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

Estrutura fractal em séries temporais : uma investigação quanto à hipótese de passeio aleatório no mercado à vista de commodities Agrícolas Brasileiro.

As variáveis econômicas são frequentemente governadas por processos dinâmicos e não-lineares que podem gerar relações de dependência de longo prazo e padrões cíclicos não-periódicos com mudanças abruptas de tendências. Para o caso dos preços agrícolas este comportamento não é diferente e as peculiaridades destes mercados podem gerar séries temporais fracionalmente integradas, cujas singularidades não seriam adequadamente capturadas pelos tradicionais modelos analíticos fundamentados na hipótese dos mercados eficientes e de passeio aleatório. Sendo assim, o presente estudo buscou investigar a presença de estruturas fractais no mercado à vista de algumas das principais commodities agrícolas brasileiras: café, boi gordo, açúcar, milho, soja e bezerro. Foram empregadas técnicas tradicionais e específicas para a análise de séries temporais fractais como a análise de R/S e a aplicação de modelos das famílias ARFIMA e FIGARCH. Os resultados indicaram que, com exceção do bezerro, o componente de drift destas séries não apresentou comportamento fractal, ao contrário do observado para o componente da volatilidade, que apresentou aspecto de estrutura fractal para todas as commodities analisadas.

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.

Improvement on the sales forecast accuracy for a fast growing company by the best combination of historical data usage and clients segmentation

Industrial companies in developing countries are facing rapid growths, and this requires having in place the best organizational processes to cope with the market demand. Sales forecasting, as a tool aligned with the general strategy of the company, needs to be as much accurate as possible, in order to achieve the sales targets by making available the right information for purchasing, planning and control of production areas, and finally attending in time and form the demand generated. The present dissertation uses a single case study from the subsidiary of an international explosives company based in Brazil, Maxam, experiencing high growth in sales, and therefore facing the challenge to adequate its structure and processes properly for the rapid growth expected. Diverse sales forecast techniques have been analyzed to compare the actual monthly sales forecast, based on the sales force representatives’ market knowledge, with forecasts based on the analysis of historical sales data. The dissertation findings show how the combination of both qualitative and quantitative forecasts, by the creation of a combined forecast that considers both client´s demand knowledge from the sales workforce with time series analysis, leads to the improvement on the accuracy of the company´s sales forecast.