The risk-properties of human capital and the design of government policies

Whether human capital increases or decreases wage uncertainty is an open question from an empirical standpoint. Yet, most policy prescriptions regarding human capital formation are based on models that impose riskiness on this type of investment. In a two period and finite type optimal income taxation problem we derive prescriptions that are robust to the risk characteristics of human capital: savings should be discouraged, human capital investments encouraged and both types of investment driven to an efficient level from an aggregate perspective. These prescriptions are also robust to the assumptions regarding what choices are observed, despite policy instruments being not.

The effects of government deficit on equilibrium real exchange rates and stock prices

This paper studies the effect of government deficits on equilibrium real exchange rates and stock prices. The theoretical part modifies a two-country cash-in-advance model like used in Lucas(1982) and Sargent(1987) in order to accommodate an exchange rate market and a government that pursues fiscal and monetary policy targets. The implied result is that unanticipated shocks in government deficits raise expectations of both taxes and inflation and, therefore, are associated with real exchange rate devaluations and lower stock prices. This finding is strongly supported by empirical evidence for a group of 19 countries, representing 76% of world production

As novas doutrinas de Administração Pública e os seus reflexos nos controles e na auditoria de desempenho dos programas governamentais

The developed democracies only have results or crystallise, when the exercise of the government policies has two dimensions: the first one, is the dimension of the government decisions making: in which, the governor accomplishes the priorities and orientations submitted to the population by electoral decisions. Then the second dimension, is the functionality of the State: capable to transform policies into convergent actions for accomplishment of the negotiated results. The consolidation of the democracy and the consequent increase of the social demand by decisions and public and government lawsuits, able to generate results that attend collectively the different levels of the society and able to aggregate and articulate additional values to their interests, imposes to the public sector administration, great challenges of public policies. Nowadays, the indispensable condition to guarantee a minimum governmental benchmark, it to overcome these challenges, in the plan of the public administration, demanded for the promotion of the economic development, in the democratic scope, to reach the politician-institutional values of the society. However, It is undeniable, the universality of the challenges of public administration that consequently, are the effects of modern administrative systems. To attempt the best result, the mast satisfy the attributes of speed, flexibility, integration and innovation, amongst others. The diffusion of guided doctrines of public management by results is reflecting in the institutionalization of new types of bureaucratic activities and amongst this context, it is distinguished as a basic importance of what we call Performance Audit. This work intends to describe how the control organs and especially the Accounts Court of the Union, the sensitive demands of the society, and attending to new constitutional order, they are structuring itself to face the new organizational and institutional challenges, in consequence of the gradual redefinition of your task, more and more liable uncertainties, current of the intimate nature of the performance audit, in development, face the traditional audit, which characterizes them in general. Therefore, the main goal of this these, is the analysis of the organizational challenges and consequently ,the lawsuits changes of the organizational structures faced in general by the Brazilian¿s Accounts Courts, which we believe, will help to elaborate paths of propulsive evaluating and restrictive elements to the innovations that are intended to introduce the systems of necessary control in the evaluation of government programs.

Internacioanlização de pequena empresa brasileira de base tecnológica: Caso Pipeway Engenharia Limitada

O objetivo desta dissertação é verificar a aderência de atividades desenvolvidas por uma empresa prestadora de serviços de base tecnológica, atuante na área de petróleo, gás e energia, a Pipeway Engenharia Limitada , aos conceitos teóricos do Paradigma Novas Empresas Internacionais - NEI (RENNIE,1993; MCDOUGALL et. Al., 1994) durante seu processo de internacionalização. Trata-se de um estudo que assume, para o autor, uma relevância significativa, já que a compreensão do processo de internacionalização da empresa analisada, considerada de porte pequeno, permitirá que suas atividades profissionais venham a ser desenvolvidas com melhor compreensão das necessidades, exigências e soluções que esse tipo de empresa requer para a sua internacionalização. Para atingir o objetivo proposto, a metodologia utilizada foi o estudo de caso único em função, assim definido, por um lado, pelo fato de não existir no Brasil uma quantidade importante de empresas com características semelhantes à estudada e, por outro, por ser um método que se aplica, quando se deseja ter respostas a questões, tais como: “como” e “por que”, permitindo a compreensão de fenômenos individuais. Para compreender melhor a evolução do setor de serviços nos mercados internacionais foi necessário fazer um estudo sucinto, baseado em análises documental e bibliográfica, para determinar a evolução e importância do mesmo como fator gerador de riqueza, inovação e sustentação do desenvolvimento empresarial. Considerando que a empresa analisada foca seu trabalho no segmento de petróleo e gás, para melhor compreensão desse segmento econômico, foi realizada análise tanto de âmbito nacional como internacional, de sua atual conformação e situação, pois, diferentemente de outros segmentos internacionais, as empresas que neles desenvolvem suas atividades se deparam com mercados mais abertos e globalizados e essas características têm impacto significativo na empresa analisada. A junção da primeira com a segunda análise permitiu avaliar o grau de competitividade e demais parâmetros a que a empresa estudada teve que atender para ser considerada ou não um Novo Empreendimento Internacional. Posteriormente, com os preceitos metodológicos de estudo de caso, acrescidos dos dados obtidos na pesquisa documental e entrevistas com a alta gerência da empresa, foi efetuado um relato historiográfico da evolução do processo de internacionalização da empresa, destacando os eventos e fatos que possibilitaram verificar a aderência, ou não, aos pressupostos do paradigma NEI. Por fim, foi investigada a evolução internacional da empresa à luz dos critérios de análise, diretamente relacionados com princípios do Paradigma NEI, o que permitiu no capitulo seguinte, vinculado às conclusões em forma empírica, que o processo de internacionalização da Pipeway responde na sua totalidade às características do Paradigma NEI. Um exemplo é a data de início da internacionalização e relação entre as receitas de exportação e faturamento total. Também são apresentadas sugestões para o desenvolvimento de pesquisas futuras, aprimoramento dos programas governamentais de apoio ao processo de internacionalização de Pequenas Empresas e desempenho profissional do autor

The political economy of exchange rate in Brazil

This paper reviews part of the political economy literature on exchange rate policy relevant to understanding the political motivations behind the Brazilian exchange rate policy. We shall first examine the distributive role of the exchange rate, and the way it unfolds in terms of the desired political goals. We will follow by analyzing exchange policy as indicative of government effciency prior to elections. Finally, we discuss fiscal policy from the point of view of political economy, in which the exchange rate results from the macroeconomic equilibrium. Over this review, the Brazilian exchange rate policy is discussed in light of the theories presented.

European business schools and global leadership: an examination of the admission criteria of the european master in management programs ranked by the Financial Times 2010

O aumento de empresas que operam internacionalmente requer o desenvolvimento de líderes mundiais para colocar as estratégias em prática. Embora este processo de desenvolvimento é importante para o mundo corporativo, muitos futuros executivos são graduados de escolas de administração de empresas que estão intimamente ligados ao mundo de negócios e, portanto, desempenhão um papel importante no processo. Esta pesquisa examina se os programas europeus “Master in Management” classificado pelo Financial Times em 2010 selecionam aqueles candidatos que são mais adequados para o desenvolvimento de liderança global. Portanto, três anteriores meta-estudos são sintetizados para produzir um perfil de competências classificadas de um líder global. Então, informações sobre os critérios de admissão dos programas de mestrado são coletadas e comparadas com este perfil. Os resultados mostram que seis competências são medidas por mais da metade dos programas: proficiência em Inglês, capacidade analítica (racionamento lógico e quantitativo), capacidade de comunicação, conhecimento do negócio global, determinação para alcançar, motivação e capacidade interpessoal. Além disso, as habilidades operacionais requerentes pelos líderes globais não são significativas no processo de admissão e o foco é sobre as habilidades analíticas. Comparação dos resultados com o perfil anteriormente desenvolvido abrangente indica que uma quantidade significativa de programas pode subestimar o significado de habilidades pessoais e características para o desenvolvimento de líderes globais.

A study of the impacts of quantitative easing on the macroeconomics variables

Neste trabalho, propusemos um modelo DSGE que busca responder algumas questões sobre políticas de afrouxamento monetário (Quantitative Easing - QE) recentemente implementadas em resposta à crise de 2008. Desenvolvemos um modelo DSGE com agentes heterogêneos e preferred-habitat nas compras de títulos do governo. Nosso modelo permite o estudo da otimalidade da compra de portfolio (em termos de duration dos títulos) para os bancos centrais quando estão implementando a política. Além disso, a estrutura heterogênea nos permite olhar para distribuição de renda provocada pelas compras de títulos. Nossos resultados preliminares evidenciam o efeito distributivo do QE. No entanto, nosso modelo expandido apresentou alguns problemas de estabilidade.

Temporary exchange rate-based stabilization programs under asset market segmentation

This paper analyses the welfare consequences of temporary exchange rate-based stabilization programs. Differently than previous papers, however, here we assume that only a fraction of households participates in asset market transactions. With this asset market segmentation assumption, the effects of temporary programs on welfare may change drastically. Households with access to the bonds market are able to protect themselves better from the changes in the inflation rate – although at the cost of a distortion in their consumption path. As a consequence, they may decrease their inflation tax burden – which would increase for the other group of households. By the other side, when these agents that lack the access to the asset markets are credit constrained, they may welcome the program, since the government Is temporally reducing the inflation tax they have to pay. The temporary program could end up benefiting both groups, what could help to understand their popularity.

Assesment of port governance in Brazil: a managerial perspective on the port of Santos

The role of maritime transportation within international trade was drastically revamped during the inception of the globalization process, which enhanced the contribution of ports in world economy as main logistics gateways for global production and trade. As a result, the relationship between ports and governments has changed. Devolution ideologies that had been applied in other industries decades ago were now being considered by governments for the port industry. Many central governments sought to extract themselves from commercial activities of ports and devolving this responsibility to local governments, communities or private entities. The institution of devolution programs also changed the governance structures of ports further influencing port performance. Consequently, the recent worldwide trend towards devolution in the port industry has spawned considerable variety of governance models that are now set in place around the world. While some countries opt for more decentralized structures others prefer to retain a centralization of powers. In this way some governments consider local features and national integration more than others, which ultimately influence the success of a port reform implementation. Nevertheless, the prime intent of governments is now to maximize the efficiency and performance of their domestic ports. This issue intends to examine the changed port governance environment in Brazil by determining how and why imposed port reforms of the Brazilian federal government have been affecting the overall performance of the national port system, over the last decades, using the Port of Santos as a sample upon an exploratory study. For that, the study will use a contingency theory-based framework – the Matching Framework - that views port performance as a function of the fit among the dimensions of external operating environment, strategy and structure of a port organization. In essence, the greater the fit among these dimensions the better the expected performance of a port will be, and vice-versa. Port managers, government officials and academics alike shall be interested in this document.

Fiscal adjustment, conditionality and politics in IMF programs

A common feature in programs of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the use of conditionalities, macroeconomic and structural measures that a requesting country should adopt to obtain an assistance package. The objective of this work is to conduct an empirical analysis of the economic and political determinants of such conditionalities. In particular, our main contribution consists in the development of a new measure of conditionality, fiscal adjustment, and its comparison with the most used in the literature, the number of conditions. We choose fiscal adjustment because it is an adequate proxy for program austerity, since its implementation carries economic and political costs. In the empirical exercise, we use data from 184 programs in the period of 1999 and 2012, and estimate how our two measures of conditionalities respond to the economic and political factors. Our results suggest that they are quite different. The main determinant of the number of conditions is the political proximity of the borrowing country to the Fund’s major shareholders, the members of G5. On the other hand, the main determinant of fiscal adjustment is the size of the government fiscal deficit. Finally, we did not find correlation between the size of fiscal adjustment and the number of conditions. These results suggest that the analysis of the content of IMF programs should take into account the different measures of agreed conditionality.

Impact assessment and quality analysis of corporate social responsability (CSR) programs of mining companies and their contribution to sustainable development in the communities they operate: case study Tenke Fungurume Mining SA in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Purpose – This case study presents an impact assessment of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs of the TFM Company in order to understand how they contribute to the sustainable development of communities in areas in which they operate. Design/Methodology/Approach - Data for this study was collected using qualitative data methods that included semi-structured interviews and Focus Group Discussions most of them audio and video recorded. Documentary analysis and a field visit were also undertaken for the purpose of quality analysis of the CSR programs on the terrain. Data collected was analyzed using the Seven Questions to sustainability (7Qs) framework, an evaluation tool developed by the Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development (MMSD) North America chapter. Content analysis method was on the other hand used to examine the interviews and FGDs of the study participants. Findings - Results shows that CSR programs of TFM SA do contribute to community development, as there have been notable changes in the communities’ living conditions. But whether they have contributed to sustainable development is not yet the case as programs that enhance the capacity of communities and other stakeholders to support these projects development beyond the implementation stage and the mines operation lifetime need to be considered and implemented. Originality/Value – In DRC, there is paucity of information of research studies that focus on impact assessment of CSR programs in general and specifically those of mining companies and their contribution to sustainable development of local communities. Many of the available studies cover issues of minerals and conflict or conflict minerals as mostly referred to. This study addressees this gap.