[pt] Intermediação financeira se intensificou fortemente no Brasil entre 2002 e 2013. Este período também foi marcado por forte crescimento econômico com queda na desigualdade de renda. O objetivo deste trabalho é investigar o efeito do desenvolvimento financeiro observado no Brasil sobre crescimento econômico e desigualdade usando um modelo dinâmico de escolha ocupacional com fricções financeiras. No modelo, agentes com riqueza e habilidades distintas tomam decisões de trabalhar ou empreender, mas são sujeitos a restrições de crédito que distorcem a alocação de fatores. Nossos resultados indicam um aumento de 15 por cento no PIB per capita e de 2 por cento na PTF, e um leve aumento na desigualdade de renda. Há um forte efeito de equilíbrio geral sobre o salário, que aumenta em 14 por cento. / [en] Financial depth surged in Brazil during the mid-2000s, largely as a result from institutional reforms. At the same time, the country experienced strong economic growth with decreasing income inequality. The objective of this work is to gain perspective on the effects of this financial development on growth and distribution at the national level. We do this through the lens of a dynamic model with financial frictions, in which agents who differ in their wealth and abilities as workers and entrepreneurs make occupational and productive choices under credit constraints. We calibrate the model to replicate the financial deepening observed in Brazil from 2003 to 2012. Our main results indicate that GDP per capita increases by 15 percent and TFP by 2 per cent. Workers benefit indirectly as wages rise by 14 percent in equilibrium. Yet, income inequality slightly increases.

O presente trabalho discute como uma mudança de paradigma econômico pode contribuir para uma economia ecologicamente responsável. Em linha com esse propósito num primeiro momento são apresentados os sinais da necessidade dessa mudança. Nessa primeira parte são apresentadas algumas das insuficiências das ferramentas econômicas tradicionais para uma harmonização com o meio ambiente. Num segundo momento são discutidas ideias alternativas para a abordagem da relação entre crescimento econômico e meio ambiente: economia e entropia, estado estacionário e prosperidade sem crescimento. Nessas discussões foi dada ênfase aos estudos dos economistas Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen, Herman Daly e Timothy Jackson. Na parte seguinte são discutidas as implicações éticas para o desenvolvimento de um modelo econômico ecologicamente responsável. Por fim, por meio do estudo da Comissão Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi, do Índice de Progresso Social e de Índices de Felicidade argumenta-se como novas medidas de desenvolvimento econômico, social e ambiental podem contribuir para um paradigma econômico ecologicamente responsável. / This study discuss how a change of economic paradigm could contribute to an environmentally responsible economy. In order to do this, at first, the signs of the need for this paradigm shift are presented. On this matter the shortcomings of traditional economic tools for harmonization with the environment are analysed. Secondly, alternative ideias to address the relationship between economic growth and the environment, such as economy and entropy, steady state, and prosperity without growth are discussed. In these discussions the studies of economists like Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen, Herman Daly and Timothy Jackson, are emphasized. In the next part of this study the ethical implications for the development of an environmentally responsible economic model are approached. Finally, through the study of the Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi Comssion, the Social Progress Index and Happiness Index, it is shown how new measures of economic, social and environmental development could contribute to an environmentally responsible economic paradigm.

A importância do investimento em capital humano para o crescimento econômico de um país foi o que motivou esta dissertação. Procuramos explicá-lo analisando a eficácia na utilização da verba do Programa Nacional de Assistência Estudantil (PNAES), através do desempenho acadêmico dos estudantes. Inicialmente, apresentamos uma revisão de alguns modelos desenvolvidos para explicar o crescimento econômico e após, incluímos a visão dos economistas Adam Smith e Alfred Marshall sobre a relação entre crescimento econômico e educação. A Teoria do Capital Humano nas visões de Theodore Schultz, Gary Becker e Jacob Mincer foi apresentada e comentamos a influência do nível de educação no crescimento econômico e as externalidades positivas da educação. Através de uma perspectiva histórica, mostramos como a educação superior foi expandindo ao longo dos anos e, através de pesquisa documental, apresentamos as mais recentes políticas públicas educacionais para o ensino superior no Brasil. Abordamos amplamente o PNAES e sua aplicação na Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). Foi realizada a análise dos dados da pesquisa, através do teste t-Student para duas amostras independentes, com o propósito de verificar se as ações motivadas pelo PNAES têm garantido igualdade de condições entre os estudantes em vulnerabilidade socioeconômica e que são beneficiários do PNAES e os demais estudantes. Optamos por utilizar a Taxa de Integralização Média (TIM) do curso e a do estudante para avaliar o desempenho acadêmico. Concluímos que o PNAES foi parcialmente eficaz quando comparamos o desempenho acadêmico dos estudantes de graduação da UFRGS: beneficiados e não beneficiados, cujas médias das TIMs percentuais não são iguais, mas os dois grupos apresentaram uma média da TIM percentual superior a 50% da média da TIM dos respectivos cursos, evidenciando que os estudantes vão conseguir concluir o seu curso no tempo máximo permitido pela Universidade. No grupo de estudantes que ingressaram na modalidade baixa renda, os dados evidenciaram que o PNAES está sendo eficaz porque não existe igualdade entre as médias das taxas percentuais e, também, observamos que os estudantes que solicitaram os benefícios apresentam, na média, taxas maiores do que os demais. Recomendamos a realização de estudos detalhados do desempenho acadêmico por curso, o acompanhamento pedagógico aos estudantes beneficiados, a manutenção de banco de dados atualizado e a avaliação permanente do PNAES por meio de indicadores de monitoramento. / The importance of investment in human capital for the economic growth of a country was the motivation for this thesis. We attempt to explain this by analyzing the efficacy in the use of the National Program of Student Assistance (PNAES) through the analysis of the academic performance of students. We begin by showing a review of some models developed to explain the economic growth. Then, we introduce the views of the economists Adam Smith and Alfred Marshall on the relation between economic growth and education. We then present the Human Capital Theory from the viewpoints of Theodore Schultz, Gary Becker and Jacob Mincer and comment on the influence of the level of education on the economic growth and the positive externalities of education. Next, we use a historical perspective to demonstrate how higher education has expanded over the years, and we use documentary research to present the most recent affirmative actions in higher education in Brazil. We approach in detail the application of PNAES at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). We used Student's t-test for the data analysis of two independent samples in order to verify if the actions encouraged by PNAES have been assuring equal conditions among regular students and students who face social economic vulnerability and are beneficiaries of PNAES. We use the course and the student's Average Completion Rates (TIM) to evaluate academic performance. Based on the comparison between students of higher education at UFRGS who are beneficiaries of PNAES and students who are not beneficiaries of PNAES, we concluded that PNAES was partially effective. The percentage TIMs are not the same for the two groups, but both have percentage TIM above 50% in regards to the average TIM of the respective courses. This shows both groups of students will be able to conclude their courses within the time allowed by the university. Considering only the group of students who joined the university through the low-income modality, data show that PNAES has been effective because there is no equality between the average percentage rates. We have also noted that students who applied for the grant have, on average, higher rates than the remaining students do. We recommend the conduction of detailed studies on academic performance per course, pedagogic supervision of beneficiaries, maintenance of updated database, and permanent evaluation of PNAES with monitoring indicators.

Without doubt a well-developed financial sector is related to efficient resource allocation and growth, but there is modest consensus on the direction of that link, on the notion of what is meant by "well developed", on which subset of the financial market is crucial and thus which organisational set-up provides optimal returns for both architects and market participants alike. With sluggish growth, torn down market barriers and systemic change in the EU accession countries the direction, magnitude, sustainability, institutional set-up of the finance-growth nexus (and which), becomes one of the core issues of both macroeconomic theory and practice. This paper reviews the economic theory available, provides a well structured overview of 54 empirical studies conducted since 1964, sets the stage for constructing a data base encompassing the major three segments of financial markets (stock, bond and bank credit) and provides the methodological background for combining cross-country production function and time-series approaches in order to answer the following questions: (1) What is the direction of the finance-growth nexus, (2) which segment of the financial sector drives whatever nexus there is, and (3) what are the features of a growth supportive financial architecture. / Series: EI Working Papers / Europainstitut

The necessity of economic growth is a conventional wisdom of our time, assumed to lead to more prosperity and be a panacea for any societal problem. However, infinite economic growth is hard to reconcile with a finite planet, and there is a growing body of evidence that suggests that growth is no panacea nor inherently linked to prosperity. With the starting point that news media is of ideological importance, this study investigates how the hegemony of growth (as it has been called by Schmelzer [2016]) is perpetuated in news. Through a narrative analysis of articles from 2017, from Dagens Nyheter (DN) and Times of India (TOI) it analyses how news describes benefits of GDP growth, constructs stakeholders in relation to it, and discusses the ideological implications of these portrayals. The results show that the basic narratives are similar in both newspapers and primarily describe economic growth as desirable, without any references to contested status of the ability of growth to lead to prosperity – perpetuating the hegemony of growth. Many position the state as responsible for generating growth, others describe corporate growth as something good in and of itself, and the narratives create a ‘we’ in relation to ‘the economy’. These are narratives with implications for how societies negotiate between economic growth and competing goals, e.g. keeping within the planetary boundaries. Further, as growth cannot be assumed to automatically lead to ‘better’, this has implications for how journalistic autonomy should be perceived in relation to economic reporting.

This thesis studies the poor development performance of resource-rich developing economies, known as the resource curse. In the first chapter we provide a comprehensive literature review of the topic and the channels through which resource abundance can result in the resource curse. Issues of corruption and governance have been emphasised to be the main driver of the resource curse. This has been illustrated by a negative relationship between resource abundance and corruption control in the literature. However, there is a gap in how natural resources facilitate corruption. In the second chapter, using empirical analysis, we study the role of taxation in the relationship between natural resources and corruption. Taxation is usually seen as a social contract between citizens and government -- people pay taxes and in return they hold their government accountable for efficient allocation of their taxes. Resource abundance shifts the reliance of government from tax incomes to resource rents. People therefore, have no sustainable mechanism to hold their government responsible for corruption and wrongdoings inside public institutions. Using different econometric methods, Pooled OLS, Fixed Effects and 3SLS, our results show that natural resource revenues crowd out incomes from tax revenues. Meanwhile, taxation has a positive and significant impact on the control of corruption throughout our analysis. The results suggest that resource-rich developing countries should invest in building their tax systems to increase their non-resource tax revenues. This will increase state capacity and demand for accountability in the public sector among citizens and hence decreases corruption. Related to our second chapter, in the third chapter we study a cash transfer programme, known as oil-to-cash, which has gained support as a tool to re-establish taxation and fight corruption. Under such a plan, resource revenues are distributed directly among the public and then each citizen is taxed optimally. Through this, government relies directly and fully on its citizens for its income. Hence, taxation is reinstated and the social contract is revived. Within a general equilibrium model we show how this happens and what the implications are of the oil-to-cash programme for economic growth. Our results clearly show how corruption results in a resource curse. Furthermore, the model explains the variation that is seen in the degree of the resource curse across countries. The study also analyses the practical barriers of the oil-to-cash plan. The study suggests that parallel to (or even prior to) such a plan countries need to invest in building their tax system and increasing their administrative capacities.

The diploma thesis deals with the labour productivity in an international context. The aim of this thesis is to map the development of labour productivity in individual countries of the European Union and to evaluate how labour productivity contributes to the economic growth of individual states. The theoretical part is focused on labour productivity and economic growth. The practical part analyses labour productivity and economic growth of individual EU member states. Consequently, it is pointed out the interdependence of labour productivity and economic growth. The impact of labour productivity on economic growth is examined through regression analysis. The result of the thesis is the division of states into countries where labour productivity affects economic growth and states where it is not. Labour productivity and economic growth are assessed over the period 2007-2016.

O processo de desenvolvimento da economia cabo-verdiana, historicamente, sofre com as restrições estruturais endógenas, tais como, condições naturais, já que o país é constituído por territórios insulares, chuvas irregulares e produção agrícola reduzida, restringidas condições financeiras do estado e do setor privado para investimentos em projetos estruturais de longo prazo, ausência de riquezas, exceto sol, vento e pessoas, e, por fim, a precária capacidade interna para investimento na infra-estrutura e setores estratégicos, tais como, o turismo, a energia, a agricultura, a pesca, o transporte, a educação, entre outras. Apesar dessas restrições, Cabo Verde vem apresentando, desde 1990, alguns avanços econômicos, sociais e institucionais, se comparada com a maioria das economias do continente africano. Existem, no âmbito oficial, várias explicações para esse desempenho. Mas, nesta tese procuramos problematizar o desempenho da economia, a partir do setor da emigração, mais especificamente, a relação entre as Remessas dos Trabalhadores Emigrantes (RTE) e o crescimento econômico do país. Concluímos que as RTE além contribuírem para o crescimento e desenvolvimento da economia cabo-verdiana, em geral, a Diáspora Cabo-verdiana é indispensável para a construção de políticas que visam potencializar e acelerar as ações que reforçam a multiplicação dos canais de desenvolvimento no país. Por isso, é fundamental o reconhecimento político e econômico da participação dos emigrantes no desenvolvimento nacional visando não só à sustentabilidade das remessas, mas também à construção de novos arranjos institucionais que priorizem a valorização dos quadros da Diáspora e reformular as políticas de cooperação diplomática com os países anfitriões. Essas ações são importantes porque reforçam os laços da comunidade emigrada com o país de origem, potencializa o desenvolvimento de políticas de integração e proteção das respectivas comunidades, além da difusão das informações sobre as oportunidades de investimento no arquipélago. Logo, concentrar os esforços para atraírem os Investimentos Estrangeiros de Origem dos Emigrantes Cabo-verdianos (IEOECV) significa, sem dúvida, agregar e modernizar a trajetória do crescimento econômico do país. / The process of development of the cape verdean economy, historically suffers from endogenous structural constraints, such as natural conditions, since the country is composed of island territories, erratic rainfall and reduced agricultural production, limited financial conditions of state and industry private investment in long-term structural projects, lack of wealth, except the sun, wind and people, and, finally, poor internal capacity for investment in infrastructure and strategic sectors such as tourism, energy, agriculture, fishing, transport, education, among others. Despite those restrictions, Cape Verde has been showing since 1990, some economic, social and institutional advances, as compared with most economies in Africa. There, under official number of explanations for this performance. But in this thesis we try to confront the economy's performance from the sector of emigration, more specifically, the relationship between workers' remittances (RTE) and the country's economic growth. We conclude that the RTE contribute to the growth and development of the cape verdean economy, in general, that the Cape Verdean Diaspora is indispensable for the construction of policies to increase and accelerate actions that reinforce the multiplication of channels development in the country. Therefore, it´s essential to recognize the political and economic participation of emigrants in national development aiming at not only the sustainability of remittances but also the construction of new institutional arrangements the give priority to the recovery of the Diaspora frames and framing policies for diplomatic cooperation with the host countries. These actions are important because they reinforce the bonds of community emigrated to the country of origin, potentiates the development of integration policies and protection of respectives communities, beyond the dissemination of information on investment opportunities in the archipelago. Therefore, focus efforts to attract Foreign Investment in Origin of Cape Verdean Emigrants (FIOECV) means, no doubt, add and update the trajectory of economic growth of country.

Este trabalho busca analisar a relação existente entre a distribuição de renda e o crescimento econômico no caso brasileiro desde 1985. Em um primeiro momento, a partir da visão mundial, é feita uma revisão das principais teorias relacionando a desigualdade de renda e o crescimento econômico. É realizada uma revisão das formas de mensuração de desigualdade de renda, e então são mostrados os resultados obtidos pela análise empírica da relação entre desigualdade e crescimento. Na seqüência há uma explanação sobre o histórico da desigualdade no Brasil e são realizados testes empíricos com base nas séries históricas brasileiras de desigualdade e crescimento. A análise será a nível nacional e estadual e compreenderá os testes de convergência Beta e Sigma, utilização de dados em painel com variáveis cointegradas, o cálculo da Fronteira de Possibilidade de Desigualdade e a Razão da Extração da Desigualdade. Por fim, observa-se que a diversidade de abordagens existentes sobre a desigualdade expõe que o tema ainda é de grande relevância e, levando-se em conta o contexto brasileiro de alto nível de desigualdade, essa importância aumenta ainda mais. / This paper aims to analyze the relationship between distribution of income and economic growth in Brazil since 1985. Firstly, the main theories and studies relating income inequality and economic growth are reviewed. Then an explanation about the possible ways to measure income inequality is made, and the results obtained by empirical analysis are shown. Subsequently there is a review about the history of inequality in Brazil and some empirical tests, based on Brazilian historical series of inequality and growth. The analysis will be carried out in national and state levels and will include Beta and Sigma convergence tests, panel data with cointegrated variables and Inequality Possibility Frontier calculus and the Ratio of Maximum Inequality at state level. Finally, we observe that the diversity of approaches on inequality demonstrates that the issue is still of great importance and, taking into account the Brazilian context of high inequality, it becomes even more important

O objetivo deste estudo é determinar a relação de causalidade entre investimento e crescimento econômico no Brasil no período 1947-2009. As evidências econométricas com uso de vetores autorregressivos (VAR) apontaram precedência do crescimento. Em todos os testes de impacto do investimento do período precedente no crescimento constatou-se correlação negativa entre as variáveis, corroborando outros estudos empíricos recentes na literatura econômica. / The aim of this study is to determine the causal relationship between investment and economic growth in Brazil for the period 1947-2009. The econometric evidence, using Vector Autoregression (VAR) methodology, pointed to the precedence of growth. In all empirical tests, a negative correlation between investment in the previous period and economic growth was found, corroborating other recent empirical studies in economic literature.