Three applications of the marginal cost of public funds concept

This paper illustrates the use of the marginal cost of public funds concept in three contexts. First, we extend Parry’s (2003) analysis of the efficiency effects excise taxes in the U.K., primarily by incorporating the distortion caused by imperfect competition in the cigarette market and distinguishing between the MCFs for per unit and ad valorem taxes on cigarettes. Our computations show, contrary to the standard result in the literature, that the per unit tax on cigarettes has a slightly lower MCF than the ad valorem tax on cigarettes. Second, we calculate the MCF for a payroll tax in a labour market with involuntary unemployment, using the Shapiro and Stiglitz (1984) efficiency wage model as our framework. Our computations, based on Canadian labour market data, indicate that incorporating the distortion caused by involuntary unemployment raises the MCF by 25 to 50 percent. Third, we derive expressions for the distributionally-weighted MCFs for the exemption level and the marginal tax rate for a “flat tax”, such as the one that has been adopted by the province of Alberta. This allows us to develop a restricted, but tractable, version of the optimal income tax problem. Computations indicate that the optimal marginal tax rate may be quite high, even with relatively modest pro-poor distributional preferences.

Compatibilizando meios com fins: é necessário regular a distribuição de bolsas do ProUni por curso?

Este trabalho demonstrará, em um primeiro momento, como o Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF), ao analisar a lei que instituiu o ProUni em sede de controle constitucional abstrato, alterou o objetivo atribuído ao programa pelo Poder Executivo. Argumenta-se que, se levada a sério, a decisão do STF, embora tenha declarado constitucional o ProUni, traz consigo consequências normativas que exigem alterações no desenho do ProUni, que agora passa a ter um compromisso com a empregabilidade de seus beneficiários. Em seguida, este trabalho avaliará a compatibilidade do ProUni com seu “novo” objetivo normativo e, ao cumprir essa tarefa, chamará atenção para o seguinte problema: embora o ProUni impacte positivamente no índice de empregabilidade dos alunos, não os direciona às carreias mais valoradas no mercado de trabalho. Por fim, sustentar-se-á que se a alteração do objetivo normativo do Programa feita pelo STF for levada a sério, há indícios de que a distribuição de bolsas do ProUni precisaria ser alterada para passar a priorizar cursos “estratégicos”. Isso porque – segue o argumento - ao conferir ao Programa a tarefa de “reduzir desigualdades sociais”, o STF incorporou ao ProUni um novo compromisso, o de garantir que todos (ou quase todos) seus beneficiários concluam seus cursos de educação superior e passem a ocupar vagas de trabalho bem-remuneradas.

Teamwork in academia: an empirical study

The Bologna Process introduced some changes in the curriculum of higher education institutions (HEIs) and defined that academic learning should consider the needs of the labour market. HEIs and employers agree that personal skills are the most important set of competence of graduates (Pavlin, Akkuyunlu, Kovacic, & Svetlik, 2009). The goals of this work were to explore how the work experienced by teams of students in HEIs might help them improve their personal skills, namely empirically explore the perception of teamwork and personality into two groups of students. The study was based on the theoretical model of Team Evolution and Maturation (TEAM, Fransen, 2012). The sample consisted of 99 students of the 3rd year of the degree (1st cycle) in Computer Science (49 students) and the 2nd year of the Bachelor's Degree (1st cycle) in Psychology (50 students), from the University of Madeira, Portugal. Areas of personality and team collaboration were evaluated with a Pre- and Post-test. Findings show that the perception of the teamwork collaboration of students in Computer Science and Psychology majors seems to be influenced by their scientific area, by gender, by the selection method of the time-organiser, the self-perceived personality of the time-organiser, the self perceived personality of the non-time-organiser, and the size of the team. It is expected that this data will contribute to further theoretical and practical reflection on the teamwork among college students and their performance in the labour market.

Turismo, território e políticas públicas: uma análise do destino João Pessoa/PB

This study presents an approach to tourism activity from the perspective of the territory, analyzing the importance of the roles of the State and public policies for tourism development. Tourism in the northeastern region of Brazil begins to take its rise from the late 1970 through public policies, whose goal was to provide the necessary conditions for tourism development. The tourism public policies were the key elements in the production process of tourist territories in the region. In the state of Paraíba, the public authorities elected the coastline as the main attraction and the state capital, João Pessoa, as the locus for the tourism development, with the city receiving a series of public policies. In this context, this research aims to analyze the development process of three specific public policies for tourism development in João Pessoa: The (mega)Projeto Costa do Sol (1988), the PRODETUR/PB I and II (1997 e 2005) and the Plano Estratégico de Desenvolvimento do Turismo na Paraíba, the Plano Amanhecer (2000). This study was guided by the question that even having been contemplated by the tourism public policies, João Pessoa still remains in a peripheral position in the regional tourism market. The methodological procedures for this study were literature and documents research and semi-structured interviews with tourism public officials and representatives from local tourism trade. The research came to prove that the discontinuity between governmental administrations hampered the implementation process of the tourism public policies studied. It was observed that the implementation of tourism public policies in the long term depends on the interaction between governments, as well as the collective political will to develop tourism in Joao Pessoa

Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2008-2009: Policies for creating quality jobs

Includes bibliography

Social Panorama of Latin America 1998

Includes bibliography

Social Panorama of Latin America 2000-2001

Includes bibliography

Social Panorama of Latin America 2006

Includes bibliography

Social Panorama of Latin America 2010

Includes bibliography

Reformas para la cohesión social en América Latina: panorama antes de la crisis

Incluye Bibliografía

The Danish "flexicurity" system and the relevant lessons for Latin America

Includes bibliography

Flexibility, protection and active policies in Chile

Includes bibliography

Challenges involved in the introduction of flexicurity in Peru

Includes bibliography

Flexicurity with informality: options and restrictions

Includes bibliography

La República Dominicana en 2030: hacia una nación cohesionada

Incluye Bibliografía