When IKEA enters : Do local retailers win or lose?

IKEA is one of the world’s largest retailers, but little is known about how IKEA impact incumbent retailers when deciding to enter a local market. Previous studies on the effects of big-box entry on surrounding retailers have also generated inconclusive results, and mainly been focused towards entry of Wal-Mart in the United States. We contribute to this literature by investigating the effects of IKEA entry on revenues and employment for incumbent retail firms in three Swedish municipalities during 2000-2010. Our results indicate that a new IKEA store increases average revenues for incumbent retailers within the entry municipality by 11%, but also that the effect is highly heterogeneous within the municipality. Retailers that were located up to 1 km from IKEA experienced a 26% increase in revenues when IKEA entered the municipality. However, the positive spillover effect of a new IKEA store on retail revenues diminished with the distance to IKEA, and turned insignificant for retailers in the city centers and those that were located 5-10 km from IKEA. The effects on employment were much less pronounced, and in most cases statistically insignificant.

The Economic Effects of Ski Resorts on Communities in the State of Maine

Skiing and snowboarding is a fairly expensive activity for participant and one in which the industry as a whole makes handsome profits. In the 2005/06 season, resorts in the Northeast reported an average gross revenue of $18.5 million. (NSAA) With the current weather phenomenon of El Nino, however, resorts in New England especially, have been suffering economically. The gross revenue in New England in the ’05/’06 season was down 4% from the previous year, likely due to the fact the total snowfall declined by 16%. (NSAA) Much of this loss in revenue came during the Christmas to New Years vacation period. In the 2007 season, most mountains were less than half-opened during this peak week and the number of skiers and riders was especially low. With such a large decrease in profits, it is likely that many people will soon be affected (if they have not already been), including local employees. This project, therefore, seeks to analyze the impact that the resorts have on the local economies in order to determine the potential problems the changing snowfall patterns could have on locals’ well-being. It is hypothesized that there will be a strong correlation between the proximity of a community to a resort and the relative economic prosperity of that community; meaning that the ski industry is a pivotal part of their income and livelihood.

Climate Change and its Effects on Polar Bears

Polar bears are key indicators of the effects of climate change on the arctic ecosystem, because their existence is directly related to the sea ice habitat, where they hunt. As the Arctic continues to warm, their habitat will be reduced further and local extinction is likely to occur, especially in southern populations.

Three essays on local demand for public services

Local provision of public services has the positive effect of increasing the efficiency because each locality has its idiosyncrasies that determine a particular demand for public services. This dissertation addresses different aspects of the local demand for public goods and services and their relationship with political incentives. The text is divided in three essays. The first essay aims to test the existence of yardstick competition in education spending using panel data from Brazilian municipalities. The essay estimates two-regime spatial Durbin models with time and spatial fixed effects using maximum likelihood, where the regimes represent different electoral and educational accountability institutional settings. First, it is investigated whether the lame duck incumbents tend to engage in less strategic interaction as a result of the impossibility of reelection, which lowers the incentives for them to signal their type (good or bad) to the voters by mimicking their neighbors’ expenditures. Additionally, it is evaluated whether the lack of electorate support faced by the minority governments causes the incumbents to mimic the neighbors’ spending to a greater extent to increase their odds of reelection. Next, the essay estimates the effects of the institutional change introduced by the disclosure on April 2007 of the Basic Education Development Index (known as IDEB) and its goals on the strategic interaction at the municipality level. This institutional change potentially increased the incentives for incumbents to follow the national best practices in an attempt to signal their type to voters, thus reducing the importance of local information spillover. The same model is also tested using school inputs that are believed to improve students’ performance in place of education spending. The results show evidence for yardstick competition in education spending. Spatial auto-correlation is lower among the lame ducks and higher among the incumbents with minority support (a smaller vote margin). In addition, the institutional change introduced by the IDEB reduced the spatial interaction in education spending and input-setting, thus diminishing the importance of local information spillover. The second essay investigates the role played by the geographic distance between the poor and non-poor in the local demand for income redistribution. In particular, the study provides an empirical test of the geographically limited altruism model proposed in Pauly (1973), incorporating the possibility of participation costs associated with the provision of transfers (Van de Wale, 1998). First, the discussion is motivated by allowing for an “iceberg cost” of participation in the programs for the poor individuals in Pauly’s original model. Next, using data from the 2000 Brazilian Census and a panel of municipalities based on the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) from 2001 to 2007, all the distance-related explanatory variables indicate that an increased proximity between poor and non-poor is associated with better targeting of the programs (demand for redistribution). For instance, a 1-hour increase in the time spent commuting by the poor reduces the targeting by 3.158 percentage points. This result is similar to that of Ashworth, Heyndels and Smolders (2002) but is definitely not due to the program leakages. To empirically disentangle participation costs and spatially restricted altruism effects, an additional test is conducted using unique panel data based on the 2004 and 2006 PNAD, which assess the number of benefits and the average benefit value received by beneficiaries. The estimates suggest that both cost and altruism play important roles in targeting determination in Brazil, and thus, in the determination of the demand for redistribution. Lastly, the results indicate that ‘size matters’; i.e., the budget for redistribution has a positive impact on targeting. The third essay aims to empirically test the validity of the median voter model for the Brazilian case. Information on municipalities are obtained from the Population Census and the Brazilian Supreme Electoral Court for the year 2000. First, the median voter demand for local public services is estimated. The bundles of services offered by reelection candidates are identified as the expenditures realized during incumbents’ first term in office. The assumption of perfect information of candidates concerning the median demand is relaxed and a weaker hypothesis, of rational expectation, is imposed. Thus, incumbents make mistakes about the median demand that are referred to as misperception errors. Thus, at a given point in time, incumbents can provide a bundle (given by the amount of expenditures per capita) that differs from median voter’s demand for public services by a multiplicative error term, which is included in the residuals of the demand equation. Next, it is estimated the impact of the module of this misperception error on the electoral performance of incumbents using a selection models. The result suggests that the median voter model is valid for the case of Brazilian municipalities.

Exposing corrupt politicians : the effects of Brazil's publicly released audits on electoral

This paper examines whether access to information enhances political accountabil- ity. Based upon the results of Brazil's recent anti-corruption program that randomly audits municipal expenditures of federally-transferred funds, it estimates the e®ects of the disclosure of local government corruption practices upon the re-election success of incumbent mayors. Comparing municipalities audited before and after the elections, we show that the audit policy reduced the incumbent's likelihood of re-election by approximately 20 percent, and was more pronounced in municipalities with radio sta- tions. These ¯ndings highlight the value of information and the role of the media in reducing informational asymmetries in the political process.

Políticas de conteúdo local: crescimento econômico e rule of law

As chamadas Políticas de Conteúdo Local (“PCLs”) fazem parte de um grupo de políticas desenvolvimentistas adotadas em todo o mundo com o objetivo de maximizar os benefícios sociais e econômicos decorrentes de determinadas atividades econômicas. Neste trabalho, analisaram-se, principalmente, as PCLs relativas à extração e produção de petróleo e gás. O instituto é juridicamente polêmico, uma vez que, além de ser difícil de definir, é instrumentalizado por diversos atos normativos diferentes. Tal situação agrava-se com o fato de que o desenho de cada PCL pode sugerir ou impor diversas medidas de implementação diferentes, com impactos nas diferentes áreas do Direito. Considerando este cenário, aponta-se que o principal objetivo deste trabalho é a análise de transplantes ao nosso ordenamento jurídico de PCLs bem-sucedidas em ordenamentos jurídicos estrangeiros. Para isso, demonstrou-se, em um primeiro momento, que o instituto das PCLs deve ser reinterpretado à luz da Constituição vigente. Isso porque as PCLs foram criadas em uma época em que a escola desenvolvimentista principal era a keynesiana, que foi substituída atualmente pela escola do Rule of Law. Embora nosso ordenamento jurídico tenha acompanhado essa evolução (através de Emendas Constitucionais e adoção de determinadas leis), as PCLs não acompanharam e, por isso, precisam sofrer essa releitura. Nesse sentido, extraíram-se da Lei quatro elementos principais que as PCLs devem preencher para estar em consonância com o Rule of Law: (A) Benefícios aos Consumidores Finais; (B) Sustentabilidade; (C) Transetorialidade; e (D) Ampliação do Mercado de Trabalho. Em sequência, classificaram-se as diversas PCLs mapeadas, exemplificando cada uma. Ao longo da classificação, apontaram-se três critérios que facilitam a identificação das maiores dificuldades jurídicas em cada transplante: (A) Canal; (B) Natureza; e (C) Instrumento. Por fim, quatro PCLs estrangeiras bem-sucedidas foram escolhidas para uma análise mais aprofundada: a Kazakhstan Contract Agency, no Cazaquistão, a Petro Arctic Supplier Asssociation, na Noruega, o Australian Industry Participation Plan na Austrália e o Nigerian Oil & Gas Content Industry Development Act, na Nigéria. Para cada uma, é dedicada uma análise especial. As análises são seguidas pela Conclusão.

Fiscal interactions and spillover effects of a federal grant to brazilian municipalities

Qual o impacto de uma transferência incondicional a um município quando seu vizinho também recebe a transferência? Nesse artigo n os testamos se uma transferência do governo federal, o Fundo de Participação dos Municípios (FPM), afeta os gastos municipais de forma diferente dependendo dos municípios vizinhos. Nos utilizamos municípios próximos a um dos quatro pontos de descontinuidade no repasse do FPM de acordo com faixas de população e que possuíam vizinhos próximos a pontos de descontinuidade diferentes. Nós estimamos o impacto do FPM recebido pelo próprio municípios e pelo vizinho usando o método de Regressões em Descontinuidade (RDD). Os resultados indicam que parte do efeito flypaper do FPM sobre a economia local estimado na literatura pode ser explicado pelo aumento de gastos nos municípios vizinhos. O spillover e em geral positivo, com exceção dos gastos em saúde e saneamento em algumas faixas populacionais. Nós também consideramos uma amostra de vizinhos mais distantes dos pontos de descontinuidade, e mostramos que nesse caso as diferenças nas estimativas quando controlamos pelo FPM do vizinho não são substanciais.

Stability and Local Toxicity Evaluation of a Liposomal Prilocaine Formulation

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Strategies to promote farm animal welfare in Latin America and their effects on carcass and meat quality traits

Several initiatives, including research and development, increasing stakeholders' awareness and application of legislation and recommendation, have been carried out in Latin America to promote animal welfare and meat quality. Most activities focused on the impact of pre-slaughter conditions (facilities, equipment and handling procedures) on animal welfare and meat quality. The results are encouraging; data from Brazil, Chile and Uruguay showed that the application of the improved pre-slaughter handling practices reduced aggressive handling and the incidence of bruised carcasses at slaughter in cattle and pigs. These outcomes stimulated some to apply animal welfare concepts in livestock handling within the meat production chain as shown by the increasing demand for personnel training on the best. To attend this demand is important to expand local studies on farm animal welfare and to set up (or maintain) an efficient system for knowledge transfer to all stakeholders in the Latin America meat production chains. However, it is clear that to promote the long-term progress in this field is important to deliver practical solutions, assuring that they match the technical and financial conditions of those who are the target of training programs. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Anxiogenic-like effects of mCPP microinfusions into the amygdala (but not dorsal or ventral hippocampus) in mice exposed to elevated plus-maze

Serotonin (5-HT) can either increase or decrease anxiety-like behaviour in animals, actions that depend upon neuroanatomical site of action and 5-HT receptor subtype. Although systemic studies with 5-HT(2) receptor agonists and antagonists suggest a facilitatory role for this receptor subtype in anxiety, somewhat inconsistent results have been obtained when such compounds have been directly applied to limbic targets such as the hippocampus and amygdala. The present study investigated the effects of the 5-HT(2B/2C) receptor agonist mCPP bilaterally microinjected into the dorsal hippocampus (DH: 0, 0.3 1.0 or 3.0 nmol/0.2 mu l), the ventral hippocampus (VH: 0, 0.3, 1.0 or 3.0 nmol/0.2 mu l) or the amygdaloid complex (0, 0.15, 0.5, 1.0 or 3.0 nmol/0.1 mu l) in mice exposed to the elevated plus-maze (EPM). Test sessions were videotaped and subsequently scored for conventional indices of anxiety (percentage of open arm entries and percentage of open arm time) and locomotor activity (closed arm entries). Results showed that mCPP microinfusions into the DH or VH failed to affect any behavioural measure in the EPM. However, when injected into the amygdaloid complex, the dose of 1.0 nmol of this 5HT(2B/2C) receptor agonist increased behavioural indices of anxiety without significantly altering general activity levels. This anxiogenic-like effect of mCPP was selectively and completely blocked by local injection of a behaviourally-inactive dose of SDZ SER-082 (10 nmol/0.1 mu l), a preferential 5-HT(2C) receptor antagonist. These data suggest that 5HT(2C) receptors located within the amygdaloid complex (but not the dorsal or ventral hippocampus) play a facilitatory role in plus-maze anxiety in mice. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Role of nitric oxide in the periaqueductal gray in defensive behavior in mice: influence of prior local N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activation and aversive condition

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Lack of clastogenic/genotoxic effects of Baccharis dracunculifolia extract on Swiss mouse peripheral blood cells

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effects on mother and fetus of epidural and combined spinal-epidural techniques for labor analgesia

OBJETIVO: A peridural (AP) e a técnica de duplo bloqueio (DB) são utilizadas em analgesia para o trabalho de parto. Este estudo comparou os efeitos na mãe e no feto de ambas as técnicas em analgesia e anestesia para o parto. MÉTODOS: Quarenta parturientes ASA I e II receberam por via peridural 15 ml de ropivacaína a 0,125% (grupo AP) e 5 µg de sufentanil com 2,5 mg bupivacaína por via subaracnóidea (grupo DB). Foram avaliados: intensidade de dor, altura do bloqueio sensitivo, tempo de latência, bloqueio motor, duração da analgesia de parto, tempo para a resolução do parto, hipotensão materna e presença de prurido. Os recém-nascidos foram avaliados pelo índice de Apgar e escore da capacidade adaptativa e neurológica (ECAN), método de Amiel-Tison. RESULTADOS: Não houve diferenças significativas entre os grupos na intensidade da dor, no tempo de latência, no nível do bloqueio sensitivo e no índice de Apgar. O bloqueio motor, a duração da analgesia e o tempo para resolução do parto foram maiores no grupo DB, do qual sete parturientes apresentaram prurido leve. ECAN foi maior no grupo AP após meia hora, duas horas e 24 horas. Noventa e cinco por cento dos recém-nascidos do grupo AP e 60% do grupo DB foram considerados neurologicamente vigorosos ao exame de 24 horas. CONCLUSÃO: As duas técnicas mostraram-se eficazes para analgesia do trabalho de parto. As parturientes do grupo DB apresentaram prurido e trabalho de parto mais prolongado. Recém-nascidos de mães que receberam analgesia de parto via peridural apresentaram melhor ECAN.

Efeitos adversos do sufentanil associado ao anestésico local pelas vias subaracnóidea e peridural em pacientes submetidas à analgesia de parto

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Treatment of Endometriosis with Local Acetylsalicylic Acid Injection: Experimental Study in Rabbits

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)