output approach. Counterfactual simulations allow us to estimate some costs and benefits, for the core and periphery respectively, from such fiscal mechanisms.Interregional government transfers, input-output analysis, impact analysis, Brazilian economy

Trade and interdependence in the economic growth process: a multiplier analysis for Latin America

This paper illustrates alternative methodological approaches to the issue of trade and interdependence in the economic growth process with a focus on the countries of Latin America, drawing inspiration from earlier contributions by Machlup, Goodwin and Miyazawa. The world economy is divided into two main blocks ofcountries (Latin America and a selection of developed economies) with the rest of the world forming an aggregated third block. A time series of trade matrices for the period 1978-1991 has been constructed to explore the degree to which changes in one country spillover to the rest ofthe world and the degree to which the changes are symmetric or asymmetric. The approaches reveal that important insights into trade structure can be obtained, insights that will prove of value in the rapidly changing trade regimes of the current and next decades