Verônica Inês Fernandez Orellano

A substituição de trabalhadores como instrumento para redução de gastos com salários: evidências para a indústria paulista

Labor churning is an important component of labor turnover in Brazil, which includes job reallocation between firms. The labor churning evolution in the nineties, at least for the industry sector in Sao Paulo, folows a very similar path for different groups of firms (divided by size or by subsectors), suggesting that changes in the macroeconomic environment affect labor churning in a very similar way for different firms. This paper proposes a model to explain the path of formal labor churning in Brazil. The model admits that employers, when facing exogenous shocks that rise real wage, may substitute employees to reduce wage costs, particularly in low inflation periods, when real wages are more rigid. An econometric analysis is conducted using disaggregated data by firms for the industry sector in the Metropolitan Region of Sao Paulo. The results confirm the model´s main hipotesis. The results also reveal that, after the monetary estabilization, controlling for the direct effect of estabilization, labor churning \upshape is relatively higher.

Health spending autonomy and infant mortality rates: A matter of local administrative capacity?

ABSTRACT:Brazil opted for decentralization in the provision of health services at the time of the 1988 Constitution´s promulgation. The municipalities became entirely responsible for primary healthcare provision, sharing financing responsibilities with the central government. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the impact of health spending autonomy on infant mortality rates, using Brazilian local data from 2000 to 2007. As a measure of spending autonomy we used the share (%) of overall health expenditures financed by municipalities’ own resources. The larger the share of health expenditures which is not financed by the central government (grants), the greater the autonomy, because local governments can decide how and on what to spend these resources, and most of intergovernmental transfers to the health sector are allocated to predefined specific purposes. The fixed effects estimates, through the use of an instrumental variables approach, show that, on average, greater spending autonomy is not associated with lower infant mortality rates. However, given that local governments and populations are different in many aspects, it is reasonable to expect a heterogeneous response to decentralization. Galiani et al. (2008), for instance, assess the hypothesis that decentralization of high schools in Argentina may have increased the difference in educational outcomes. Could the same have happened to the quality of health in Brazilian municipalities? In well-managed municipalities and in which individuals participate actively and can support their preferences, fiscal autonomy ought to improve the delivery of public services. Using a measure of efficiency in the delivery of health services to split the municipalities in two groups, we got significant results for the more efficient municipalities, implying an increase in inequality. This measure corresponds to efficiency scores estimated using data envelopment analysis (DEA). We also test for heterogeneous impacts of the Family Health Program (PSF), the most important Brazilian basic health care policy, which main expansion occurred until 2007. It is a federal Program that each municipality runs independently. Again, we find evidence of a heterogeneous response, since PSF only reduces infant mortality rates in efficient municipalities. We then confirm Galiani’s (2008) hypothesis that decentralization may help only the best to do even better.

Analysis of the return on the social and environmental investments of brazilian companies

This paper investigates the correlation between firm’s financial and social/environmental performance for Brazilian companies from 2001 to 2007; based on two types of panel data econometric models; which aim to analyze correlation and causality. The fixed effects model was used to estimate correlation; while a panel data IV model was used to investigate causality. The results how a positive correlation between corporate social/environmental and financial performance; mainly in the case of internal social investment; which is strongly positively correlated with the variable return on assets (ROA). The causality analysis also showed that the internal social investment has a positive and significant effect on ROA. This result is in accordance with those obtained by Laan et al (2008); which indicate that disregarding the wishes of the primary stakeholders (employees; consumers and investors) contributes negatively to performance measures.

Análise do retorno dos investimentos socioambientais das empresas brasileiras

This paper investigates the correlation between firm’s financial and social/environmental performance for Brazilian companies from 2001 to 2007; based on two types of panel data econometric models; which aim to analyze correlation and causality. The fixed effects model was used to estimate correlation; while a panel data IV model was used to investigate causality. The results how a positive correlation between corporate social/environmental and financial performance; mainly in the case of internal social investment; which is strongly positively correlated with the variable return on assets (ROA). The causality analysis also showed that the internal social investment has a positive and significant effect on ROA. This result is in accordance with those obtained by Laan et al (2008); which indicate that disregarding the wishes of the primary stakeholders (employees; consumers and investors) contributes negatively to performance measures.

Análisis del retorno de las inversiones socioambientales de las empresas brasileñas

This paper investigates the correlation between firm’s financial and social/environmental performance for Brazilian companies from 2001 to 2007; based on two types of panel data econometric models; which aim to analyze correlation and causality. The fixed effects model was used to estimate correlation; while a panel data IV model was used to investigate causality. The results how a positive correlation between corporate social/environmental and financial performance; mainly in the case of internal social investment; which is strongly positively correlated with the variable return on assets (ROA). The causality analysis also showed that the internal social investment has a positive and significant effect on ROA. This result is in accordance with those obtained by Laan et al (2008); which indicate that disregarding the wishes of the primary stakeholders (employees; consumers and investors) contributes negatively to performance measures.