Trade Shocks in Brazil: An Investigation of Effects on Regional Manufacturing Wages

Brazil has experienced two trade shocks in the 90’s: unilateral liberalization, which weighted average nominal tariff reduced from 37.7% in 1988 to 10.2% in 1994; drastically real devaluation of 47% in the exchange rate in 1999. These two effects has influenced the location of industry in Brazil, since the industry center of Brazil, Sao Paulo State, reduced its participation in the industry sector from 52% in 1985 to 43% in 2002. This occurs when the dispersion forces overcome the agglomeration ones. The main dispersion force evidenced by the literature is the increase of competition, not only in the goods market (a new product), but also in the factor market (demand of labor, which increases wages). In a trade agreement, the most common trade shock, these two forces occurred simultaneously. At this case, it is possible to distinguish between two dispersion forces: competition of the imported goods (first shock); competition in the labor market (second shock). One way to evaluate these effects can be by investigating the effectiveness of transport cost to understand the regional differences in wages and if it has reduced (or increased) its explanation power after the trade shock. In order to do that, the methodology of Hanson 1997 will be used as a basic framework. It is possible to analyze the effects of these trade shocks in the disparities of regional wages in Brazil with his methodology. However, there will be some differences to his framework. First, Hanson uses state level data and this paper has a more disaggregated regional data (microregion, which divides Brazil into more than 500 parts). Second, Hanson doesn’t take into account any change in educational level, infrastructure improvement or government intervention, which are considered in this investigation. The first results show that transport cost is important to understand differences in wages between Brazilian microregions and trade shocks have influenced in some sense these disparities, but not so consistently as transport costs. Moreover, it seems that dispersion force of the second shock was greater than the first one, therefore, competition to hire new employees expel more plants to lower wages regions than comptetion with new products.

Boundary decisions of the firm: make, buy, cooperate

Firms are not atomistic hierarchies only linked with one another at arm’s-length distance in markets. Instead, a myriad of long-lived, highly cooperative relationships between suppliers and customers are pervasively found in the B2B world. And it is within those enmeshed relationships and networks that the co-evolution of capabilities and business specialisms is brought about and developed. If that is the actual ‘topography’ of the business landscape, then the coordination of economic activities in general, and the boundary decisions of each and every firm in particular, are unlikely to be reduced to a (dual) choice between ‘making’ or ‘buying’. Inter-firm cooperation is in itself a third governance structure, in alternative to the hierarchical and the market modes of coordination. And, what is also equally important to note, it is through the make-or-buy-or-cooperate decisions that the (embedded) firm is able to change its nature and scope, redefine its (fuzzy) boundaries, and thus adapt to an ever-changing business setting

Meta-theories in research: positivism, postmodernism, and critical realism

No scholar or researcher is able to provide robust evidence that counters the scant reflection on metatheory – mostly ontology and epistemology – underlying management studies in general, and industrial marketing and purchasing research in particular. This paper is a contribution to the indispensable discussion of metatheoretical alternatives in research, and most importantly, the strengths and shortcomings thereof, and respective implications on research questions, objectives, and findings

The strategic relevance of business relationships: a preliminary assessment

The ubiquitous contention within the Industrial Networks literature - that business relationships are one of the firm´s most important resources - has not been, in our viewpoint, thoroughly explored. Hence we argue that the ‘Resource-based View of the Firm’ (‘RBV’) may complement the network-based reasoning on the strategic relevance of business relationships. A theoretical framework is proposed – a competence-based view of the firm – which solves RBV´s terminological and inconsistency problems and, more importantly, assures compatibility with the network perspective´s assumptions. The possibility of cross-fertilizing the Industrial Networks and RBV theories seems not only real, but also conceptually profitable for both theoretical fields.Business Relationships, Industrial Networks, Resource-Based View of the Firm, Competence-Based View of the Firm

Markets-as-networks theory: a review

This paper exposes the development of markets-as-networks theory from formal inception in the mid-1970s until 2010 state-of-the-art, en route presenting its historical roots. This largely European-based theory challenges the conventional, dichotomous view of the business world as including firms and markets, arguing for the existence of relational governance structures (the so-called ‘‘interfirm cooperation’’) in addition to hierarchical and transactional ones

Of the significance of business relationships

The Industrial Network Theory aims to describe and explain the business relationships and networks in which the focal firm is deeply embedded. One of its major propositions is that business relationships somehow influence, to different extents and over time, the focal firm’s survival. This pertains to the diverse and time-varying significance of business relationships for the focal firm. It has often been implicitly sustained that such significance is strongly related to the role played by business relationships and consequently the relationship outcomes accruing to the focal firm. The logic underlying the relationship significance proposition is outwardly oriented, somewhat overlooking the focal firm’s inside and in particular the conspicuous influence of business relationships on what the focal firm does competently both within and across its vertical boundaries. Arguably, the (predominantly ‘functional’) network-based arguments currently advanced represent a necessary but not sufficient condition for relationship significance. This conceptual paper tentatively suggests that there may be missing a supplementary (essentially internal) explanation supported by Competence-based Theories of the Firm.Industrial Network Theory; relationship significance proposition

Relationship significance: is it sufficiently explained?

The Industrial Networks Theory (cf. Axelsson and Easton, 1992, Hakansson and Snehota, 1995) sets out to describe and explain the business relationships and markets in which the focal firm is deeply embedded. One of its major propositions pertains to the (time-varying) significance of business relationships for the focal firm (Gadde et al., 2003), i.e., business relationships influence to some extent the focal firm’s survival. Such significance seems strongly related to the role played by business relationships and consequently the relationship outcomes accruing to the focal firm. The theoretical justification underlying this proposition is outwardly oriented, somewhat overlooking the inside of the focal firm - in particular the influence of business relationships on what the focal firm does competently within and across its boundaries. Arguably, the creation and appropriation of relationship value by the focal firm is a necessary but not sufficient condition for relationship significance. A supplementary (internal) explanation supported by Knowledge-based Theories of the Firm (e.g., see Kogut and Zander, 1992), we suggest, may be missing. Our aim here has been to intuitively pinpoint a theoretical flaw, further suggesting a feasible path for its solution.Industrial Networks Theory; relationship significance proposition; relationship functions, dysfunctions, benefits, sacrifices, and value

How is the relationship significance brought about? A critical realist approach

The markets-as-networks theorists contend, at least tacitly, the significance of business relationships for the focal firm – that is, business relationships contribute somewhat to the focal firm’s survival and growth. We do not deny the existence of significant business relationships but sustain, in contrast to the consensus within the Markets-as-Networks Theory, that relationship significance should not be a self-evident assumption. Significance cannot be a taken-for-granted property of each and every one of the focal firm’s business relationships. We adopt explicitly a critical realist position in this conceptual paper and claim that the relationship significance is an event of the business world, whose causes remain yet largely unidentified. Where the powers and liabilities of business relationships (i.e., their functions and dysfunctions) are put to work, inevitably under certain contingencies (namely the surrounding networks and markets), effects result for the focal firm (often benefits in excess of sacrifices, i.e., relationship value) and as a result the relationship significance is likely to be brought about. In addition, the relationship significance can result from the dual influence that business relationships have on a great part of the structure and powers and liabilities of the focal firm, i.e., its nature and scope respectively.Markets-as-Networks Theory, relationship significance, business relationships, focal firm, resources, competences, activities

Valorização do Património Edificado de Ponta Delgada : estudo em torno da memória dos lugares

Dissertação de Mestrado, Património, Museologia e Desenvolvimento, 29 de Setembro de 2016, Universidade dos Açores.A presente dissertação tem por objetivo analisar, com base nos conceitos de memória do lugar e valorização do património edificado, questões problemáticas do património edificado da cidade de Ponta Delgada, no que concerne a intervenções urbanísticas e arquitetónicas que revelaram descuido no estudo e na aplicação desses conceitos fundamentais. O estudo histórico e documental dos casos da Avenida Marginal, na sua 1ª e 2ª fases de construção, que inclui a zona da Calheta, e a mais recente intervenção no Campo de São Francisco, visam procurar elementos que identifiquem e justifiquem razões para as opções tomadas nessas intervenções, as quais surtiram efeitos perversos para a cidade de Ponta Delgada. Este estudo serve de premissa para uma revisitação do passado, estudando outras alternativas apresentadas à época e procedendo a uma análise que tome por base a cidade atual, formulando propostas no sentido de valorizar o património edificado. Procura-se, assim, alerta para os vários problemas decorrentes de intervenções não assentes nos conceitos de memória do lugar.ABSTRACT: Based on the concepts of memory of the place and enhancement of the built heritage, the present dissertation aims to analyze the problematic issues of the built heritage of the city of Ponta Delgada, in the urban and architectural field, that revealed carelessness in the study and application of those fundamental concepts. The historical and documentary study of cases of Avenida Marginal, in its 1st and 2nd stages of construction, which includes the area of Calheta and the latest intervention in Campo de São Francisco, aims to search for elements that identify and contest the choices made in these interventions causing certain problems in the city of Ponta Delgada. This study serves as a premise for revisiting the past, studying other alternatives presented at the time and proceeding to a study based on the current city, formulating proposals to enhance the built heritage, warning thus to the problems from interventions not based on the concepts of memory of place

Fully heuristic timetabling driven by students' feedback on availability

The optimal schedule of lectures and exams is critical in higher education institutions. But it is a very time consuming task for those who are in charge of planning academic activities. For this reason, a considerable attention has been devoted to automated timetabling. Because timetabling solutions are highly dependent on the way institutions are organized, it is common that each institution develops its own platform. At the Instituto Politécnico de Bragança we have evaluated several existent solutions but we have concluded that no particular solution fulfills the totality of our requirements. That leads us to the development of a new platform in order to handle all constraints we consider relevant and to incorporate all knowledge we have accumulated from manually scheduling lectures for many years. In particular, we are interested in the optimal scheduling of lectures from the students point of view. Our institution enrolls many student workers and many students from outside our region and, in addition, our study plans are composed by a majority of compulsory courses, which makes difficult the scheduling of all lectures in a manner that the majority of students can attend the lectures they want or they have to. Therefore we decided to include students' availability as a soft constraint. The platform we are still improving produces final timetables through an algorithm that implements some heuristic scheduling techniques and runs on an HPC environment. From time to time the system tries to relax students' constraints by asking students to rethink and reintroduce their availability within certain limitations