Gender relations and the dowry system in India : the case of Hyderabad

This article seeks to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the gender relations and the dowry system in India. It is based on a qualitative study that gave priority to the undertaking of interviews with women from different educational backgrounds living in the city of Hyderabad (South of India). The predominant perception of the interviewees is that education promotes economic and symbolic independence. The higher the educational level, the more critical accounts are found in relation to: the dowry system as a mechanism of reproduction of the low status of women and of the persistent asymmetries in gender relations; the wish to educate sons and daughters under equal conditions; and the value given to marriages based on love to the detriment of arranged ones. The main argument is that education is a fundamental source of women’s empowerment and opens up prospects for challenging the patriarchal regime, changing the status of women and leading to a more gender equal society. However, if this is to happen, then the education system (programs and curricula) needs to be congruent with gender equality, targeting both women and men in the project of challenging the dominant patriarchal structure.

Three essays on corporate taxation : financial reporting, value, and firm creation

Doutoramento em Gestão

Corporate governance : value creation and performance in credit unions

In this study, we examine the relationship between good corporate governance practices and the creation of value/performance of credit unions from 2010 to 2012. The objective was to create and validate a corporate governance index for credit unions, and to then analyse the relationship between good governance practices and the creation of value/performance. The problem question is: do good corporate governance practices provide value creation for credit unions? The research started by creating indices from factor analysis to identify latent dependent variables related to value creation and performance; next indices were created from the principal component analysis for the creation of independent latent variables related to corporate governance. Finally, based on panel data from regression models, the influence of the variables and indices related to corporate governance on the indices of value creation and performance was verified. Based on the research, it became evident that the Corporate Governance Index (IGC) is mainly impacted by Executive Management, with 40.31% of the IGC value, followed by the Representation and Participation dimension, with 34.07% of the IGC value. The contribution for academics was the creation of the Corporate Governance Index (IGC) applied for credit unions. As for the contribution to the system of credit unions, the highlight was the effectiveness of the mechanisms for economic-financial and asset management adopted by BACEN, credit unions and OCEMG.