Made available in DSpace on 2010-04-20T20:48:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3 86620.pdf.jpg: 13242 bytes, checksum: 885f35442de57f3998a650acbe31105c (MD5) 86620.pdf.txt: 315096 bytes, checksum: df8d5eee8ecd736b2e01c689b4f4d223 (MD5) 86620.pdf: 1845046 bytes, checksum: 48621271d50cf2a76541e24dce8ccf69 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2003-02-04T00:00:00Z / Evaluate the tax collection and proposes a typology for the way Brazilian municipalities perform with regard to taxation, and aims at helping in the understanding of the difficulties faced by the local authorities in levying taxes. The survey encompasses 4617 municipalities, grouped according to the importance of each tax within the total revenue. The groups have been obtained through the use of Cluster Analysis, a multivariate data analysis technique. / Avalia o desempenho da arrecadação e propõe uma tipologia para o comportamento tributário dos municípios brasileiros com o objetivo de auxiliar na compreensão das dificuldades enfrentadas pelos governos municipais na cobrança dos tributos de sua competência. A pesquisa abrange 4.617 municípios, que foram agrupados segundo a importância de cada tributo no cômputo de sua receita total. Os agrupamentos foram obtidos empregando-se a Análise de Cluster, uma técnica de análise multivariada de dados que permite encontrar e separar grupos similares.

This habilitation thesis consists of seven published journal articles and one published book chapter. Part I, consisting of chapter 1, introduces the overarching theme of environmental policy instruments and discusses the current use of and prospects for economic instruments in conservation policies. A number of research gaps are identified which are addressed in the subsequent chapters. Part II, consisting of chapters 2–5, encompasses four papers focused on a single type of policy instrument: intergovernmental fiscal transfers. Although well documented in public finance literature, intergovernmental fiscal transfers remain a somewhat neglected instrument in environmental policy. Despite being well suited to address the spillover benefits that often accrue with conservation policies, there is scant research literature on ecological fiscal transfers compared to other economic instruments such as environmental taxes or tradable permits. In fact, very few countries make practical use of them to achieve conservation objectives. Thus intergovernmental fiscal transfers are an innovative instrument in conservation policies in particular, so that advances in both theory and applied research may prove especially beneficial here. Part III, consisting of chapters 6–9, combines a number of articles in integrative biodiversity research and applied biodiversity governance, themes that are often neglected in the economic analysis of environmental policy instruments. However, when implementing policy instruments in societal settings, interdisciplinary research bridging the natural and social sciences is as much a prerequisite as policy-relevant research that responds to the needs of decision makers and other stakeholders. Both policy design and policy evaluation yield the best outcomes when they involve ecologists, economists, legal and other social scientists, as this ensures that consideration is given to ecological effectiveness, economic efficiency, administrative feasibility, social acceptance, and perception by stakeholders. Policy-relevant research also responds to current societal developments and prospective changes in legislation which may provide windows of opportunity to propose new instruments. Meanwhile, sound empirical research and case study design are indispensable in making concrete policy recommendations, taking into account existing formal and informal institutions.