Fiscal adjustment, conditionality and politics in IMF programs

A common feature in programs of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the use of conditionalities, macroeconomic and structural measures that a requesting country should adopt to obtain an assistance package. The objective of this work is to conduct an empirical analysis of the economic and political determinants of such conditionalities. In particular, our main contribution consists in the development of a new measure of conditionality, fiscal adjustment, and its comparison with the most used in the literature, the number of conditions. We choose fiscal adjustment because it is an adequate proxy for program austerity, since its implementation carries economic and political costs. In the empirical exercise, we use data from 184 programs in the period of 1999 and 2012, and estimate how our two measures of conditionalities respond to the economic and political factors. Our results suggest that they are quite different. The main determinant of the number of conditions is the political proximity of the borrowing country to the Fund’s major shareholders, the members of G5. On the other hand, the main determinant of fiscal adjustment is the size of the government fiscal deficit. Finally, we did not find correlation between the size of fiscal adjustment and the number of conditions. These results suggest that the analysis of the content of IMF programs should take into account the different measures of agreed conditionality.

A nova regra eleitoral que põe medo em boa parte dos partidos

Pesquisador da DAPP, Luis Felipe da Graça, comenta a resolução do Tribunal Superior Eleitoral que obriga partidos a terem diretório municipal constituído nas cidades onde pretendem lançar candidato a prefeito

Renda e Pobreza entre Famílias no meio Rural do Nordeste

MARIANO, J. L. ; NEDER, H. D. . Renda e Pobreza entre Famílias no meio Rural do Nordeste. In: CONGRESSO DA SOCIEDADE BRASILEIRA DE ECONOMIA E SOCIOLGOGIA RURAL, 42., 2004, Cuiabá - MT. Anais... Cuiabá, 2004. Dinâmicas Setoriais e Desenvolvimento Regional.

A assistência técnica nos habitats do MST e o papel do arquiteto e urbanista

This dissertation is about Architect and town planner inserts in the technical support of the Rural establishment and of the possibilities of changes in their habitat. It also looks for its participation through the production of those spaces with or without its performance through two references cases, in Rio Grande do Norte , one called settlement Eldorado de Carajás and another one called Maria da Paz. At first the process represents the model that was adopted systematically by Incra until the middle of the year 2000 with the sub-contracting of their construction work through small companies. These standardized projects which are executed without registration in the system CONFEA/CREA without demand of professional authorship and of technical responsibility of the work. But the process taken place at Maria da Paz s area was configured as one of the first initiatives that stopped with those practices. Consolidated through a partnership among UFRN MST and INCRA/RN, the Architect s technical support and town planner brought new technician-scientific organization and execution of the soil parcels and its habitat. The participation of UFRN was done through a group of studies in land reform and Habitat (GERAH) being this author and coordinator of the methodological proposal, based on the regressive-progressive method and in the inclusion of the conflict as responsible of the ruptures and transductions both done by Henry Léfèbvre and in the research action approached by Carlos Brandão. Therefore it included the process of social learning and collective production of new knowledge and attitudes in relation to the environment in the process called as attended self management in spite of the transformations happened with this new agent s participation. The people re-located to the new areas that got involved in the process and finished their constructions reelaborating the daily practice of the collective effort passed to the self management without technical support. Years later the implantation of those two experiences our research verified that there is a positive image concerning the Architect and town planner, related, most of all to the conception of the activities, orientation and execution of constructions projects and of acceptance of those professionals to the processes of implementation of the Habitats of the Rural establishments. This dissertation analyses this form of performance, from and beyond these images trying to find the professional, specificities or methodological in such a way to demonstrate the importance of its insertion in the formulation and attendance of the more of 100.000 habitats of Rural establishments of the land reform of the country that correspond to most of the housing social interest in the country side

IMPASSES, DESAFIOS E BROTOS: O papel da Assessoria na Transição Agroecológica em Assentamentos Rurais

This thesis is the result of a study on the role of technical assistance in the process of agroecological transition, which are under way in rural settlements in the territory of Mato Grande, Rio Grande do Norte. Your goal is, from the Technical Assistance Program, Social and Environmental (ATES), launched in 2004 by INCRA understand to what extent this action accomplished their goal of doing a job with a focus on agroecology. To this end, we chose to work with a qualitative methodology, through interviews with settlers, advisors and representatives of INCRA. They also contributed to developing this thesis, the direct observations, which offer visits to settlements and advisory bodies in the Rede Pardal, apart from participation in meetings and activities in which they were being discussed the issues of advice, agroecology and rural settlements. The thesis is divided into five chapters, plus introduction and conclusion. The first three refer to a theoretical analysis and historical about the process of land reform, and as a result the establishment of rural settlements, the importance of peasant tradition for the design of agro-ecological design and the relationship between agricultural models and proposals advice to the countryside. In two subsequent chapters, there was a panoramic picture of the territory of Mato Grande, settlements and groups that make up this research, for then analyze the performance of advisory services in these settlements, with the parameter, agroecology. It was found that the advice in this perspective, suffers a series of constraints, causing a gap between the ideal proposed in the manual and the actual practiced in their daily lives. Still, it is concluded that the ATES has contributed to innovations in productive groups who are experiencing agroecological processes, which can be regarded as shoots for the transition to a new dynamic of development.

Os embates entre ciência e política na experiência parlamentar de Josué de Castro

This study want to know how Josué de Castro, the two terms of a congressman, participated in the Brazilian political-ideological debate of the 1950s. For this, search the 61 speeches in the plenary of the House of Representatives and its 14 projects, analyzing them as historical documents that describe an experience, which enables the central category amalgamated the subject and his time, which breaks up the possibilities of new social practices. Unity of action and reflection, the experience of Castro in the Brazilian parliament has got on the basis of a previous flow experiences in the political-institutional and scientific. Together with the personal history, the political intellectual scenario of his time was another variable considered in the first chapter of this work. In the second chapter did an analysis of 32 speeches and projects of the first term of Josué de Castro, grouping them by thematic affinities. The 43 for the second term were discussed in the third chapter, leaving the final considerations answer the research objectives: What are the main interlocutors? What are your political positions? What are the points of rupture and continuity in his political career? Josué de Castro spoke to the Brazilian state directly to the president, some ministers and to the SUDENE, the ONU appears indirectly through the reports of his participations. His political position was a national-developmentalist who embraced the cause of self-determination of the countries, anti-imperialism, agrarian reform and regional planning, strongly inspired by Celso Furtado and San Tiago Dantas. Castro often has blended a liberal and Marxist terminology, relying on different ideologies to do support his fight against hunger

Trajetória dos assentamentos rurais financiados pelo crédito fundiário no estado do Rio Grande do Norte: uma análise da experiência do assentamento da fazenda Paz no município de Maxaranguape/RN

The market-assisted land reform (RAAM) has been constituted as an alternative of agrarian reform funded by the Programa Nacional do Crédito Fundiário (PNCF). It is a policy of acquisition, distribution and use of Earth ideologically disseminated and funded by the World Bank in the context of productive insertion of landless workers. Accordingly, this study seeks to analyze the trajectory of rural settlements financed by this policy, seeking to understand what factors promote or limit the process of rural development of those settlements. To do so, take as a reference case study of the Assentamento da Fazenda Paz, in the municipality of Maxaranguape in the State of Rio Grande do Norte. From the methodological point of view, bibliographical and documentary research were used, in addition to visits to the settlement and semi-structured interviews with the settlers, trade union leaders, consultants and technicians linked to the project. Assuming the reports of respondents, initially constructs the hypothesis that informal and formal institutions present in the Assentamento da Fazenda Paz were unable to effectively coordinate the actions of the agents. The results obtained showed the existence of a very complex undertaking, with a total area of 607 hectares and 80 families settled, endowed with good quality water and irrigation infrastructure, with assets of approximately R$ 5 million reais. Experience experienced by the settlers understood the development of complex systems of production and marketing of fruits and vegetables, with an emphasis on the cultivation of papaya in an area of 45 hectares based on modern irrigation system and extensive use of technology. Collective management of production, marketing, revenue and costs stood out as a major challenge for the settlers and their representative organisations, i.e. the Community Association and the cooperative. From this observation it was possible to identify two moments on the trajectory of the project: the first, between 2007-2011, considered by respondents as successful, in which the integration of public policies and abundant input of revenue from the commercialization of the fruits da Paz, mainly through the sale of papaya and pineapple in national and international markets, allowed an average remuneration of R$ 800.00 reais to R$ 1,000 reais seated/monthIn addition to the production of vegetables and other types of products for sale and consumption; the second, from 2012, characterized as a failure, due to the discontinuity of the cultivation, production and marketing of fruits based on the collective bargaining model deployed. Important factors explain the discontinuity of the project, including the model of agriculture implemented, difficulties related to the management of production, marketing and finance the venture, in addition to the breach of trust between the Board of the cooperative and the associates and the distancing of the governmental organizations more directly responsible for the project. It is therefore concluded that we must to rethink rural development as a multidimensional phenomenon, requiring a broad engagement between State and society under the foundations of a territorial development contract

Formação moral das crianças: construção de regras fundamentais aos valores do Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST)

The acquiring process of morals on a person is one of the most important aspects of his Social Identity. The basis for his ethics and moral choices are built when he interacts with the world. A child that interacts with participants of Movimento Sem Terra (MST) movement that fights for the Land Reform and the transformation of the society may have the opportunities to acquire the culture, morals and ethics of this movement. Based on this understanding, this work intends to comprehend how children think and incorporate the rules that are the base of the values and principles of MST, considering the diversity of the situations, the limits and the possibilities to experience these values in their everyday life in the Movement. To understand how the process of cognitive construction of the rules takes place in a child, it is important to consider the theories of Jean Piaget. According to him, morals development follows a sequence: the anomie (0 to 2 years old), marked by the absence of rules; the heteronomy (2 to 6/7 years old), where takes place the adoption of rules due to exterior obedience, such as a relative, an institution or a movement; and the autonomy (from 6/7 years old on), in which rules are considered legitimate. All the children in this research have relatives working at MST. The research has two parts. We have first observed the behavior of three groups of children (beyond six years old) while they were involved on their normal activities (kindergarten) activities. On the second moment, we have interviewed 20 children (between 3 and 10 years old). We used flashcards containing scenes; we also told stories and asked moral questions involving the character s behavior. We have noticed the unilateral respect and extern coercion are between the definers of the moral decisions of a child. The empathy and the reduction of the egocentrism help seeing the situation of the point of view of other, although it doesn t mean that one is going to accept others point of view. In the taking decision of the child other factors are also considered such as the space of socialization (family, school). Though the children don t work or take part at MST activities, they have already opinions about involved people behaviors. The interaction with relatives and teachers is one of the most important aspects to encourage them elaborate moral understandings according to the ethics of this movement

A relação teoria-prática do curso de formação de professores do campo na UFPA

Ce travail est une reflexion sur les pratiques éducatives dévelloppées par des élèves/professeurs dans le Cours de Formation d Éducateurs de la Campagne, réalisé dans un partenariat entre l Université Fédérale du Pará (UFPA), Le Movimento dos Trabalhadores sem Terra (MST Mouvement des travailleurs sans Terre) et le Programme National d Éducation dans la Réforme Agraire (PRONERA), en ayant comme son objectif stratégique rechercher les éléments facilitateurs de l articulation théorie-pratique dans les procédures méthodologique du Cours, fondé sur Paulo Freire. Nous approfondissons des réflexions sur la production d une proposition d Éducation de la Campagne qui, entre autres éléments, se fonde sur la Pédagogie de l Alternance, spécifiquement en ce qui concerne lês catégories Temps École et Temps Communauté. Dans le procès de recherche, nous utilisons comme ressources les documents écrits (dês projets de cours, des rapports, des journaux de la campagne document qui registre le quotidien des activités et des choses réalisées), et les discours des élèves de l Assentamento Palmares II , pendant et après lê Cours. À l analyse, nous identifions comme éléments facilitateurs de la relations théorie et pratique, le Temps École et le Temps Communauté en créant des opportunités, la rélation de ce qui se caracterise comme praxis (action-refléxion-action), en utilisant la recherche comme moyen d insertion dans la réalité et l´existence de groupe (colectif), ce qui a possibilité la participation colective aux réalisations des pratiques pédagogiques plus significatives dans le procès de Formation d Éducateurs de la Campagne, en ayant comme objectif la contribution dans la formation des sujets réalisateurs de leur histoire

Luta pela terra, luta pela palavra: história de vida e formação de duas educadoras populares do campo

This project has resulted from a reunion between me and two teachers with whom I had already worked, pedagogically counseling them during the execution of the Project of Youngsters and Adults Schooling at the Agrarian Reform Settlements in the State of Sergipe (PAJA/PRONERA) between 2002 and 2003. The matter that really motivated the research was related to the essential principle that guided the accomplishment of the PAJA s teachers education and professionalization: understanding their reality and knowing their needs, promoting the dialogue between scientific and common sense knowledge. Taking as a reference the fact that the teachers education is not restricted to the academic qualification, that is, that it is a part of the educational process, which, in turn, is a result of each one s personal background, dialectically individual and collective, the access to the teachers reality and needs was accomplished by studying their backgrounds, especially their school and professional career. They, inevitably, focused themselves on the country life s social and cultural context, that could be better understood by living together with the teachers during the twenty-seven days I stayed in the Golfo s settlement, located in the town named Pacatuba/SE. The approach to the teachers lives through their stories and the daily contact proved how much Science is still distant from the peasants routine, sometimes being presented to them as a finished product . That way, the dialog between those two categories and the expectation of the country life s social and cultural conditions, together with the education, in which teachers have an essential role, still remain as a challenge