O uso do território por agentes torrefadores de cafés especiais do sul de Minas Gerais

Pós-graduação em Geografia - IGCE

The Body of Margaret Atwood: Sex Work and Prostitution within Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Oryx and Crake, and The Year of the Flood

In this paper, I will argue that Canadian author Margaret Atwood uses fiscal and socially conservative dystopias to show how sex work and prostitution are choices that women would never have to make in a world with true gender equality. In these radically different worlds, women have no agency beyond their sexuality and no ability to express themselves as equals within either society. And while the structures of both societies, the society of The Handmaid’s Tale and that of both Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood, are inherently different, they both stem from modern conservative philosophies: for example, the country of Gilead in The Handmaid’s Tale holds Christian conservative beliefs on the role of religion in the state and the culturally designated roles of women. I define social conservatism as the idea that government organizations are used to pursue an agenda promoting traditional religious values such as “public morality” and opposing “immoralities” such as abortion, prostitution, and homosexuality. I define fiscal conservatism as an agenda promoting privatization of the market, deregulation and lower taxes. In this paper I argue that because these philosophies are incompatible with gender equality, they drive women to occupations such as sex work. Women find that they have no choices and sex work provides something to “trade.” For Offred, this “trading” is more limited, because she is a sex slave. For Oryx, this trading allows her to travel to the West, yet not before her childhood is marked by prostitution and pornography. Sex work allows for Ren to reclaim some agency over her life, yet she only chooses sex work because she is presented with few other options. All of these issues stem from the philosophies that define these dystopias.

U.S. utilities' experiences with the implementation of energy efficiency programs

In the U.S., many electric utility companies are offering demand-side management (DSM) programs to their customers as ways to save money and energy. However, it is challenging to compare these programs between utility companies throughout the U.S. because of the variability of state energy policies. For example, some states in the U.S. have deregulated electricity markets and others do not. In addition, utility companies within a state differ depending on ownership and size. This study examines 12 utilities’ experiences with DSM programs and compares the programs’ annual energy savings results that the selected utilities reported to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The 2009 EIA data suggests that DSM program effectiveness is not significantly affected by electricity market deregulation or utility ownership. However, DSM programs seem to generally be more effective when administered by utilities located in states with energy savings requirements and DSM program mandates.

La actividad hidrocarburífera en la Cuenca del Golfo San Jorge : El papel del empresariado regional

La política económica que se implementó en la década de 1990 tuvo como eje, entre las principales medidas, la apertura de la economía, la privatización de las empresas públicas, el desmantelamiento del aparato estatal y sus agentes reguladores, el ajuste fiscal y del gasto público tanto a nivel nacional, como provincial y municipal, la retirada del Estado Nacional como inversor y subsidiador de actividades económicas, la desregulación del mercado de trabajo y la concentración en grupos 'oligopólicos' de las principales actividades productivas, lo que produjo diferentes impactos en las distintas actividades económicas de la Región Patagónica, dependiendo de su inserción en el mercado interno y externo. En este trabajo se pretende, a partir de una descripción de la evolución de la actividad petrolera y de un estudio de caso, analizar los factores que viabilizan el desarrollo económico local y repensar el papel de los actores sociales en relación con el contexto y con las posibilidades de establecimiento de estrategias de innovación en las sociedades locales. En la primera parte del artículo se hace una caracterización socioeconómica de la región de la Cuenca del Golfo San Jorge. A continuación se observa la evolución de la actividad petrolera dentro de la cuenca, su papel en el mercado de trabajo y su requerimiento de mano de obra; se realiza una caracterización de los principales actores y de su relación con el desarrollo local. En la parte final del artículo se intenta mostrar los desafíos que enfrentan los actores públicos y privados vinculados con la actividad petrolera y su proyección en el corto y mediano plazo

La actividad hidrocarburífera en la Cuenca del Golfo San Jorge : El papel del empresariado regional

La política económica que se implementó en la década de 1990 tuvo como eje, entre las principales medidas, la apertura de la economía, la privatización de las empresas públicas, el desmantelamiento del aparato estatal y sus agentes reguladores, el ajuste fiscal y del gasto público tanto a nivel nacional, como provincial y municipal, la retirada del Estado Nacional como inversor y subsidiador de actividades económicas, la desregulación del mercado de trabajo y la concentración en grupos 'oligopólicos' de las principales actividades productivas, lo que produjo diferentes impactos en las distintas actividades económicas de la Región Patagónica, dependiendo de su inserción en el mercado interno y externo. En este trabajo se pretende, a partir de una descripción de la evolución de la actividad petrolera y de un estudio de caso, analizar los factores que viabilizan el desarrollo económico local y repensar el papel de los actores sociales en relación con el contexto y con las posibilidades de establecimiento de estrategias de innovación en las sociedades locales. En la primera parte del artículo se hace una caracterización socioeconómica de la región de la Cuenca del Golfo San Jorge. A continuación se observa la evolución de la actividad petrolera dentro de la cuenca, su papel en el mercado de trabajo y su requerimiento de mano de obra; se realiza una caracterización de los principales actores y de su relación con el desarrollo local. En la parte final del artículo se intenta mostrar los desafíos que enfrentan los actores públicos y privados vinculados con la actividad petrolera y su proyección en el corto y mediano plazo

La actividad hidrocarburífera en la Cuenca del Golfo San Jorge : El papel del empresariado regional

La política económica que se implementó en la década de 1990 tuvo como eje, entre las principales medidas, la apertura de la economía, la privatización de las empresas públicas, el desmantelamiento del aparato estatal y sus agentes reguladores, el ajuste fiscal y del gasto público tanto a nivel nacional, como provincial y municipal, la retirada del Estado Nacional como inversor y subsidiador de actividades económicas, la desregulación del mercado de trabajo y la concentración en grupos 'oligopólicos' de las principales actividades productivas, lo que produjo diferentes impactos en las distintas actividades económicas de la Región Patagónica, dependiendo de su inserción en el mercado interno y externo. En este trabajo se pretende, a partir de una descripción de la evolución de la actividad petrolera y de un estudio de caso, analizar los factores que viabilizan el desarrollo económico local y repensar el papel de los actores sociales en relación con el contexto y con las posibilidades de establecimiento de estrategias de innovación en las sociedades locales. En la primera parte del artículo se hace una caracterización socioeconómica de la región de la Cuenca del Golfo San Jorge. A continuación se observa la evolución de la actividad petrolera dentro de la cuenca, su papel en el mercado de trabajo y su requerimiento de mano de obra; se realiza una caracterización de los principales actores y de su relación con el desarrollo local. En la parte final del artículo se intenta mostrar los desafíos que enfrentan los actores públicos y privados vinculados con la actividad petrolera y su proyección en el corto y mediano plazo

Power generation investment opportunities evaluation: A comparison between net present value and real options approach

To evaluate an investment project in the competitive electricity market, there are several key factors that affects the project's value: the present value that the project could bring to investor, the possible future course of actions that investor has and the project's management flexibility. The traditional net present value (NPV) criteria has the ability to capture the present value of the project's future cash flow, but it fails to assess the value brought by market uncertainty and management flexibility. By contrast with NPV, the real options approach (ROA) method has the advantage to combining the uncertainty and flexibility in evaluation process. In this paper, a framework for using ROA to evaluate the generation investment opportunity has been proposed. By given a detailed case study, the proposed framework is compared with NPV and showing a different results

Unions:rent creators or extractors?

This paper proposes a model of workplace-specific unions that integrates two views of what unions do. One view holds that unions mainly engage in rent extraction. Another view holds that unions mainly engage in rent creation by providing agency services that increase workplace productivity. We demonstrate that the choice between the two activities is systematically related to the economic and regulatory environment in which the union operates. Product market competition encourages rent creation, while labor market deregulation encourages rent extraction. Moreover, we provide a rationale for why firms may want to subsidize unions. © The editors of the Scandinavian Journal of Economics 2005.

Do labour laws protect labour in India? Union experiences of workplace employment regulations in Maharashtra India

The debate over labour market regulations in India is highly polarised. Advocates of labour market deregulation suggest that the labour law framework in the country confers disproportionate powers on workers and trade unions in the formal sector of the economy, resulting in industrial conflicts and poor productivity. Using workplace union survey data from the state of Maharashtra, this paper examines the veracity of these claims. Maharashtra is recognised as a state with a broadly pro-worker labour law framework. We find that even pro-worker labour laws at best offer only weak protection to workers and unions in the formal sector establishments. Unions find themselves increasingly vulnerable to employer hostility. We discuss these findings in the context of the role of state and judiciary in employment relations and of union links with political parties.

Market structure and hospital efficiency: Evaluating potential effects of deregulation in a national health service

In this article we examine the potential effect of market structureon hospital technical efficiency as a measure of performance controlled byownership and regulation. This study is relevant to provide an evaluationof the potential effects of recommended and initiated deregulation policiesin order to promote market reforms in the context of a European NationalHealth Service. Our goal was reached through three main empirical stages.Firstly, using patient origin data from hospitals in the region of Cataloniain 1990, we estimated geographic hospital markets through the Elzinga--Hogartyapproach, based on patient flows. Then we measured the market level ofconcentration using the Herfindahl--Hirschman index. Secondly, technicaland scale efficiency scores for each hospital was obtained specifying aData Envelopment Analysis. According to the data nearly two--thirds of thehospitals operate under the production frontier with an average efficiencyscore of 0.841. Finally, the determinants of the efficiency scores wereinvestigated using a censored regression model. Special attention waspaid to test the hypothesis that there is an efficiency improvement in morecompetitive markets. The results suggest that the number of competitors inthe market contributes positively to technical efficiency and there is someevidence that the differences in efficiency scores are attributed toseveral environmental factors such as ownership, market structure andregulation effects.

A tale of oversimplification and deregulation: the mainstream approach to labour market segmentation and the recent responses to the crisis in European countries. WP C.S.D.L.E. “Massimo D’Antona”.INT – 102/2013

After advocating flexibilization of non-standard work contracts for many years, some European and international institutions and several policy makers now indicate the standard employment relationship and its regulation as a cause of segmentation between the labour market of "guaranteed" insiders, employed under permanent contracts with effective protection against unfair dismissal, and the market of the “not-guaranteed” outsiders, working with non-standard contracts. Reforms of employment legislation are therefore being promoted and approved in different countries, allegedly aiming to balance the legal protection afforded to standard and non-standard workers. This article firstly argues that this approach is flawed as it oversimplifies reasons of segmentation as it concentrates on an “insiders-outsiders” discourse that cannot easily be transplanted in continental Europe. After reviewing current legislative changes in Italy, Spain and Portugal, it is then argued that lawmakers are focused on “deregulation” rather than “balancing protection” when approving recent reforms. Finally, the mainstream approach to segmentation and some of its derivative proposals, such as calls to introduce a “single permanent contract”, are called into question, as they seem to neglect the essential role of job protection in underpinning the effectiveness of fundamental and constitutional rights at the workplace.

Social democracy and market reform in Australia and New Zealand

Social democratic governments in Australia and New Zealand adopted policies of radical free-market reform, including financial deregulation, privatization, and public-sector reform in the 1980s. Because of the absence of institutional obstacles to government action, reform was faster and more comprehensive in New Zealand than in Australia. The New Zealand reforms were associated with increasing inequality and generally poor economic outcomes. There is nothing in the New Zealand experience to support the view that radical free-market economic policies are consistent with social democratic welfare policies or with social democratic values of concern for the disadvantaged, The Australian reforms were less radical, and were accompanied by some refurbishment of the welfare state. Economic performance did nor improve, as anticipated by advocates of reform, but was considerably better than that of New Zealand.