André Luiz Marques Serrano

A measure of sustainability of Brazilian agribusiness using directional distance functions and data envelopment analysis

The social and environmental impacts caused by the modernization of Brazilian agribusiness have evoked a growing interest in the search of balance between social-economics development and the adequate use of natural resources, driving the country to sustainable development. Therefore, the main aim of this article is to estimate a set of indicators of relative efficiency in the Brazilian agricultural sector, which satisfy the concept of Pareto optimality, potentiates simultaneously both economic, ecological dimensions and social functions. To reach this purpose, the method of directional distance functions and data envelopment analysis was applied. These indicators confirm, in different ways, the hypothesis that it is possible to perform consistent productive strategies with the maximization of social welfare, despite the apparent antagonism among these three dimensions. In addition, it is shown that efficient Brazilian states tend to combine the three dimensions in different ways. Hence, it can be concluded that several equilibrium taken sustainable can be achieved through different actions on poverty and environmental impact reduction without necessarily generating productive inefficiencies. This result can be considered of prominent importance for sustainable development in Brazil and can also serve as a reference in the definition of goals of the plan ‘Brazil without Misery’ and international commitments to reduce Greenhouse Gas – GHG – in Brazil, especially for the 17 inefficient Brazilian states.

Income inequality and environmental degradation: estimates with panel data in Brazilian states

In recent years, income inequality and environmental degradation studies of BRICs members or countries such as Brazil have become a topic of lively debate because of their significant influence on regional and global affairs and fast–growing economies. Taking this into account and extending the line of research of Bhattacharya and Lueck, Chimeli, Vollebergh, Melenberg and Dijkgraaf and Wei, the present paper examines the economic relationship between income inequality and environmental degradation with panel data in the Brazilian states. In order to examine this way, in which subjects are connected, the ordinary least squares - OLS is used, considering the fuzzy set theory. In conclusion, we identified that the relationship between the social and environmental indexes were not significant. Consequently, we believe that the main explanation for this result is the lack of non–specialised workforce and several laws for controlling the environmental degradation in many Brazilian states.

Efeito da Redução do IPI no Setor de Construção Civil Brasileiro de 2008 a 2013

Este artigo tem como objetivo principal verificar o efeito da alíquota do Imposto sobre Produtos Industrializados (IPI) sobre o crescimento do setor de construção civil entre os anos de 2008 a 2013, por meio da análise de estatística descritiva e regressão múltipla. Os resultados revelaram que a desoneração do IPI afetou o crescimento do resultado bruto das empresas de construção civil, assim como a maior disponibilidade de financiamento imobiliário no mercado. A contribuição desse estudo é a discussão sobre a efetividade da política tributária por meio da renúncia fiscal adotada com o intuito de minimizar os efeitos da crise econômica.

Staff sizing as a mechanism of efficiency: An application of a non-parametric method

Abstract The concept of staff sizing aims to estimate or determine the ideal or optimal number of people needed to perform some organizational activities, which can be considered as a trend. So, models for staff sizing constitute a fundamental part of accurately identifying staff allocation. The objective of this paper is to propose a framework for decision-making based on Data Envelopment Analysis–DEA, to estimate the staff sizing in a Brazilian entity responsible for promoting and supporting the competitiveness and sustainable development of micro and small enterprises. Data collection was carried out in the headquarters of the entity, located in Brasilia. Firstly, interviews were carried with managers in order to assess qualitatively the needs of staff for each service unit. Secondly, the documental analysis of reports from 21 units was analyzed quantitatively in order to determine their efficiency in terms of staff sizing. The results found through DEA show that only three service units can be considered efficient in terms of staff sizing. Thus, there is a need to reduce the number of workers in most of the organization. In this context, the contributions for the entity lie in the discussion on the creation of quantitative indicators and the adoption of an efficiency analysis, which can be used to better estimate or determine the optimal quantity of staff. This paper innovates by proposing a quantitative and systematized approach to estimate the staff sizing, which is the DEA.

Eficiência técnica da vacinação contra Hepatite B por análise envoltória de dado

O Programa Nacional de Imunizacoes (PNI) e considerado um programa de referencia no controle e extincao de algumas doencas, como hepatite B, foco deste estudo, doenca com combate previsto no calendario nacional de imunizacao. Para a presente pesquisa, foram extraidos dados da base do dominio do PNI, na internet, relativos as notificacoes de agravos, retirados do Sistema Nacional de Notificacao de Agravos (Sinan).

Sostenibilidad de la deuda de los estados brasileños: un análisis de la deuda neta y del saldo primario

Public debt is an important element of governmental finances and its sustainability is an indication of the good management of a governments fiscal policy. This study aims to verify the sustainability of state debt in aggregate form by analyzing the cointegration and fiscal reaction of state primary balance and net debt, using monthly data from December/2001 to May/2014. The results indicate the existence of cointegration between the sets of primary balance and the state net debt, and that state governments have generated primary surpluses in view of state net debt growth. Therefore, there is evidence of debt sustainability concerning state debt during the period under analysis. However, recent challenges such as fiscal slackening and the slowdown in economic activity may make future sustainability uncertain.

Sustentabilidade da dívida estadual brasileira: uma análise da relação dívida líquida e resultado primário

Public debt is an important element of governmental finances and its sustainability is an indication of the good management of a governments fiscal policy. This study aims to verify the sustainability of state debt in aggregate form by analyzing the cointegration and fiscal reaction of state primary balance and net debt, using monthly data from December/2001 to May/2014. The results indicate the existence of cointegration between the sets of primary balance and the state net debt, and that state governments have generated primary surpluses in view of state net debt growth. Therefore, there is evidence of debt sustainability concerning state debt during the period under analysis. However, recent challenges such as fiscal slackening and the slowdown in economic activity may make future sustainability uncertain.

Brazilian State debt sustainability: an analysis of net debt and primary balance

Public debt is an important element of governmental finances and its sustainability is an indication of the good management of a governments fiscal policy. This study aims to verify the sustainability of state debt in aggregate form by analyzing the cointegration and fiscal reaction of state primary balance and net debt, using monthly data from December/2001 to May/2014. The results indicate the existence of cointegration between the sets of primary balance and the state net debt, and that state governments have generated primary surpluses in view of state net debt growth. Therefore, there is evidence of debt sustainability concerning state debt during the period under analysis. However, recent challenges such as fiscal slackening and the slowdown in economic activity may make future sustainability uncertain.

Decision Model on Basic Sanitation Management Using Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC)

Discussions addressing basic sanitation frequently revolve around the question of urban drainage and solid waste. In this context, the management of public policies in Brazil has been undergoing an intense change in recent years, with the incorporation of new methods and tools for analysis of areas of intervention, public programs monitoring, and in decision making in general. This chapter illustrates the use of information by a public official in order to decide whether to invest and how much to invest in basic sanitation and waste collection. The information is paramount to evaluate the prospects of a policy. In order to demonstrate the decision-making process regarding the systematic relation between alterations in income and the quality of the environment, we use the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC).

Conselhos de saúde e controle social: um estudo comparativo dos relatórios de prestação de contas das Secretarias Estaduais de Saúde

The exercise of social control is one of the democratic practices applied to the Brazilian national healthcare system. Different mechanisms were provided to this end, among which are the accountability reports. These reports are prepared by the Healthcare Secretariats and submitted to deliberation of their respective Healthcare Councils, in order to ensure transparency in public actions. This article discusses a comparative analysis of the accountability reports from different State Healthcare Secretariats, as a mean of publicizing this type of information. A survey of qualitative nature was conducted on documents which covered the years 2008 and 2009 for the following states: Parana, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, Espirito Santo and Rio de Janeiro. The results suggest that, although the State Secretariats disclose most of the variables evaluated, Healthcare Councils do not explicit the public management analysis on their own statements. This suggests that the evaluation process for this type of information needs to be improved with regards to the way it is interpreted and the recommendations it makes to improve public healthcare policies. Further issues to be addressed are: defining priorities when applying funds and establishing goals and objectives, since these do not yet feature in most of the accountability reports issued by the States. Future research should seek to establish if the scale of the involvement of the healthcare councils actually leads to improved results in their accountability reports.