Trade and infrastructure: evidences from the Andean Community

This paper presents evidence on the key role of infrastructure in the Andean Community trade patterns. Three distinct but related gravity models of bilateral trade are used. The first model aims at identifying the importance of the Preferential Trade Agreement and adjacency on intra-regional trade, while also checking the traditional roles of economic size and distance. The second and third models also assess the evolution of the Trade Agreement and the importance of sharing a common border, but their main goal is to analyze the relevance of including infrastructure in the augmented gravity equation, testing the theoretical assumption that infrastructure endowments, by reducing trade and transport costs, reduce “distance” between bilateral partners. Indeed, if one accepts distance as a proxy for transportation costs, infrastructure development and improvement drastically modify it. Trade liberalization eliminates most of the distortions that a protectionist tariff system imposes on international business; hence transportation costs represent nowadays a considerably larger barrier to trade than in past decades. As new trade pacts are being negotiated in the Americas, borders and old agreements will lose significance; trade among countries will be nearly without restrictions, and bilateral flows will be defined in terms of costs and competitiveness. Competitiveness, however, will only be achieved by an improvement in infrastructure services at all points in the production-distribution chain.

Access to knoledge in Brazil: new research on intellectual property, innovation and development

The present volume is the fruit of a research initiative on Access to Knowledge begun in 2004 by Yochai Benkler, Eddan Katz, and myself. Access to Knowledge is both a social movement and an approach to international and domestic policy. In the present era of globalization, intellectual property and information and communications technology are major determinants of wealth and power. The principle of access to knowledge argues that we best serve both human rights and economic development through policies that make knowledge, knowledge-creating tools, and nowledgeembedded goods as widely available as possible for decentralized innovation and use. Open technological standards, a balanced approach to intellectual property rights, and expansion of an open telecommunications infrastructure enable ordinary people around the world to benefit from the technological advances of the information age and allow them to generate a vibrant, participatory and democratic culture. Law plays a crucial role in securing access to knowledge, determining whether knowledge and knowledge goods are shared widely for the benefit of all, or controlled and monopolized for the benefit of a few.

Políticas públicas no setor de turismo: utopia ou realidade?

Este trabalho pretende mostrar que a implementação de políticas públicas no setor de turismo não é utopia, e sim um instrumento essencial à dinamização deste segmento tão promissor e rentável, que no mundo todo vem apresentando resultados surpreendentes, e que pode contribuir de forma significativa para o desenvolvimento de uma região. Para auferir os dividendos da indústria do turismo é primordial que sejam realizados investimentos no setor, de modo a oferecer as condições básicas para que o mesmo possa se expandir. Estas condições vão desde a infra-estrutura básica até a capacitação da mão-de-obra local. Cabe aqui destacar que é fundamental também que se dê incentivos fiscais e monetários para atrair investidores. E, estas, são ações que cabem, fundamentalmente, à iniciativa governamental. Uma análise comparativa entre o desempenho da indústria do turismo no mundo, no Brasil e na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, pretendeu-se provar que nas circunstâncias atuais, a elaboração e a implementação de políticas públicas são essenciais para a expansão do setor de turismo, e que este é certamente um próspero caminho a ser trilhado pelo nosso país e pela nossa cidade, considerando o enorme potencial turístico de ambos, rumo ao desenvolvimento econômico-social.

Arranjo produtivo local: o caso de São João Del Rei-MG

O objetivo dessa dissertação foi investigar o processo de formação do Arranjo Produtivo Local (APL) de estanho em São João del-Rei - A7 Estanho, particularizando suas contribuições para o desenvolvimento local do município. O trabalho foi conduzido mediante uma discussão teórica sobre a situação das micro e pequenas empresas no Brasil, sobre a importância econômica e social dos arranjos produtivos locais, seus impactos no desenvolvimento regional e/ou local, principalmente de municípios sem infra-estrutura para atrair grandes empresas, e sobre políticas públicas que estão em andamento e que se voltam para o fomento desse tipo de aglomerado. Foram realizadas cerca de quatorze entrevistas no município de São João del-Rei: seis integrantes da Associação, uma funcionária, dois representantes das principais instituições parceiras, um representante do governo local e quatro membros da sociedade civil, que possuíam informações relevantes sobre a A7. O método empregado no tratamento dos dados foi a análise de conteúdo. Como resultados, no que diz respeito à análise dos programas que deram origem e/ou sustentação ao aglomerado, verificou-se que dois programas foram mais contundentes em suas contribuições à Associação: o Programa Empreender, da Federaminas, que permitiu a união dos empresários em torno de um objetivo comum, e o Projeto Via Design, do Sebrae, que possibilitou uma série de vantagens ao grupo, solidificando-o no mercado. No que se refere à participação dos diversos atores (membros da A7, poder público, instituições parceiras, sociedade civil) na construção do APL, pode-se perceber que o nível de atuação e comprometimento variava de acordo com as motivações pessoais, cargos ou funções formais exercidas e grau de relacionamento com a Associação. As contribuições ao desenvolvimento local do município, geradas pelo arranjo produtivo, foram enumeradas como geração de emprego e renda, ainda de forma incipiente, mas com possibilidades de crescimento futuro, e divulgação do turismo e cultura sãojoanense.

Development and evaluation of a range anxiety-reducing business model for connected full electric vehicles

This thesis develops and evaluates a business model for connected full electric vehicles (FEV) for the European market. Despite a promoting political environment, various barriers have thus far prevented the FEV from becoming a mass-market vehicle. Besides cost, the most noteworthy of these barriers is represented by range anxiety, a product of FEVs’ limited range, lacking availability of charging infrastructure, and long recharging times. Connected FEVs, which maintain a constant connection to the surrounding infrastructure, appear to be a promising element to overcome drivers’ range anxiety. Yet their successful application requires a well functioning FEV ecosystem which can only be created through the collaboration of various stakeholders such as original equipment manufacturers (OEM), first tier suppliers (FTS), charging infrastructure and service providers (CISP), utilities, communication enablers, and governments. This thesis explores and evaluates how a business model, jointly created by these stakeholders, could look like, i.e. how stakeholders could collaborate in the design of products, services, infrastructure, and advanced mobility management, to meet drivers with a sensible value proposition that is at least equivalent to that of internal combustion engine (ICE) cars. It suggests that this value proposition will be an end-2-end package provided by CISPs or OEMs that comprises mobility packages (incl. pay per mile plans, battery leasing, charging and battery swapping (BS) infrastructure) and FEVs equipped with an on-board unit (OBU) combined with additional services targeted at range anxiety reduction. From a theoretical point of view the thesis answers the question which business model framework is suitable for the development of a holistic, i.e. all stakeholder-comprising business model for connected FEVs and defines such a business model. In doing so the thesis provides the first comprehensive business model related research findings on connected FEVs, as prior works focused on the much less complex scenario featuring only “offline” FEVs.

The experience of semi-formal infrastructure finance in developing countries: proposals for Brazil and Latin America

This paper has the purpose of analyzing the role of civil society in funding and providing nfrastructure projects in developing countries. Considering that local associations around the world have been directly engaged on some infrastructure projects – some scholars define it as “semi-formal finance” –, the intention is to demonstrate that the experiences on such arrangements in developing countries have been responsible for fostering infrastructure investments in the poorer regions where the government is more absent. Based upon legal, economic and social aspects, this paper aims to contribute to a broader debate for the development of infrastructure in emerging countries. The conclusion is that, under a more social approach, the legal and economic mechanisms in developing countries are able to consider such arrangements in the benefit of their development.