Maria Dolores Montoya Diaz

Analysis of the evolution and determinants of income-related inequalities in the Brazilian health system, 1998 - 2008

OBJECTIVE To analyze the evolution and determinants of income-related inequalities in the Brazilian health system between 1998 and 2008. METHODS Data from the National Household Sampling Surveys of 1998, 2003, and 2008 were used to analyze inequalities in health and health care. Health was measured by self-reported health status, physical limitations, and chronic illness. Hospitalization and physician and dentist visits were proxies for health care utilization. Income was a proxy for socioeconomic status. Concentration indices were calculated before and after standardization for all dependent variables. Decomposition analysis was used to identify the main determinants of inequality in health care utilization. RESULTS In all three periods analyzed, the poor reported worse health status, while the wealthy reported more chronic diseases; health care utilization was pro-rich for medical and dental services. Yet, income-related inequality in health care utilization has been declining. Private health insurance, education, and income are the major contributors to the inequalities identified. CONCLUSIONS Income-related inequality in the use of medical and dental health care is gradually declining in Brazil. The decline is associated with implementation of pro-equity policies and programs, such as the Community Health Agents Program and the Family Health Program.

The effects of processing non-timber forest products and trade partnerships on people's well-being and forest conservation in Amazonian societies.

This study evaluated whether processing non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and establishing trade partnerships between forest communities and companies enhance the outcomes of NTFP commercialization. In particular, we evaluated whether product processing, partnerships, or their combination was associated with a number of outcomes related to the well-being of forest inhabitants and forest conservation. We based our analyses on ethnographic and quantitative data (i.e., survey and systematic observations) gathered at seven communities from five societies of the Brazilian and Bolivian Amazon. Our results indicated that product processing and partnerships do not represent a silver bullet able to improve the results of NTFP commercialization in terms of well-being and conservation indicators. Compared with cases without interventions, households adopting partnerships but not product processing were most often associated with improved economic proxies of well-being (total income, NTFP income, food consumption and gender equality in income). In comparison, the combination of product processing and partnerships was associated with similar outcomes. Unexpectedly, product processing alone was associated with negative outcomes in the economic indicators of well-being. All of the investigated strategies were associated with less time spent in social and cultural activities. With respect to forest conservation, the strategies that included a partnership with or without processing produced similar results: while household deforestation tended to decrease, the hunting impact increased. Processing alone was also associated with higher levels of hunting, though it did not reduce deforestation. Our results indicate that establishing partnerships may enhance the outcomes of NTFP trade in terms of the financial outcomes of local communities, but practitioners need to use caution when adopting the processing strategy and they need to evaluate potential negative results for indicators of social and cultural activities. With respect to conservation, the three strategies are promising for reducing deforestation, but more pervasive impacts, such as hunting, might increase.

Desigualdades socioeconômicas na saúde

This paper analyses Brazilian socio-economic inequalities in health through the measurement of concentration indices for the variable self-assessed health status. Data used were taken from the 1996/97 Living Standard Measurement Study (LSMS). In summary, as far as socio-economic status variable distinction is concerned, it should be stressed that the degree of inequalities found when stratification was based on household total income per equivalent adult was slightly higher than that found when stratification was based on household total consumption expenditure per equivalent adult. The differences cited were shown statistically significant. With reference to the construction of equivalence scales for each household, one generally finds that the results are robust in relation to the different values used. The indices found for self-assessed health status reveal that health inequalities favour the richer.

Metodologia de Avaliação de Custos nas Universidades Públicas: Economias de Escala e de Escopo

A four-output cost function is used to investigate the existence of economies of scale and scope in the University of Sao Paulo. The following outputs were incorporated: undergraduate teaching, graduate teaching, thesis and dissertations concluded and teachers publications. A panel data model was estimated for 35 Universitys education and research units, employing data for the period 1996 to 1999. Our results provided evidence of the existence of product-specific scale economies only for undergraduate and graduate teaching. Product-specific constant returns to scale were observed in the other two products. However, product-specific economies of scope emerged in all products. Therefore, the research university model, combining undergraduation, graduation and research appeared to be more cost efficient. Finally, it was interesting to note that the marginal costs estimated were: R

Mortgages for machinery: credit and industrial investment in pre-World War I Brazil

14.23 for undergraduate teaching, R

Qualidade do gasto público municipal em ensino fundamental no Brasil

64.79 for graduate teaching, R

Efetividade No Ensino Superior Brasileiro: Aplicação De Modelos Multinível À Análise Dos Resultados Do Exame Nacional De Cursos

24,206.96 for thesis and dissertations concluded and R

Exit and Failure of Credit Unions in Brazil: A Risk Analysis

3,976.02 for books and papers published.

Obesidade e o sucesso no mercado de trabalho utilizando a POF 2008-2009

How could a primitive credit market finance the early industrialisation of an underdeveloped economy? To answer this question, we use a hand-collected data set of mortgage loans raised by industrial firms in the city of SA£o Paulo during the period 1866-1914. These mortgages were debt obligations collateralised by land, improvements, machinery and equipment. We argue that the mortgage credit market was a key source of funding for early industrial investments in Brazil. We find that industries were mainly funded by non-banking and domestic agents. The empirical evidence suggests that mortgages were an important proxy for industrial investment.