Structural challenges in a multipolar and multicultural global legal era : BRICS’ global legal politics beyond cultural and economic partnerships

New emerging international dynamics introduce a global poly-axiological polycentric disorder which undermines the tradition of a unique global legal order in international law. Modern Era was characterized by Western European civilizational model – from which human rights is a byproduct. This consensus had its legitimacy tested by XXst century’s scenario – and the ‘BRICS factor/actor’ is a symptom of this reality. Its empowerment in world politics lead to the rise of distinct groups of States/civilizations provided with different legal, political, economic and social traditions – promoting an unexpected uprise of otherness in international legal order and inviting it to a complete and unforeseeable reframing process. Beyond Washington or Brussels Consensus, other custom-originated discourses (Brasília, Moscow, New Delhi, Peking or Cape Town Consensus, among other unfolded possibilities) will probably henceforth attempt shaping international law in present global legal disorder.

Political budget cycles in a fiscal federation : the effect of partisan voluntary transfers

This article first presents an econometric study suggesting that intergovernmental transfers to Brazilian municipalities are strongly partisan motivated. In light of that stylized fact, it develops an extension to Rogoff (1990)’s model to analyze the effect of partisan motivated transfers into sub-national electoral and fiscal equilibria. The main finding is that important partisan transfers may undo the positive selection aspect of political budget cycles. Indeed, partisan transfers may, on one hand, eliminate the political budget cycle, solving a moral hazard problem, but, on the other hand, they may retain an incompetent incumbent in office, bringing about an adverse selection problem.

Coffee voluntary standards systems a study of the states of Minas Gerais and São Paulo

In order to adapt to new markets, the coffee supply chain has gone through numerous changes during the last years, which led to the creation of the voluntary standard systems. Adopting a Voluntary Standard System (VSS) consists of becoming a member of a certifier or verifier, in which an independent third party sets specific criteria to ensure a product complies with standards. Yet, the segment is still relatively new and raises some doubts about the economic and financial advantages of investing in sustainability-related certification. This study analyzes the perception of coffee producers about VSS – whether it brings economic benefits. The literature review covers various VSS in the coffee sector, the brief history of the commodity in Brazil, as well as the description of the supply chain. Certified and non-certified producers in the States of Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais, answered questionnaires to indicate the perceived advantages of certification. The results show that, despite some added value that certification can bestow, the quality is what really matter, since it allows producers to sell the product at higher prices and to gain advantage over competitors.

Hybrid partnerships and social technology at the BoP: a case study

A crescente expectativa dos vários stakeholders, bem como as diferentes partes interessadas nas áreas de atuação de várias empresas, recentemente tem levado diversas corporações a se envolverem em iniciativas que visam o desenvolvimento social e a erradicação da pobreza. Porém, apesar das inúmeras tentativas, resultados convincentes ainda não foram produzidos, mantendo a separação entre os indivíduos que vivem na base da pirâmide económica e aqueles pertencentes às camadas mais elevadas quase inalterada. Consequentemente alguns estudiosos criticaram a falta de contextualização das práticas de gestão existentes, atribuindo o mesmo à forte influência das ideologias ocidentais, que impedem que as iniciativas sociais se adaptem às necessidades dos diferentes contextos geopolíticos. Por meio da análise de um conjunto de iniciativas sociais da Coca-Cola Brasil ("Projetos Coletivo") implementadas em várias comunidades brasileiras, o presente estudo mostra como Coca-Cola Brasil tentou produzir, em colaboração com os ONG locais, um tipo de "tecnologia social" universal, que poderia ser facilmente adaptada a diferentes contextos, acelerando o processo de implementação das iniciativas sociais e ampliando o seu impacto.