The causal effect of family size on child labor and education

This paper investigates the causal relationship between family size and child labor and education among brazilian children. More especifically, it analyzes the impact of family size on child labor, school attendance, literacy and school progression. It explores the exogenous variation in family size driven by the presence of twins in the family. The results are consistent under the reasonable assumption that the instrument is a random event. Using the nationally representative brazilian household survey (Pnad), detrimental effects are found on child labor for boys. Moreover, significant effects are obtained for school progression for girls caused by the exogenous presence of the young siblings in the household.

Segmentation in the brazilian labor market

This paper measures the degree of segmentation in the brazilian labor market. Controlling for observable and unobservable characteristics, workers earn more in the formal sector, which supports the segmentation hypothesis. We break down the degree of segmentation by socio-economic attributes to identify the groups where this phenomenon is more prevalent. We investigate the robustness of our findings to the inclusion of self-employed individuals, and apply a two-stage panel probit model using the self-selection correction strategy to investigate a potential weakness of the fixed-effects estimator

Correcting the fixed-effect estimator for endogenous switching

In this paper, we propose a two-step estimator for panel data models in which a binary covariate is endogenous. In the first stage, a random-effects probit model is estimated, having the endogenous variable as the left-hand side variable. Correction terms are then constructed and included in the main regression.

Environmental protection and economic growth

This paper explores the link between environmental policy and economic growth by employing an extension of the AK Growth Model. We include a state equation for renewable natural resources. We assume that the change in environmental regulations induces costs and that economic agents also derive some utility from capital stock accumulation vis-`a-vis the environment. Using the Hopf bifurcation theorem, we show that cyclical environmental policy strategies are optimal, providing theoretical support for the Environmental Kuznets Curve.

A test for strong hysteresis in international trade

The article suggests a new test for strong hysteresis in international trade. The variables that capture the effects of hysteresis are based on the model of Dixit (1989) with calibrations using a state-space model to determine the parameters for each point in time. These variables are then applied to a cointegration test with breaks, where it is possible to verify whether the hysteresis effect is essential in determining the long-term equilibrium.

Taylor principle and inflation stability in emerging market countriesw

The goal of this paper is to evaluate the validity of the Taylor principle for inflation control in 12 developing countries that use inflation targeting regimes: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Hungary, Israel, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Poland, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey. The test is based on a state-space model to determine when each country has followed the principle; then a threshold unit root test is used to verify if the stationarity of the deviation of the expected inflation from its target depends on compliance with the Taylor principle. The results show that such compliance leads to the stationarity of the deviation of the expected inflation from its target in all cases. Furthermore, in most cases, non-compliance with the Taylor principle leads to nonstationary deviation of the expected inflation.

Political institutions as substitute for democracy: a political economy analysis of economic growth

This manuscript empirically assesses the effects of political institutions on economic growth. It analyzes how political institutions affect economic growth in different stages of democratization and economic development by means of dynamic panel estimation with interaction terms. The new empirical results obtained show that political institutions work as a substitute for democracy promoting economic growth. In other words, political institutions are important for increasing economic growth, mainly when democracy is not consolidated. Moreover, political institutions are extremely relevant to economic outcomes in periods of transition to democracy and in poor countries with high ethnical fractionalization.

Crime and punishment with habit formation

Moral concepts affect crime supply. This idea is modelled assuming that illegal activities is habit forming. We introduce habits in a intertemporal general equilibrium framework to illegal activities and compare its outcomes with a model without habit formation. The findings are that habit and crime presents a non linear relationship that hinges upon the level of capital and habit formation. It is possible to show that while the effect of habit on crime is negative for low levels o habit formation it becomes positive as habits goes up. Secondly habit reduces the marginal effect of illegal activities return on crime. Finally, the effect of habit on crime depends positively on the amount of capital. This could explain the relationship between size of cities and illegal activity.

A brief history of Brazil's growth

The paper studies Brazil’s economic growth and begins with a brief overview of events that marked the country’s development from her discovery to the 19th century. It then divides the years between 1900 and 2008 into four periods. The breaks in regime occur in 1918, 1967 and 1980, according to the methodology created by Bai and Perron (1998, 2003). The use of the accounting methodology serves the analysis of the behavior of productivity in the previously identified different phases of the post-World War II period. High inflation might have been a reason for the decline in productivity observed between 1980 and mid-1990s. The paper shows that terms of trade have a significant effect on economic growth and output fluctuations. Other factors (such as fiscal stimulus or easy access to foreign finance) also matter for output accelerations in the short run. From 2004 to 2008, terms of trade improvement and debt reduction brought economic progress. The emergence of a new era in this millennium will depend on wiser fiscal policies than those of the past.

Política fiscal e crescimento econômico no Brasil e na América Latina

Este artigo desenvolve um modelo de crescimento econômico endógeno com dívida pública onde o governo pode alocar seus gastos de diferentes formas. Assim, para aumentar gastos em educação ou infra-estrutura o governo tem de se endividar. Obtêm-se as condições fiscais pelas quais tais tipos de gastos podem ter seu efeito maximizado e os limites da sustentabilidade fiscal deste tipo de política são determinados. Os resultados deixam claro que os efeitos dos gastos produtivos do governo sobre o crescimento dependem do tamanho da dívida e do superávit primário configurando um cenário com equilíbrios múltiplos. Além disso a equação de crescimento obtida através do modelo teórico é estimada para a América Latina, comprovando as predições teóricas.

Infra-estrutura e produtividade no Brasil

Infra-estrutura e Produtividade no Brasil Caio Cesar Mussolini University of New South Wales Australian School of Business Vladimir Kühl Teles Fundação Getúlio Vargas Escola de Economia de São Paulo

A política monetária brasileira sob o regime de metas de inflação

O trabalho analisa a evolução da política monetária desde a implementação do regime de metas de inflação no período de 1999 a 2009 com o intuito de avaliar se há diferenças na condução de política monetária entre as gestões Armínio Fraga e Henrique Meirelles. Um modelo de equilíbrio geral novo-keynesiano baseado em expectativas racionais é utilizado para modelar a economia brasileira e deriva-se uma regra de Taylor para encontrar a condição suficiente para a convergência da inflação. O processo de analise empírica consiste em estimar um modelo de vetores auto-regressivos, cujos parâmetros variam ao longo do tempo assim como as inovações na matriz de variância-covariância. Para tanto, será utilizado um algoritmo de simulação de Monte Carlo. Os resultados empíricos mostram que (i) não há diferenças significativas na condução de política monetária durante as gestões Armínio Fraga e Henrique Meirelles; (ii) A partir de 2003, a taxa de juros permaneceu acima da necessária para a convergência da inflação de acordo com a condição de estabilidade; e (iii) a gestão Armínio Fraga agiu de acordo com a regra de estabilização na crise de 2002, porém a inflação permaneceu acima da meta por causa da magnitude choques exógenos.

Human capital and innovation: evidence from panel cointegration tests

Panel cointegration techniques applied to pooled data for 27 economies for the period 1960-2000 indicate that: i) government spending in education and innovation indicators are cointegrated; ii) education hierarchy is relevant when explaining innovation; and iii) the relation between education and innovation can be obtained after an accommodation of a level structural break.

Infrastructure and productivity in Latin America: is there a relationship in the long run?

This article analyses the relationship between infrastructure and total factor productivity (TFP) in the four major Latin American economies: Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico. We hypothesise that an increase in infrastructure has an indirect effect on long-term economic growth by raising productivity. To assess this theory, we use the traditional Johansen methodology for testing the cointegration between TFP and physical measures of infrastructure stock, such as energy, roads, and telephones. We then apply the Lütkepohl, Saikkonen and Trenkler Test, which considers a possible level shift in the series and has better small sample properties, to the same data set and compare the two tests. The results do not support a robust long-term relationship between the series; we do not find strong evidence that cuts in infrastructure investment in some Latin American countries were the main reason for the fall in TFP during the 1970s and 1980s.

Teoria de valores extremos aplicada a finanças: dois ensaios

Esta tese é composta de dois ensaios que aplicam a Teoria de Valores Extremos a finanças