Trabalho e família no contexto de teletrabalho: o olhar de teletrabalhadores e seus co-residentes

Esta dissertação tem como objetivo contribuir para o conhecimento sobre o teletrabalho, especialmente, sobre a dinâmica da realização do trabalho na esfera familiar, a partir do home-office telework. Investigou-se de que maneira os teletrabalhadores e sua família dão sentido aos dilemas, oportunidades e exigências da realização do trabalho no ambiente familiar, à luz de suas práticas discursivas. Para tanto, entrevistas semi-estruturadas foram realizadas com 25 teletrabalhadores e seus co-residentes e analisadas sob a ótica da análise de conteúdo. A pesquisa revela que quando a casa dá lugar às atividades profissionais do indivíduo, as relações entre as demandas pessoais, familiares e profissionais se tornam mais próximas, diluídas e entrelaçadas. A aproximação das esferas de trabalho e não-trabalho conduz a uma ruptura nas dinâmicas espaciais, temporais e psicológicas desses domínios, proporcionando aos indivíduos oportunidades de desenvolvimento pessoal. No entanto, as mudanças pelas quais os mesmos terão de passar apresentam potencialidades contraditórias. Ao mesmo tempo em que o teletrabalho proporciona uma oportunidade de integração com a família e flexibilidade para o melhor aproveitamento do tempo de trabalho e não-trabalho, a dificuldade de equilibrar dois mundos construídos sobre discursos diversos, o mundo da casa e da rua, pode despontar uma crise, dependendo do preparo de cada família para essa situação de trabalho. A fim de auxiliar na interpretação dos resultados, os pontos de conteúdo mais expressivos, os quais ilustram o exposto acima, foram expostos em quatro temas relacionados ao telehomework: espaço, flexibilidade de tempo, gênero e equilíbrio trabalho-vida pessoal.

Brazilian indexing and inertial inflation: evidence from time-varying estimates of an inflation transfer function

This paper is a theoretica1 and empirica1 study of the re1ationship between indexing po1icy and feedback mechanisms in the inflationary adjustment process in Brazil. The focus of our study is on two policy issues: (1) did the Brazilian system of indexing of interest rates, the exchange rate, and wages make inflation so dependent on its own past values that it created a significant feedback process and inertia in the behaviour of inflation in and (2) was the feedback effect of past inf1ation upon itself so strong that dominated the effect of monetary/fiscal variables upon current inflation? This paper develops a simple model designed to capture several "stylized facts" of Brazi1ian indexing po1icy. Separate ru1es of "backward indexing" for interest rates, the exchange rate, and wages, reflecting the evolution of po1icy changes in Brazil, are incorporated in a two-sector model of industrial and agricultural prices. A transfer function derived irom this mode1 shows inflation depending on three factors: (1) past values of inflation, (2) monetary and fiscal variables, and (3) supply- .shock variables. The indexing rules for interest rates, the exchange rate, and wages place restrictions on the coefficients of the transfer function. Variations in the policy-determined parameters of the indexing rules imply changes in the coefficients of the transfer function for inflation. One implication of this model, in contrast to previous results derived in analytically simpler models of indexing, is that a higher degree of indexing does not make current inflation more responsive to current monetary shocks. The empirical section of this paper studies the central hypotheses of this model through estimation of the inflation transfer function with time-varying parameters. The results show a systematic non-random variation of the transfer function coefficients closely synchronized with changes in the observed values of the wage-indexing parameters. Non-parametric tests show the variation of the transfer function coefficients to be statistically significant at the time of the changes in wage indexing rules in Brazil. As the degree of indexing increased, the inflation feadback coefficients increased, while the effect of external price and agricultura shocs progressively increased and monetary effects progressively decreased.

Output convergence in Mercosur: multivariate time series evidence

The aim of this paper is to provide evidence on output convergence among the Mercosur countries and associates, using multivariate time-series tests. The methodology is based on a combination of tests and estimation procedures, both univariate and multivariate, applied to the differences in per capita real income. We use the definitions of time-series convergence proposed by Bernard & Durlauf and apply unit root and tests proposed by Abuaf & Jorion and Taylor & Sarno. In this same multivariate context, the Flôres, Preumont & Szafarz and Breuer, MbNown & Wallace tests, which allow for the existence of correlations across the series without imposing a common speed of mean reversion, identify the countries that convergence. Concerning the empirical results, there is evidence of long-run convergence or, at least, catching up, for the smaller countries, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay, towards Brazil and, to some extent, Argentina. In contrast, the evidence on convergence for the larger countries is weaker, as they have followed different (or rather opposing) macroeconomic policy strategies. Thus the future of the whole area will critically depend on the ability of Brazil, Argentina and Chile to find some scope for more cooperative policy actions.

Endogenous time-dependent rules and inflation inertia: preliminary version

When policy rules are changed, the effect of nominal rigidities should be modelled through endogenous pricing rules. We endogenize Taylor (1979) type pricing rule to examine the output effects of monetary disinflations. We derive optimal fixed-price time-dependent rules in inflationary steady states and during disinflations. We also develop a methodology to aggregate individual pricing rules which vary through disinflation. This allows us to reevaluate the output costs of monetary disinflation, including aspects as the role of the initial leveI of inflation and the importance of the degree of credibility of the policy change.

Endogenous time-dependent rules and the costs of disinflation with imperfect credibility

This paper examines the output effects of monetary disinflation in a model with endogenous time-dependent pricing rules and imperfect credibility of the disinflation policy. We find that these features interact to generate an additional effect on top f the ones obtained with either endogenous time-dependent rules (Bonomo and Carvalho, 2003) or imperfect credibility (Ball, 1995) in isolation. This results in higher output costs of monetary disinflation.

Monetary policy and country risk

This article develops an econometric model in order to study country risk behavior for six emerging economies (Argentina, Mexico, Russia, Thailand, Korea and Indonesia), by expanding the Country Beta Risk Model of Harvey and Zhou (1993), Erb et. al. (1996a, 1996b) and Gangemi et. al. (2000). Toward this end, we have analyzed the impact of macroeconomic variables, especially monetary policy, upon country risk, by way of a time varying parameter approach. The results indicate an inefficient and unstable effect of monetary policy upon country risk in periods of crisis. However, this effect is stable in other periods, and the Favero-Giavazzi effect is not verified for all economies, with an opposite effect being observed in many cases.

The time consistency of the Friedman rule

We consider the problem of time consistency of the Ramsey monetary and fiscal policies in an economy without capital. Following Lucas and Stokey (1983) we allow the government at date t to leave its successor at t + 1 a profile of real and nominal debt of all maturities, as a way to influence its decisions. We show that the Ramsey policies are time consistent if and only if the Friedman rule is the optimal Ramsey policy.

Firm financial constraints and the impact of monetary policy: evidence from financial conglomerates

Building on recent evidence on the functioning of internal capital markets in financial conglomerates, this paper conducts a novel test of the balance sheet channel of monetary policy. It does so by comparing monetary policy responses of small banks that are affiliated with the same bank holding company, and this arguably face similar constraints in accessing internal/external sources of funds, but that operate in different geographical regions, and thus face different pools of borrowers. Because these subsidiaries typically concentrate their lending with small local businesses, we can use cross-sectional differences in state-level economic indicators at the time of changes of monetary policy to study whether or not the strength of borrowers' balance sheets influences the response of bank lending. We find evidence that the negative response of bank loan growth to a monetary contraction is significantly stronger when borrowers have 'weak balance sheets. Our evidence suggests that the monetary authority should consider the amplification effects that financial constraints play following changes in basic interest rates and the role of financial conglomerates in the transmission of monetary policy.

Aggregate vs disaggregate data analysis: a paradox in the estimation of money demand function of Japan under the low interest rate policy

We investigate the issue of whether there was a stable money demand function for Japan in 1990's using both aggregate and disaggregate time series data. The aggregate data appears to support the contention that there was no stable money demand function. The disaggregate data shows that there was a stable money demand function. Neither was there any indication of the presence of liquidity trapo Possible sources of discrepancy are explored and the diametrically opposite results between the aggregate and disaggregate analysis are attributed to the neglected heterogeneity among micro units. We also conduct simulation analysis to show that when heterogeneity among micro units is present. The prediction of aggregate outcomes, using aggregate data is less accurate than the prediction based on micro equations. Moreover. policy evaluation based on aggregate data can be grossly misleading.

Household borrowing constraints and monetary policy in emerging economies

Credit markets in emerging economies can be distinguished from those in advanced economies in many respects, including the collateral required for households to borrow. This work proposes a DSGE framework to analyze one peculiarity that characterizes the credit markets of some emerging markets: payroll-deducted personal loans. We add the possibility for households to contract long-term debt and compare two different types of credit constraints with one another, one based on housing and the other based on future income. We estimate the model for Brazil using a Bayesian technique. The model is able to solve a puzzle of the Brazilian economy: responses to monetary shocks at first appear to be strong but dissipate quickly. This occurs because income – and the amount available for loans – responds more rapidly to monetary shocks than housing prices. To smooth consumption, agents (borrowers) compensate for lower income and for borrowing by working more hours to repay loans and erase debt in a shorter time. Therefore, in addition to the income and substitution effects, workers consider the effects on their credit constraints when deciding how much labor to supply, which becomes an additional channel through which financial frictions affect the economy.