Wage share and economic growth in Latin America, 1950-2011

This article builds series of wage shares in gross domestic product (GDP) for 15 Latin American economies individually and as a group for the period 1950-2010. Using different methodologies, it is established that wage share is non-linear and has undergone two major cycles. The article discusses various authors, especially classic and post-Keynesian thinkers, who have explored the relationship between wage share in GDP and economic activity. It is also shown that the post-Keynesian approach is relevant in explaining that the main variables determining real gdp variations include wage share, gross capital formation and exports of goods and services. However, the contribution of wage share to real output growth has declined from the 1980s onwards.

The employment situation in Latin America and the Caribbean: Labour productivity and distribution issues

Although the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean grew more slowly in 2011 than in 2010, there were some improvements on the employment front. Workers benefited from the region’s satisfactory economic performance in an increasingly complex international setting. The unemployment rate fell from 7.3% in 2010 to 6.7% in 2011 thanks to a halfpercentage- point gain in the urban employment rate. Both rates are at levels that have not been seen for a long time. The proportion of formal jobs with social benefits rose as well, and underemployment declined. The average wage and the minimum wage both increased in real terms, albeit only moderately. Economic performance and the employment situation varied widely among the subregions. The unemployment rate dropped by 0.6 percentage points in South America but 0.4 percentage points in the countries of the northern part of Latin America. In the countries of the Caribbean, the employment rate was up by 0.2 percentage points. The data show that substantial labour market gaps and serious labour-market insertion issues remain. This is especially the case for women and young people, for whom unemployment rates and other labour indicators are still unfavourable. The second part of this report looks at whether the fruits of economic growth and rising productivity have been distributed equitably between workers and companies. Between 2002 and 2008 (the most recent expansionary economic cycle), wages as a percentage of GDP fell in 13 of the 21 countries of the region for which data are available and rose in just 8. This points to redistribution that is unfavourable to workers, which is worrying in a region which already has the most unequal distribution of income in the world. Underlying this trend is the fact that, worldwide, wages have grown less than productivity. Beyond the ethical dimension of this issue, it jeopardizes the social and economic sustainability of growth. For example, one of the root causes of the recent financial crisis was that households in the United States responded to declining wage income by borrowing more to pay for consumption and housing. This turned out to be unsustainable in the long run. Over time, it undermines the labour market’s contribution to the efficient allocation of resources and its distributive function, too, with negative consequences for democratic governance. Among the triggers of this distributive worsening most often cited in the global debate are market deregulation and its impact on financial globalization, technological change that favours capital over labour, and the weakening of labour institutions. What is needed here is a public policy effort to help keep wage increases from lagging behind increases in productivity. Some countries of the region, especially in South America, saw promising developments during the second half of the 2000s in the form of a positive trend reversal in wages as a percentage of GDP. One example is Brazil, where a minimum wage policy tailored to the dynamics of the domestic market is considered to be one of the factors behind an upturn in the wage share of GDP. The region needs to grow more and better. Productivity must grow at a steady pace, to serve as the basis for sustained improvements in the well-being of the populace and to narrow the gap between the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean and the more advanced economies. And inequality must be decreased; this could be achieved by closing the productivity gap between upgraded companies and the many firms whose productivity is low. As set out in this report, the region made some progress between 2002 and 2010, with labour productivity rising at the rate of 1.5% a year. But this progress falls short of that seen in other regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa (2.1%) and, above all, East Asia (8.3%, not counting Japan and the Republic of Korea). Moreover, in many of the countries of the region these gains have not been distributed equitably. Therein lies a dual challenge that must be addressed: continue to increase productivity while enhancing the mechanisms for distributing gains in a way that will encourage investment and boost worker and household income. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimate that the pace of economic growth in the region will be slightly slower in 2012 than in 2011, in a global economic scenario marked by the cooling of several of the main economic engines and a high degree of uncertainty concerning, above all, prospects for the euro zone. The region is expected to continue to hold up well to this worsening scenario, thanks to policies that leveraged more favourable conditions in the past. This will be felt in the labour markets, as well, so expectations are that unemployment will edge down by as much as two tenths of a decimal point.

The equity gap: Latin America, the Caribbean and the Social Summit

The World Summit for Social Development, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 6 to 12 March 1995, brought together a large number of heads of State and Government and official representatives from States Members of the United Nations and culminated in the adoption of the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and the Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social Development. These two documents —the first containing policy statements, the other dealing with their practical application— imply commitments at the national, regional and international levels. Barely two years have passed since this summit was held, too short a period to permit an evaluation of the impact of the actions that the Latin American and Caribbean Governments set out to undertake. On the other hand, most of the countries were already implementing a variety of official policies related to the great objectives of the World Summit for Social Development. Al reunirse ahora los países miembros de la CEPAL para examinar, por vez primera, los avances hacia la aplicación de los resultados de la Cumbre,1 la Secretaría ha centrado su estudio en tres aspectos. Primero, en examinar, desde la óptica latinoamericana y del Caribe, la situación actual en materia de pobreza, empleo e integración social, los principales temas de la Cumbre. Segundo, en el ámbito de las políticas, en reseñar las tendencias que resultan más relevantes para el cumplimiento de los compromisos antes mencionados. Tercero, en proponer algunas orientaciones adicionales sobre el contenido y alcance de las políticas tendientes a facilitar el pleno cumplimiento futuro de dichos compromisos. Se procura con ello orientar el debate de los gobiernos y de la sociedad civil en América Latina y el Caribe acerca de cómo se están instrumentando en la región los compromisos de la Cumbre de Copenhague.

A gap analysis of ornithological research in the brazilian state of Roraima

Neste artigo, o esforço de investigação ornitológica no estado de Roraima será investigado utilizando abordagens de análises de lacunas. Basicamente, apresentaremos uma síntese sobre todo o esforço ornitológico feito até o momento em Roraima, visando responder as seguintes questões: (a) quais os locais bem amostrados para aves? (b) quais são as lacunas geográficas de investigação? (c) em que estágio de descobertas está o inventário das espécies de aves em Roraima? (d) quais são os macro-hábitats prioritários para investigação? (e) quais os tipos de vegetação bem investigados e quais os que podem ser classificados como prioritários para investigação? Como resultados, detectamos Oitenta e duas localidades com algum tipo de informação ornitológica. Dentre essas, a Estação Ecológica de Maracá (442 sp), seguido pelo Parque Nacional do Viruá (420 sp), Colônia do Apiaú (320 sp), Mucajaí (267 sp), e Pacaráima (212 sp), são as cinco localidades com maior grau de conhecimento ornitológico dentro do estado. Nos últimos 20 anos apenas duas localidades ornitológicas em Roraima podem ser acrescidas à lista de sítios bem estudados de acordo com o critério de pelo menos 100 espécies registradas (peles, gravações de voz e observações visuais): Parque Nacional do Viruá e a Fazenda Paraense. Cinco áreas são aqui apontadas como lacunas de amostragem da avifauna de Roraima e devem receber prioridade para novos inventários e estudos sobre a avifauna dessa região, são elas: Noroeste do estado, nas áreas junto à fronteira com a Venezuela e divisa com o Estado do Amazonas; Baixo Rio Branco, desde a cidade de Caracaraí à sua foz; Florestas de terra firme no sudeste do Estado; As savanas do nordeste junto à fronteira com a Guiana e as regiões de floresta montana e os tepuis.

Cardiorespiratory effects of gap junction blockade in the locus coeruleus in unanesthetized adult rats

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

Bulk plasmon polariton-gap soliton-induced transparency in one-dimensional Kerr-metamaterial superlattices

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Influence of nanoparticle size and gap size on nucleate boiling using HFE7100

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Inorganic Graphenylene: A Porous Two-Dimensional Material With Tunable Band Gap

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Multivacuum states in a fermionic gap equation with massive gluons and confinement

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Bovine cysticercosis in slaughtered cattle as an indicator of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and epidemiological risk factors

This study focused on estimating the economic losses resulting from cysticercosis at beef cattle farms that supply an export slaughterhouse located in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and to identify the epidemiological risks factors involved in the disease to ascertain if these farms adopt Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). To this, we used data recorded in 2012 by Brazil's Federal Inspection Service (SIP) on the daily occurrence of the disease, according to the farm from which the animals originated. In addition, the associated risk factors were determined based on a case-control study at 48 farms. Cysticercosis was detected in 2.26% (95% CI 2.2-2.33) of the 190,903 bovines supplied by 556 farms in the following four states: 2.92% (95% CI 2.83-3.03) in Sao Paulo, 1.81% (95% CI 1.71-1.93) in Minas Gerais, 0.71% (95% CI 0.6-0.82) in Goias and 1.11% (95% CI 0.79-1.57) in Mato Grosso do Sul, with significant differences in the epidemiological indices of these states. Cysticercosis was detected at 58.45% (95% CI 54.36-62.55) of the farms of this study, representing estimated economic losses of US$312,194.52 for the farmers. Lower prevalence of this disease were found at the farms qualified for exports to the European Union, indicating a statistically significant difference from those not qualified to export to Europe. The access of cattle to non-controlled water sources, as well as sport fishing activities near the farms, was identified as risk factors. Cysticercosis causes considerable losses in Brazil's beef supply chain, with lower prevalence appearing only at farms qualified to export to the European Union. As for the access of cattle to non-controlled water sources, this is an indication that GAP are not implemented by some farms, demonstrating the violation of international agreements by the industry and the farms. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Deciphering 40 TeV rapidity gap physics with 2 TeV jet events

Rapidity gaps may provide an adequate signature for electroweak processes at supercolliders, including the production of the Higgs particle. We show how this important issue can be studied in the dijet final states of operating proton-antiproton colliders and present quantitative predictions.

Healing and expression of growth factors (TGF-β and PDGF) in canine radial ostectomy gap containing platelet-rich plasma

Objectives: To evaluate bone healing in an experimental radial ostectomy in dogs treated with autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP), through histological, densitometric, radiographic studies, as well as expression of growth factors in the ostectomy gap. Methods: Twenty-one dogs were randomly divided into either a control or a PRP group. All underwent unilateral ostectomy of the radius to generate a gap of 2.0 mm, that was stabilized with external skeletal fixation. The ostectomy gap was either filled with PRP or left empty as a control. The radiographic and densitometric studies were performed after surgery, then at intervals until 60 days during the post-surgery period. Histological and immunohistochemical evaluations were performed at seven or 60 days post-surgery. Analyses were performed using a statistical analysis system, and the level of significance was set at p <0.05. Results: The median radiographic healing score in the PRP group increased significantly between day 0 and day 60. Furthermore, at 60 days, the median healing score and the proportion of healed ostectomies in the control group (score 1; 1/6 healed) and the PRP group (score 5; 4/5 healed) were significantly different. There were differences between groups in radiographic and densitometric values at days 45 and 60. The histological evaluation showed advanced bone healing at 60 days in the PRP group and signs of delayed union in the control group. Clinical relevance: Platelet-rich plasma can be used as an adjuvant therapy because it may promote better bone healing of a radial ostectomy treated with external skeletal fixation in dogs.

Traumatic memories: bridging the gap between functional neuroimaging and psychotherapy

Objective: Neuroimaging studies have highlighted important issues related to structural and functional brain changes found in sufferers of psychological trauma that may influence their ability to synthesize, categorize, and integrate traumatic memories. Methods: Literature review and critical analysis and synthesis. Results: Traumatic memories are diagnostic symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and the dual representation theory posits separate memory systems subserving vivid re-experiencing (non-hippocampally dependent) versus declarative autobiographical memories of trauma (hippocampally dependent). But the psychopathological signs of trauma are not static over time, nor is the expression of traumatic memories. Multiple memory systems are activated simultaneously and in parallel on various occasions. Neural circuitry interaction is a crucial aspect in the development of a psychotherapeutic approach that may favour an integrative translation of the sensory fragments of the traumatic memory into a declarative memory system. Conclusion: The relationship between neuroimaging findings and psychological approaches is discussed for greater efficacy in the treatment of psychologically traumatized patients.