The Impacts of Income Transfer Programs on Income Distribution and Poverty in Brazil: An Integrated Microsimulation and Computable General Equilibrium Analysis

A persistent and very high-income inequality is a well known feature of the Brazilian economy. However, from 2001 to 2005 the Gini index presented an unprecedented fall of 4.6 percent combined with significant poverty reduction. Previous studies using partial equilibrium analysis have pointed out the importance of federal government transfer programs in this inequality reduction. The aim of this research is to evaluate the efficiency of the two most important cash transfer programs, “Bolsa Família” and “BPC”, in achieving their purpose of alleviating poverty and reducing the inequality in Brazil’s income distribution using an integrated modeling approach, the CGE-MS model. The simulation results confirm the importance of these programs in reducing inequality from 2003 to 2005. However, the effect on poverty alleviation was not strong. Finally, the methodological approach allows the identification of some important economic facts that were not presented in previous analyses, such as the issue of taxation structure that finances these policies.Computable general equilibrium model, microsimulation model, income distribution, cash transfer program, fiscal policy, Brazil

Pressions sélectives et nouveautés évolutives : une hypothèse pour comprendre certains aspects des fluctuations à long terme des poissons pélagiques côtiers

L'extinction de certains stocks pélagiques côtiers marins durant des périodes dépassant très largement la durée du cycle de vie des espèces, suivies parfois d'une réapparition brutale et en grande abondance de l'espèce, est observée. Les travaux menés en écologie marine et terrestre ainsi qu'en biologie évolutive permettent de mieux comprendre les raisons biologiques du maintien et de la récupération des biomasses amoindries. La sévérité de la compétition interspécifique pour l'espèce qui connaît un faible niveau d'abondance est rappelée. Les conséquences possibles de fortes pressions sélectives sur la dynamique des populations ainsi que le fort potentiel adaptif des espèces pélagiques sont soulignés. Enfin l'aptitude d'une espèce à exprimer une nouveauté évolutive lorsqu'elle est devenue rare dans le milieu est envisagée. Ainsi, nous admettons comme hypothèse que les longues périodes d'extinction au caractère attractif sont le fruit de pressions sélectives fortes et du moindre impact des fluctuations climatique

Constitución de la Federación Española de Asociaciones Profesionales de Arteterapia (FEAPA). 28 de Marzo de 2010

Sin resume

Experiencias y reflexiones de una alumna de Posgrado

. This paper carries out a consideration on the Master Programmes insertion in the Social Work capacity building. This event is regarded as a milestone in the Social Work development and evolution. The Madrid Complutense University Master Programme in Social Community Work, Management and Social Services Assessment Programme main features are describe. Also highlighting the change from a teaching paradigm to a learning paradigm, as well as the time span dedicated to the Practicum, its theoretical and practical orientation to research and opportunities opened to the grow and improvement of the scientific production in Social Work. Related to that, the Social Work scientific nature is analyzed, and it pleads in favour of an epistemological and methodological position that abides to the structural nature of the social phenomena we study and take part in. It is pointed out the fact that the very Social WorK history, its basically practical nature, and its traditional interest in social research constitute the warranty and basements of the Social Work development as a science. Therefore, the paper analyzes the importance of a specific capacity building in the field of social research like the one given in the Master Programme in order to endorse rigor, reliability and validity of our studies and its transcendence in the process of gathering and generation of Social Work specific knowledge.En este trabajo se lleva a cabo una reflexión acerca de la introducción de los Posgrados Oficiales en la formación de Trabajo Social, hecho que se considera un hito histórico en la trayectoria y evolución del Trabajo Social. Se describen las principales características del Programa de Posgrado en Trabajo Social Comunitario, Gestión y Evaluación de Servicios Sociales de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, destacando, además del cambio de paradigma de enseñanza al paradigma de aprendizaje y la dedicación a horas de Practicum, su orientación teórica y práctica a la investigación, y las posibilidades que ofrece de incremento y mejora de la producción científica en Trabajo Social. En relación con esto, se analiza el carácter científico del Trabajo Social y se argumenta a favor de un posicionamiento epistemológico y metodológico que, respetando la naturaleza y la singularidad de su objeto, se atenga al carácter estructural de muchos de los fenómenos sociales que estudiamos y en los que intervenimos. Se destaca, el hecho de que la propia historia del Trabajo Social, su naturaleza eminentemente práctica y su tradición de interés por los estudios de investigación social, constituyen, por sí mismas, la garantía y el fundamento del desarrollo del Trabajo Social como ciencia. Se analiza, por tanto, la importancia de una formación específica en el ámbito de la investigación social, como la que se imparte en el Posgrado, que avale el rigor, la fiabilidad y la validez de nuestros estudios y su trascendencia en el proceso de recopilación y generación de conocimiento específico del Trabajo Social

Ethics and science in brazilian legal discourse

The Brazilian Constitution of 1988 declares Brazil as a Democratic State of Law. This formally democratic legal status has been facing difficulties when it comes to its material implementation. Brazilian legal procedures are still greatly influenced by the catholic heritage from Portugal in the times of colonization, translated in the present times into a strong moral set of dogmas that still reflects upon the legal production and interpretation in the country. Recently in Brazil, a debate brought to the Supremo Tribunal Federal, the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court, has evidenced the struggle between Ethics and Morality in the country’s legal scenario. The focus of the discussion was the possibility of abortion of anencephalic fetuses (in Brazil, abortion in considered a crime against life). In order to properly ground its decision, the Court invited scientists, doctors, members of feminist movements and representatives of certain religions to a public dialogue, in which both scientific-technical and purely moral-religious arguments were presented. Although these procedures encouraged and promoted a democratic and pluralistic legal debate, it seems like the crucial point of the discussion were not taken into account: the scientific character of Law. This is the object of the present manuscript: in order to ensure an intersubjective construction and application of Law, this must be perceived as an Applied Social Science and judges, lawyers, legislators and all other legal actors must proceed in a scientific way. To illustrate the theme, the specific case of abortion of anencephalic fetuses will be mentioned through the text

Biogas from sugarcane vinasse: environmental, energy and regulatory issues for a political agenda in Braszil

XX Encontro Nacional de Economia Política: desenvolvimento Latino-Americano, Integração e Inserção Internacional - UNILA, Foz do Iguaçu, 26 a 29 de maio de 2015Brazil is the largest sugarcane producer in the world, an important input to ethanol production, which puts the country in a privileged position in biofuel world market. Besides the importance of sugar production in the sugarcane chain, this work focuses on ethanol production (ethanol industry), particularly its main waste, vinasse. Vinasse presents several environmental risks due to its bio composition and, if dumped in rivers or lakes, causes the phenomenon of eutrophication, which promotes a high growth of aquatic plant species and spread environmental problems. In this scenario, the anaerobic digestion of vinasse (the most abundant effl uent from a sugarcane biorefi nery) arises as an interesting alternative because, in addition to promoting the stabilization of organic matter, it also enables energy generation from biogas (biomethane). Anaerobic digestion generates biomethane and biofertilizer from vinasse. The objective of this article is to study the biogas potential generation from sugarcane vinasse in Brazil using anaerobic digestion technology also presenting the challenges and the governmental agenda required to develop biogas systems to sugarcane sector in Brazil. This work presented a huge biogas production potential from sugarcane vinasse. It can be used in multiple ways, and this work emphasized two important energy uses: to substitute natural gas and to generate electricity in a distributed generation concept. Besides the huge potential, there is an extensive agenda to solve and overcome the multiple barriers for biogas systems implementation in Brazil. According to international experience the strong governmental involvement is necessary and suffi cient condition to develop renewable energy sources. In that sense, biogas systems need to be inserted in Brazil’s policy agendaBanco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES); Usina Hidrelétrica de Itaipu (ITAIPU); Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) e Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-Americana (UNILA

Introducción al monográfico sobre Terapias Artísticas

Introducción al monográfico sobre Terapias Artística