Dependência de trajetória nos incentivos fiscais: fragmentação do empresariado na reforma tributária

Desde a promulgação da Constituição de 1988, todos os governos têm buscado realizar a reforma tributária. Há aparente consenso de que essa reforma precisa ser feita. No entanto, os insucessos nas propostas submetidas ao Congresso Nacional têm sido recorrentes. Essa dissertação busca explicar esse aparente insucesso a partir da análise evolutiva histórica de cinco tipos de incentivo fiscal: 1) regional (Sudam, Sudene e Zona Franca de Manaus); 2) guerra fiscal do ICMS; 3) exportação; 4) tributação simplificada (em especial o Simples); e 5) desenvolvimento econômico. O argumento central da pesquisa é o de que a política tributária desenvolvimentista e extrativa, adotada historicamente pelo Estado brasileiro e pautada pela concessão de incentivos fiscais, envolve interesses difíceis de serem revertidos - com características de dependência de trajetória -, que têm condicionado o comportamento do ator fundamental para o desenlace da reforma tributária - o empresariado -, o qual tem atuado de forma fragmentada e na busca por rendas, em vez de atuar de forma concertada buscando o objetivo coletivo pressuposto em uma reforma tributária. A pesquisa evidenciou ter havido uma dinâmica e relevante evolução do sistema tributário no período recente, vinculada em grande medida ao conjunto de incentivos fiscais que foram objeto de análise, o que afasta a hipótese de eventual paralisia decisória e relativizam as hipóteses de pontos de veto e de impasse entre interesses federativos como variáveis explicativas para o insucesso da reforma tributária.

O novo pacto federativo: porque a apresentação de uma emenda possibilitou uma discussão na redefinição da Federação Brasileira

Estudo de caso que analisa a aprovação da emenda de plenário nº 387 de 2010, chamada de emenda Ibsen Pinheiro/Humberto Souto, que pretendeu redistribuir as riquezas advindas dos royalties do petróleo, a partir do estabelecimento de critérios de maior equalização como o da distribuição via Fundo de Participação de Estados e Municípios (FPE/FPM). A partir do entendimento segundo o qual tal aprovação se deu por causa da fragmentação (derrocada) do pacto federativo, dado a centralização histórica do processo de arrecadação tributária nas mãos da União, posição alcançada e motivada, diga-se de passagem, pela abdicação de Estados e Municípios do papel de principal arrecadador, se tornando atores secundários. O estudo argumenta que a principal dificuldade enfrentada pelos entes subnacionais é de ordem econômica e os desenhos constitucionais desde a promulgação da Constituição republicana de 1891, não foi capaz de dirimir tal situação. E mesmo com a promulgação da Constituição de 1988, chamada de a mais descentralizadora, uma melhor distribuição de recursos falhou em suas tentativas.

Body and Grotesque as Self-Disruption in Kerstin Hensel’s Gothic East(ern) German Novel Lärchenau (2008)

[EN] By analysing the novel Lärchenau and its -to a certain point- gothic features, this article interprets the elaboration of body in this novel as a site of the expression of power, but also as an alternative language. The grotesque dimension and the representation of the bodily numbness and pain as projections of historical awareness are key elements for the interpretation of Lärchenau in the context of Post-Unification Germany.

Recommendation domains for pond aquaculture: country case study: development and status of freshwater aquaculture in Malawi

This monograph is a result of a 3-year project to produce a decision-support toolkit with supporting databases and case studies to help researchers, planners and extension agents working on freshwater pond aquaculture. The purpose of the work was to provide tools and information to help practitioners identify places and conditions where pond aquaculture can benefit the poor, both as producers and as consumers of fish. This monograph is the case study for Malawi. Written in three parts, it describes the historical background, practices, stakeholder profiles, production levels, economic and institutional environment, policy issues, and prospects for aquaculture in the country. First, it documents the history and current status of the aquaculture in the country. Second, it assesses the technologies and approaches that either succeeded or failed to foster aquaculture development and discusses why. Third, it identifies the key reasons for aquaculture adoption.

Recommendation domains for pond aquaculture: country case study: development and status of freshwater aquaculture in Cameroon

This report is an output of the project “Determination of high-potential aquaculture development areas and impact in Africa and Asia”. This monograph is the case study for Cameroon. Written in three parts, it describes the historical background, practices, stakeholder profiles, production levels, economic and institutional environment, policy issues, and prospects for aquaculture in the country. First, it documents the history and current status of the aquaculture in the country. Second, it assesses the technologies and approaches that either succeeded or failed to foster aquaculture development and discusses why. Third, it identifies the key reasons for aquaculture adoption.

Recommendation domains for pond aquaculture: country case study: development and status of freshwater aquaculture in Bangladesh

This report is an output of the project “Determination of high-potential aquaculture development areas and impact in Africa and Asia”. This monograph is the case study for Cameroon. Written in three parts, it describes the historical background, practices, stakeholder profiles, production levels, economic and institutional environment, policy issues, and prospects for aquaculture in the country. First, it documents the history and current status of the aquaculture in the country. Second, it assesses the technologies and approaches that either succeeded or failed to foster aquaculture development and discusses why. Third, it identifies the key reasons for aquaculture adoption.

Institutional designs to face the dark side of total allowable catches

Setting total allowable catches (TACs) is an endogenous process in which different agents and institutions, often with conflicting interests and opportunistic behaviour, try to influence policy-makers. Such policy-makers, far from being the benevolent social planners many would wish them to be, may also pursue self-interest when making final decisions. Although restricted knowledge of stock abundance and population dynamics, and weakness in enforcement, have effects, these other factors may explain the reason why TAC management has failed to guarantee sustainable exploitation of fish resources. Rejecting the exogeneity of the TAC and taking advantage of fruitful debate on economic policy (i.e. the rules vs. discretion debate, and that surrounding the independence of central banks), two institutional developments are analysed as potential mechanisms to face up to misconceptions about TACs: long-term harvest control rules, and a central bank of fish.

Charles M. Breder, Jr.: Palmetto Key, 1942

Charles M. Breder and his wife Ethel spent part of the summer of 1942 at the Palmetto Key field station, known today as Cabbage Key, on the west coast of Florida south of Charlotte Harbor. The Palmetto Key field station began in 1938 and ended in 1942 because of World War II. His Palmetto Key diary ran for 95 pages of notes, tables, diagrams, drawings, lists, and business records and this report presents a variety of fascinating entries. Diaries from other years all bear Breder's style of discipline, curiosity, humor, and speculations on nature. The diary was transcribed as part of the Coastal Estuarine Data/Document Rescue and Archeology effort for South Florida. (PDF contaons 24 pages)

Aspectos semióticos en la subtitulación de situaciones cómicas

Eterio Pajares, Raquel Merino y José Miguel Santamaría (eds.)

Silver King Creek Paiute cutthroat trout restoration, 1991 through 1993

Silver King Creek, Alpine County, is the native range of the Federally-threatened Paiute cutthroat trout, Oncorhynchus clarki seleniris. Paiute cutthroat currently inhabit Coyote Valley and Corral Valley creeks, which are tributaries to Silver King Creek below Llewellyn Falls, and also Silver King Creek and tributaries aboye Llewellyn Falls. Rainbow trout, O. mykiss, were introduced into the basin during 1949 and became hybridized with Paiute cutthroat. Chemical treatments attempted by the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) in 1964 and 1976 failed to eliminate hybrid trout. A chemical treatment project was again conducted by the CDFG from 1991 through 1993 to eliminate hybrid trout from within the range of Paiute cutthroat. This report presents a summary of events for the first two years of the Silver King Paiute Cutthroat Trout Restoration Project; a more thorough analysis is made of the third and final year of the project. (PDF contains 39 pages.)

An austerity-driven energy reform

In July 2013, the government approved a major overhaul of the Spanish electricity sector to correct existing imbalances that have led to an exponential increase of regulated electricity costs and a huge tariff deficit. The reform addresses the problem of financial sustainability of the sector, severely affected by weak demand and overcapacity. Previous regulation introduced in 2012 and early 2013, also aimed at restoring financial stability of the sector, failed to correct the tariff shortfall and new regulatory measures were needed to reduce the 4.5 billion euros forecasted deficit for 2013. The frequent change of the rules of the game in the sector has created regulatory uncertainty, more so as it is not clear that the present reform will be sufficient to eliminate the deficit. Moreover, the government has left the door open to new regulation that would deal with the price formation system. In general, short run financial criteria have prevailed, while efficiency principles and a long run perspective have little weight in the reform.

Falsche Fische – ein Bericht über die Schwierigkeiten der Identifizierung einer „Seezunge“

In the last years German food control laboratories have established proof of a significant number of cases of incorrectly labelled flatfish on the German market. A flatfish offered as sole (Solea vulgaris) in Southern Germany served as an example for mislabelled flatfish and for the difficulties food control laboratories may encounter and to identify products of unknown origin. Morphometric and meristic examination, as well as isoelectric focusing of sarcoplasmic proteins, PCR-based DNA-analysis failed to identify the fish. By using these methods, it only could be excluded that the fish belonged to the species of Solea vulgaris or another described flatfish species. DNA sequencing of an amplicon gave a sequence identical to a sequence in GenBank, which, however, turned out to be incorrectly assigned to Solea vulgaris. More research about characterization and identification of tropical flatfish is recommended, because of the growing importance of these fishes for the European market.

Simulierte Auswirkungen des mehrjährigen Bewirtschaftungsplans für die Dorschfischerei in der westlichen Ostsee und die Möglichkeit einer technischen Alternative

The cod stock in the Western Baltic Sea is assessed to be overfished regarding the definitions of the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development at Johannesburg in 2002. Thus, the European Fisheries Council enforced a multi-annual management plan in 2007. Our medium term simulations over the future 10 years assume similar stock productivity as compared with the past four decades and indicate that the goals of the management plan can be achieved through TAC and consistent effort regulations. Taking account of the uncertainty in the recruitment patterns, the target average fishing mortality of age groups 3 – 6 years of F = 0.6 per year as defined in the management plan is indicated to exceed sustainable levels consistent with high long term yields and low risk of depletion. The stipulated constraint of the annual TAC variations of ±15% will dominate future fisheries management and implies a high recovery potential of the stock through continued reductions in fishing mortality. The scientific assessment of sustainable levels of exploitation and consideration in the plan is strongly advised, taking account of uncertainties attributed to environmental and biological effects. We recommend our study to be complemented with economic impact assessments including effects on by-catch species, which have been disregarded in this study. It is further demonstrated, that the goals of the management plan can alternatively be achieved by mesh size adaptations. An alternative technical option of mesh size increases to realize the required reductions in fishing mortality provides avoidance of discards of undersized fish after a few years by means of improved selectivity, another important element of the Common Fisheries Policy. However, it is emphasized that technical regulations since 1990 failed to affect the by-catch and discards of juvenile cod. In any way, the meaningful implementation of the multiannual management plan through stringent control and enforcement appears critical.

The El Nino of 1972-1973 in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean

ENGLISH: Beginning in February 1972 the usual seasonal cooling of the surface water of the eastern Pacific Ocean in the region of the Peru Current and along the equator failed to develop. By July tropical coastal and equatorial island stations and ships crossing the equator were recording sea-surface temperatures which were 6° to 8°F (3.3°-4.4°C) above the long-term mean. The anomalies spread over most of the eastern tropical Pacific and westward into the central equatorial Pacific through September. During October surface temperatures at coastal stations along South America were returning to normal, but in November and December 1972 temperatures rose rapidly again, with a near-record temperature anomaly of 8.1°F (4.2°C) above the long-term mean recorded at Puerto Chieama, Peru (7°42'S-79°27'W). After January 1973 sea-surface temperatures began returning to normal over most of the eastern tropical Pacific, and by March 1973 the El Nino had completed its cycle. Monthly sea-surface temperature anomalies over the eastern tropical Pacific are discussed to show the extent and magnitude of warming. Annual temperature profiles at several South American coastal and equatorial island stations are compared with temperature profiles for the 1957-1958 and 1965 EI Nino years. Characteristics of the temperature anomaly profiles at Puerto Chicama during several very warm years for the 1925-1972 period are also compared. Finally, meteorological factors contributing to a relaxation of the southeast trade winds and to the decreased unwilling along the coast of South America in 1972-1973 are examined. SPANISH: A comienzos de febrero de 1972, no se registró el enfriamiento común estacional del agua superficial del Océano Pacífico oriental en la región de la Corriente del Perú y a lo largo del ecuador. En julio las estaciones tropicales, costeras y de las islas ecuatoriales, y los barcos que cruzaban la linea ecuatorial registraron temperaturas superficiales del mar de 6° a 8°F (3.3°-4.4°C) más altas que la media a largo plazo. Las anomalías se esparcieron sobre la mayoría del Pacífico oriental tropical, y al oeste en el Pacífico central ecuatorial. En octubre, las temperaturas superficiales de las estaciones costaneras a lo largo de Sudamérica volvieron a la normalidad, pero en noviembre y diciembre de 1972, las temperaturas de nuevo ascendieron rápidamente con una anomalía de temperatura que alcanzó 8.1°F (4.2°C) sobre la media a largo plazo registrada en Puerto Chicama, Perú (7°42'S-79°27'W). Después de enero 1973 las temperaturas de la superficie del mar volvieron rápidamente a la normalidad en la mayoría del Pacífico oriental tropical y en marzo de 1973 el Niño había completado su ciclo. Se discuten las anomalías mensuales de las temperaturas de la superficie del mar en el Pacífico oriental tropical para indicar la extensión y magnitud del calentamiento. Los perfiles anuales de temperatura en varias estaciones costeras y de las islas ecuatoriales sudamericanas se comparan con los perfiles de temperatura de los años en que ocurrió el Niño en 1957-1958 y 1965. Se comparan también las características de los perfiles de las anomalías de temperatura en Puerto Chicama durante varios años muy cálidos para el período de 1925-1972. Finalmente, se examinan los factores meteorológicos que contribuyen al debilitamiento de los vientos alisios del sudeste y a la reducción del afloramiento a lo largo de la costa sudamericana en 1972-1973. (PDF contains 48 pages.)

Association between CASP8-652 6N Del Polymorphism (rs3834129) and Colorectal Cancer Risk: Results from a Multi-Centric Study

The common 2652 6N del variant in the CASP8 promoter (rs3834129) has been described as a putative low-penetrance risk factor for different cancer types. In particular, some studies suggested that the deleted allele (del) was inversely associated with CRC risk while other analyses failed to confirm this. Hence, to better understand the role of this variant in the risk of developing CRC, we performed a multi-centric case-control study. In the study, the variant 2652 6N del was genotyped in a total of 6,733 CRC cases and 7,576 controls recruited by six different centers located in Spain, Italy, USA, England, Czech Republic and the Netherlands collaborating to the international consortium COGENT (COlorectal cancer GENeTics). Our analysis indicated that rs3834129 was not associated with CRC risk in the full data set. However, the del allele was under-represented in one set of cases with a family history of CRC (per allele model OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.69-0.90) suggesting this allele might be a protective factor versus familial CRC. Since this multi-centric case-control study was performed on a very large sample size, it provided robust clarification of the effect of rs3834129 on the risk of developing CRC in Caucasians.