Submitted by Lucas Nunes Pellegrino (lucasnpellegrino@gmail.com) on 2018-06-29T22:12:52Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Reconhecimento e legitimação jurisprudencial do Goodwill no Brasil - uma interpretação a partir da teoria econômica de John R. Commons.pdf: 2302092 bytes, checksum: ed7addaefd4de0d7707280ee216db0f9 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Aline Aparecida Matias null (alinematias@fclar.unesp.br) on 2018-07-03T11:34:40Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 pellegrino_ln_me_arafcl.pdf: 2302092 bytes, checksum: ed7addaefd4de0d7707280ee216db0f9 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-03T11:34:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 pellegrino_ln_me_arafcl.pdf: 2302092 bytes, checksum: ed7addaefd4de0d7707280ee216db0f9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-04-23 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / O texto objetivou analisar – de uma perspectiva do institucionalismo original – o processo de emergência, reconhecimento e legitimação jurídica/legal das formas de riqueza capitalistas intangíveis e incorpóreas em um país de capitalismo periférico, o Brasil. Claramente inspirado nas reflexões do economista institucionalista norte americano John R. Commons sobre a riqueza incorpórea e intangível, em especial o goodwill, e no papel do sistema legal na sua institucionalização, o texto toma a presença dessas formas de riqueza como sendo a expressão de maturidade do capitalismo monopolista, dada a imensa possibilidade que oferecem para a valorização do capital. O texto mostrou que no Brasil, à diferença dos EUA e outros países de capitalismo central, a presença de tais formas de riqueza foi inicialmente tardia (posterior aos anos 1920), e de certo modo limitada (circunscrita majoritariamente às atividades imobiliárias). Com a própria evolução e consolidação do capitalismo brasileiro, quando as novas formas de riqueza capitalistas foram ganhando peso e destaque, o sistema jurídico progressivamente foi se estruturando e se especializando para analisar e decidir sobre os conflitos originados da própria evolução do capitalismo brasileiro, em especial aqueles que envolveram o goodwill. Deste modo, buscamos compreender como tem sido o processo de regulamentação do goodwill pelo Estado na evolução do capitalismo e das instituições no Brasil, de modo a identificar e analisar casos jurídicos que possivelmente fundamentaram a lei, assim como as possíveis mudanças de entendimentos dos Tribunais de Cúpula (Supremo Tribunal Federal e Superior Tribunal de Justiça) daquilo que é considerado como prática “razoável” no que diz respeito ao goodwill, buscando delimitar os limites de ação dos indivíduos envolvidos e identificar as variáveis responsáveis por tais mudanças, sob a ótica da teoria de Commons. Vemos que parece haver consolidação incremental de jurisprudências acerca do goodwill ao longo das décadas (legitimando-o cada vez mais), principalmente em função do pequeno número de casos que subiram à terceira instância para decisão/delimitação das regras operacionais das transações que possam envolver esse ativo. / The text aimed to analyze - from a perspective of the original institutionalism - the process of emergence, recognition and law / legal legitimation of intangible and incorporeal capitalist wealth forms in a country of peripheral capitalism, Brazil. Clearly inspired by the reflections of North American institutional economist John R. Commons on incoporeal and intangible wealth, especially goodwill, and on the role of the legal system in its institutionalization, the text takes the presence of these forms of wealth as the expression of maturity of monopoly capitalism, given the immense possibility they offer for the valorization of capital. The text showed that in Brazil, unlike the USA and other countries of central capitalism, the presence of such forms of wealth was initially late (after the 1920s), and to a certain extent limited (mostly limited to real estate activities). With the evolution and consolidation of Brazilian capitalism itself, when the new forms of capitalist wealth gained weight and prominence, the legal system gradually became structured and specialized to analyze and decide on the conflicts originated from the very evolution of Brazilian capitalism, in particular those that involved goodwill. In this way, we seek to understand how the process of regulation of goodwill by the State in the evolution of capitalism and institutions in Brazil has been, in order to identify and analyze legal cases that possibly based the law, as well as the possible changes of understandings of the Courts of (Supreme Court and Superior Court of Justice) of what is considered a "reasonable" practice with respect to goodwill, seeking to delimit the limits of action of the individuals involved and to identify the variables responsible for such changes, from the point of view of the theory of Commons. We see that there seems to be an incremental consolidation of jurisprudence over goodwill over the decades (legitimating it more and more), mainly due to the small number of cases that have risen to the third instance for decision / delimitation of the operational rules of the transactions that may involve this active. / 148129/2016-1.

The present study offers an in-depth examination of the institutional framework within which money operated as an economic agent in the Roman empire. Analyses focus on Classical Roman Law as reflected in the writings of Roman jurists from the second and early-third centuries CE. The legal sources are augmented by documentary materials, which give independent, albeit sporadic, evidence for actual practice. The thesis follows current trends in economic history to adopt approaches advanced by New Institutional Economics (NIE), while generally accepting Keynesian claims for the endogenous nature of money. Its innovative contribution is in suggesting a complexity-oriented approach to modelling the behaviour of money in the Roman empire; seeing money as a complex economic phenomenon, i.e. as a diverse and manifold apparatus which allows for new patterns of activity to be created by individuals, who self-adjust their use of it to the continuously evolving system in which they operate. The thesis is divided into four parts. The first is introductory. The second concerns the legal institutional framework for economic interaction; with discussions generally organised according to Roman legal categorisation, and considers developments in the role allocated to money in legal definitions for exchange transaction. The third part examines two study-cases of money-related institutions, namely, the instrument of interest, and interest-bearing deposits, demonstrating how money stimulated the interconnected dynamics within and between legal traditions operating under Roman regime. The fourth and last part is dedicated to a more general analysis of the complex nature of Roman money, attempting to model the historical example of Roman money with the help of complexity-oriented visualisations.

Thesis (PhDAgric) -- Stellenbosch University, 2006. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation is a sojourn into institutional economics and its application to contemporary economic and development issues in South Africa. Economic development initiatives in agribusiness have much to gain from the theories and approaches advanced by the new institutional economics. Institutions are considered essential to the functioning of economies, markets and organizations, despite its neglect in neoclassical economics The study intends to prove that 'institutions matter', especially when social and economic transformation is necessary. The cases studied exhibit how institutions matter and shape economic outcomes. The theoretical basis established in this thesis was applied to economic development challenges such as contracting, organizational innovation, economic empowerment, land reform, building social capital, organizational design, supply chain management, entrepreneurial development, and modes of constructive engagement. The thesis is a compilation of academic papers applied to the various selected developmental challenges prevalent in South African agriculture. The study begins by delving into the more popular New Institutional Economics literature and specifically transaction cost economics. Somewhat unexpectedly, this leads to a greater appreciation for the insights generated by the Old Institutionalists in investigating the nature of institutions. Hence, the old institutional economics gains prominence in the latter part of this work, contrary to contemporary approaches followed in agricultural economics. The acknowledgement given to aspects like social capital and embeddedness is consistent with Williamson's proposed framework for the economics of institutions and this is used as the conceptual framework in this thesis. Whereas the new institutional economics was found to be useful in yielding knowledge through analysis and remediable outcomes, the old institutional economics retains its advantage in promoting understanding of problems especially in the face of complexity. This inclination has influenced the thesis in two ways. First, it diverted the latter part of the work towards the old institutional economics and the role of social capital in shaping institutions and economic behaviour. Second, it reverts to theories on the nature of the firm that complements the transaction cost approach. The transaction costs approach is thus only used where it is found most effective i.e. analysing vertical integration between firms and the relevant ex ante incentives and the ex post governance aspects Most studies are motivated by a general recognition of the role of institutions in framing economic outcomes and end up in the new institutional economics and subsequently transactions cost economics. This favouring of the transaction cost approach has found appeal due to its ability to predict structural and organisational outcomes such as the efficient boundaries of firms, internal organisation, contractual relations, incentives, etc. Methodologically, it enables analysts to employ the empirical and mathematical rigour that has become a feature, but too often the purpose, of economic research. Three papers are devoted to this approach and elicit organisational designs that best contend with identified transaction costs. The study confirms that several aspects matter in institutional analysis when applied in an economic developmental context such as South Africa. Historical context is acknowledged as a critical facet of institutional analyses in the sense that institutions are shaped by the forces of history. Social capital is established as an important component of institutional economic analysis and particularly relevant in situations where social capital has been eroded by political economic manipulations. Attending to social capital require (inter alia) insight into the nature of the societal context, implied path dependency, the extent of trust, enforcement mechanisms, and agency relations. Three of the papers attend to these aspects. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die proefskrif bevat 'n toepassing van institusionele ekonomie op kontemporere ekonomiese- en ontwikkelingskwessies in Suid Afrika. Die nuwe institusionele ekonomie het veel te hied tot ekonomiese ontwikkelingsinisiatiewe vera! in agribesigheid. Institusies word beskou as essentieel tot die funksionering van die ekonomie, markte en organisasies, ongeag, die nalaat daarvan in die neoklassieke ekonomie. Die studie poog om te bewys dat 'institusies geld', vera! wanneer sosiale en ekonomiese transformasie noodsaaklik is. Die teoretiese basis wat gevestig is in die proefskrif, vind toepassing op ekonomiese ontwikkelingsuitdagings wat insluit kontraktering, organisatoriese innovasie, ekonomiese bemagtiging, grondhervorming, bou van sosiale kapitaal, organisatoriese ontwerp, waardeketting bestuur, entrepreneurskap ontwikkeling, en modes vir konstruktiewe omgang. Die studie begin met teoretiese 'n ondersoek in die meer populere nuwe institusionele ekonomiese literatuur, en spesifiek transaksie koste ekonomie. Dit lei later tot 'n onverwagse waardering vir die insigting wat die ou institusionele ekonomie genereer, wanneer die aard van institusies bestudeer word. Gevolglik, verkry die ou institusionele ekonomie prominensie in die latere deel van die studie, in teenstelling met die landbou ekonomiese benaderings wat deesdae bespeur word. Die erkenning aan sosiale kapitaal en institusionele ingeworteldheid is in tred Williamson se voorgestelde raamwerk vir die ekonomie van institusies is word gebruik as die konseptuele raamwerk in die tesis. Waar die nuwe institusionele ekonomie nuttig is in die werwing van kennis, is die ou institusionele ekonomie nuttig in die kweek van insig en verstaan van probleme en kompleksiteit. Die proefskrifword op twee maniere hierdeur beinvloed. Eerstens, leun die latere deel van die werk meer na die ou institusionele ekonomie en die rol van sosiale kapitaal in die vorming van institusies en ekonomiese gedrag. Tweedens, verskaf dit 'n fokus op die teoriee oor die aard van die firma wat komplimenter staan tot transaksie koste ekonomie. Die transaksie koste benadering word aangewend in die ontleding van vertikale integrasie tussen firmas en die relevante ex ante insentiewe en ex post strukture, waar dit vera! nuttig is. Meeste studies erken die invloed van institusies op ekomiese uitkomste en gebruik hoofsaaklik die nuwe institusionele ekonomie en transaksie koste ekonomie. Hierdie vooroordeel ten opsigte van transaksie koste ekonomie, vind byval as gevolg van die vermoe om strukturele en organisatoriese uitkomstes te voorspel soos die doeltreffendheidsdrumpel van firmas, interne orgasnisasie, kontrakte, insentiewe, ens. Metodologies, moedig dit empiriese en wiskundige benaderings tot ontleding aan, wat ongelukkig a! die doe! geword het in vele ekonomiese ondersoeke. Drie van die referate wat in die proefskrif vervat word, behels die identifisering van toepaslike organisatoriese ontwerpe wat geskoei is op die transaksie kostes wat geldentifieer is. Die studie bevestig dat sekere aspekte van belang is in institusionele ondersoeke, vera! in 'n ekonomiese ontwikkelingskonteks soos Suid Afrika. Historiese konteks, word erken as a kritieke faktor in institusionele ontledings, in die sin dat institusies onontbeerlik deur geskiedkundige kragte gevorm word. Sosiale kapitaal word ook erken as 'n belangrike komponent in institusionele ekonomiese ontledings, vera! in omstandighede waar sosiale kapitaal verweer het as gevolg van polities ekonomiese manipulasies. Dit veries dat aandag geskenk work aan, ( onder and ere) sosiale konteks, gelmpliseerde koers afhanklikheid, vertoue, afdwingbare meganismes, en agentskap verhoudings. Drie van die referate word hieraan gewy.

published_or_final_version / Asian Studies / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Over the last three decades of the Chinese economic reform with a focus on the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) restructuring, one striking phenomenon is the rise of the mixed ownership enterprises (MOEs) in China. The objective of this thesis is to analyse the factors that can explain the emergence and the rise of the MOEs, to explore the corporate governance of the MOEs, and to assess the performance of the MOEs. The research finds that the unique experiments and practices of China’s SOEs reform in the past 30 years have formed the China Model of SOEs reform, China’s mixed ownership has its roots in the China Model. One major explanation to the rise of the MOEs is the synergy effect gained from the combination of the different advantages of both the private enterprises and the state enterprises. The private enterprises have better operational mechanisms and the state enterprises have better access to business resources and political support. The thesis has looked at 5 issues of the institutional arrangements of MOE’s corporate governance, named as the SCORE. It is found that the largest shareholder in most of the MOEs is still the state, but the control structure is not always corresponding to the shareholding structure, and the governmental intervention in the business of the MOEs has been reduced although the reduction is limited. The thesis shows that there is no noted relationship between corporate performance and mixed ownership, but the transfer of corporate controlling powers is very important for the ownership-transformed companies from whole ownership to mixed ownership to improve the performance. On this basis, the thesis argues that China needs to push forward the further commercialization of the corporate governance of the MOEs in the future

The diploma thesis deals with the issues related to capital market regulation from a more complex point of view. The capital markets represent a significant part of market mechanisms in the developed market-economy countries. They act as a significant means of transfer as well as material artifacts re-allocation. Understanding of capital market in the quality of an interdisciplinary phenomenon is the point of departure. The individual approaches that we have chosen in order to grasp the subject of capital market regulation are the following: law, economics, ethics, and on a limited basis, psychology. The intention is to catch legal regulation (reactive) on the one hand - executed institutionally (provided by the authority of state), and on the other hand a form of regulation represented by the proactive self-regulation approach based on ethical values - the approach of psychology representing a transitional mechanism - with this all set in the context of economic reality and its specific approaches to regulation. The diploma thesis reflects the recent years developments - partly the financial crisis, then the financial market globalisation and internationalisation as well as the Czech Republic integration into European structures. The analytical and descriptive focus prevails in the diploma thesis....

L’intérêt à l’égard des relations économiques entre la Russie et l’Union européenne s’est accentué au cours des années 2000. L’interdépendance économique accrue entre les deux partenaires témoigne de l’importance de cette relation et justifie l’intérêt tant pour son architecture institutionnelle que pour ses conséquences de long terme. Notre démarche consiste à interroger la façon dont ce partenariat se construit sur la base des nouvelles propriétés convergentes entre la Russie et de l’Europe. Cela nous permet de mieux caractériser le rapport entre l’architecture institutionnelle et la dynamique « de facto » des échanges économiques au sein de ce partenariat qui, lui, tient compte de l’évolution des besoins économiques internes des deux partenaires. On est ramenés donc ici à aborder la question du développement économique interne de la Russie. Traiter ce dernier aspect à la lumière de l’évolution des relations Russie-Europe, en particulier à un moment où celles-ci sont grevées par l’hypothèque énergétique et des divergences d’ordre politique, peut paraître paradoxal. Toutefois, la prise en compte de la configuration de ces relations semble être pertinente à plus d’un titre et permet de constater que les échanges économiques entre l’UE et la Russie constituent la première étape d’un processus inéluctable de réalisation des objectifs de développement de long terme des deux partenaires. Les enjeux sont donc manifestes tant pour l’avenir de l’Europe que pour celui de la Russie. Largement lié à la question énergétique, ce partenariat est accompagné d’une ambition originale qui rappelle le vieux rêve d’une Eurasie fondée sur la relation de deux entités à vocation fédérale. Cependant, la forme même que prendrait cette Eurasie ainsi que ses limites posent problème. Ainsi, notre travail interroge la nature de ce modèle inédit de relations internationales, qui aurait la grande originalité de reposer exclusivement sur un équilibre institutionnel. Aussi, nous nous intéressons à la pertinence du qualificatif « partenariat » que l’on a l’habitude d’attribuer aux relations Russie-UE, pour voir s’il n’est pas plus approprié de parler d’une union politique régionale comme solution alternative à la globalisation. Enfin, ce travail entend fournir un cadre méthodologique original nécessaire à l’étude des relations particulières entre la Russie et l’Union européenne dans une perspective dynamique. / The interest regarding economic links between Russia and The European Union has considerably increased during the 2000s. The greater economic interdependence between the two partners is a sign of the importance of this relationship and justifies such an interest as much in its institutional architecture as in the long-term consequences. Our approach is to question the way this partnership is being built, based on new common assets between Russia and Europe. This allow us to better characterise the rapport between institutional architecture and the ‘de facto’ economic exchanges within this partnership, that take into account the evolution of domestic economic needs of both partners. The leads us, therefore, to address the question of Russian domestic economic development. Treating this last aspect in the light of the evolution of Russian-European relationships, particularly at a time when they are strained by the energy hypothesis and divergences of a political order, may seem paradoxical. However, examining the shaping of these relationships seems pertinent for several reasons and enables us to conclude that economic exchanges between the EU and Russia are the first stage in the necessary process towards achieving both partners’ long-term development goals. The stakes are apparent for the future of both Europe and Russia. Strongly linked to the energy question, this partnership is accompanied by an original ambition reminiscent of the old Eurasian dream, founded on the relationship between two entities with a federal vocation. However, the shape that this Eurasia might take, and its limits, pose a problem. Thus, our work questions the nature of this new model of international relations, which would be very original, based exclusively on an institutional equilibrium. We are also interested in the pertinence of the term ‘partnership’ that we tend to use to define Russian-EU relationships, to see if it might not be more appropriate to talk about a regional political union as an alternative solution to globalisation. Lastly, this study intends to propose an original methodical framework necessary for studying specific relationships between Russia and the European Union with a perspective for growth.

Thesis Presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy In the Faculty of Law, Commerce and Management University of Witwatersrand June 2016 / Zambia has had impressive economic performance in the last decade and half, however its growth remains unsustainable due to a number of factors that range from poor terms of trade to challenges in macroeconomic management. In addition, the country’s weak economic and political institutional framework characterised by insecure property rights and uncertainty in the policy environment pose further challenges to economic growth. Although the country has undertaken a number of economic reforms in recent years to spur growth, their impact has been modest because of weak institutional setups and capacity constraints. Notably, certain key policy reforms and programmes that are critical for enhancing economic performance in Zambia have not been implemented because of institutional and administrative weaknesses underpinned by policy inconsistencies and policy reversals. Against this background, the main purpose of this study is to investigate the impacts of formal institutions particularly property rights and political instability on economic growth in Zambia. It achieves this by extending Fedderke et al. (2011)’s time series on property rights and political instability measures on Zambia by constructing comparable indices that are later merged with the initial series. The merged series are then used to capture the institutional dimensions on economic output in Zambia from 1965 to 2010. The study uses in its methodology a PSS-F test to determine causality among variables of interest and later applies the VECM estimation procedure to determine cointegration and long-run relationships among the regressors. Despite the increasing role and influence of formal institutions in economic development, there have been relatively few empirical studies that have specifically examined their impacts at country level. This study is therefore an attempt to partially fill the void by throwing light on the impact of property rights and political instability on Zambia’s economic growth over the study period. The study findings have confirmed the hypothesis that there is a strong and positive relationship between property rights and the level of economic growth. The results have been validated using Zambia as a case study and hence the findings are consistent with empirical evidence and economic theory in new institutional economics (NIE). Noteworthy is the strong and positive effect of property rights on real GDP—clearly suggesting that potential investors will always take into account a country’s institutional environment before investing their resources. This means that a good performance in the rating of the property rights index on the scale between 0 and 100 leads to a corresponding strong economic performance in Zambia. By implication, a higher rating of the property rights index suggests a well secured regime of property rights. Conversely, a lower rating of the property rights index implies deterioration in the quality and enforcement of property rights in the country and hence adverse to economic growth. Thus, the findings are in line with several similar empirical works that conclude that formal economic institutions (property rights) are the fundamental cause of income differences and longrun growth between and among countries. As expected, our study also found a strong but negative relationship between political instability and economic performance. This means that perverse political institutions such as violent civil protests, political violence, attempted military coups, labour and/or industrial unrest in Zambia are a disincentive to economic growth as they discourage long-term investments. Investors are generally driven by perceptions, that is, the more politically stable an economy is assumed to be, the higher the chances of attracting foreign direct investments. Conversely, the stronger the negative perceptions about an economy the less likely will investors bring in their resources—hence the need for political stability. The findings are consistent and comparable to many other studies that found that political instability was significantly related to economic growth and that an increase in instability, other things being equal, always tends to lower real growth rate over time. The study also examined the impacts of selected macroeconomic policy variables namely foreign direct investments (FDI), credit to the private sector (CRDTP), trade openness (TROP), capital formation (CALARAT) and human capital (ENROLL) on Zambia’s real GDP and found that they had a strong feedback effect on growth performance. In terms of policy implications, the study recommends that authorities should invest in efforts that strengthen the regime of property rights and the rule of law for strong economic performance in Zambia. More specifically, the authorities should respect and enforce private property rights through impartial courts of law to instil confidence in the investor community. In addition, the government should promote social dialogue and foster an environment of industrial harmony to avoid labour-related unrest and political conflicts (political instability) that have a potential to hurt the business environment by scaring off would-be investors. / MB2016

A partir de meados dos anos 1990, a demanda mundial por produtos orgânicos, particularmente de frutas e vegetais, cresceu significantemente. As vendas que, inicialmente eram restritas ao comércio alternativo passaram a contar com o supermercado como o principal e mais importante canal de comercialização. A passagem de um consumo localizado e sem importância para o consumo de massa suscita relevantes questões teóricas e empíricas, no que diz respeito à estrutura que irá governar as relações entre os supermercados e os seus fornecedores. Isso porque, tais produtos em contraposição aos convencionais, possuem alta assimetria informacional com relação ao atributo (orgânico) desejado pelos consumidores. Além disso, pressupõe-se que o ambiente institucional tem um papel relevante em determinar a governança, já que este pode implicar diferentes custos de transação para os agentes econômicos. Tendo como base Nova Economia Institucional (NEI), o objetivo da tese foi entender o critério de escolha da estrutura de governança entre supermercados e fornecedores de produtos (frutas, verduras e legumes - FLV) orgânicos e convencionais em dois diferentes ambientes institucionais (Brasil e os EUA). Para isso, inicialmente foi apresentado o aporte teórico da Nova Economia Institucional (NEI), com foco na abordagem da teoria da Economia dos Custos de Transação (ECT) nas suas duas vertentes, custo de governança (WILLIAMSON) e custo de mensuração (BARZEL). Dessa análise foi possível formular a hipótese de que os custos de governança e os custos de mensuração implicariam de forma diferenciada as transações entre os produtores e varejistas de produtos orgânicos e convencionais e entre os dois diferentes ambientes institucionais o Brasil e os EUA. Acreditava-se que transações dos produtos orgânicos à luz da Teoria dos Custos de Mensuração seriam formatadas por estrutura de governança mais complexas que as dos produtos convencionais, dadas as características de bens de crença dos mesmos. Ao mesmo tempo, esperava-se que a complexidade entre os diferentes tipos de produção poderia estar sendo relativizada devido a maior utilização da certificação orgânica, o que reduziria os custos de mensuração das relações entre os agentes, levando assim a uma convergência entre essas estruturas de governança inicialmente distintas. Com relação aos países estudados, previa-se uma diferença de complexidade nas suas estruturas de governança, sendo que as ocorridas nos EUA poderiam ser as menos complexas, principalmente devido a sua maior consolidação nestes mercados estudados e a sua maior alternativa de canais de comercialização para os produtos FLV. Para testar as hipóteses foram realizadas 128 entrevistas, as quais foram analisadas com a criação de alguns índices e depois algumas regressões usando Mínimos Quadrados Ordinários (MQO) com estimativa robusta dos desvios. Os resultados encontrados mostraram que a principal diferença foi que os critérios de escolha entre as estruturas de governança diferem a depender do ambiente institucional. No Brasil a governança foi melhor explicada pelas variáveis relacionadas à especificidade do ativo (Custo de Governança), ao passo que nos EUA foram as variáveis de Custo de Mensuração que melhor explicou os arranjos entre supermercado e fornecedores. Tais diferenças devem-se ao desenvolvimento mais avançado da padronização dos produtos orgânico nos EUA. A principal semelhança foi que nos dois países já houve uma convergência de estrutura de governança entre os supermercados e os produtores agrícolas, independente do tipo de produção (orgânica ou convencional). Assim o supermercado se relaciona de forma semelhante com produtores orgânicos e convencionais, principalmente devido ao advento da certificação. Conclui-se ao final deste trabalho que há evidências empíricas, demonstradas por meio da criação destes índices, que o ambiente institucional importa no critério de escolha da estrutura de governança a ser utilizada. / From the mid-1990s, world demand for organic products, particularly fruits and vegetables, grew significantly. Sales that were initially restricted to the alternative trading began to count on the supermarket as the main and most important marketing channel. The shift from a located and unimportant consumption to the mass consumption raises relevant theoretical and empirical issues, with respect to the structure that will govern relations between supermarkets and their suppliers. This is because such products as opposed to conventional, have high information asymmetry with respect to the desired attribute (organic) by consumers. Moreover, it is assumed that the institutional environment has an important role in determining the governance, as this may entail different transaction costs for economic agents. Based on New Institutional Economics (NIE), the objective of the thesis was to understand the criterion of choice of governance structure between supermarkets and suppliers of organic and conventional products (fresh fruits and vegetables - FFV) in two different institutional environments (Brazil and the U.S.A). Therefore, initially was presented the theoretical framework of New Institutional Economics (NIE), focusing on the approach of the theory of Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) in its two aspects, governance cost (WILLIAMSON) and measurement cost (BARZEL). From this analysis it was possible to hypothesize that the governance costs and the measurement costs would result in a different way in the transactions between producers and retailers of organic and conventional products and between the two different institutional environments - Brazil and the U.S.A. It was believed that transactions of organic products according to the theory of measurement costs would be shaped by more complex governance structure than those of conventional products, given their characteristics of credence goods. At the same time, it was expected that the complexity of the different types of production could have been relativized due to increased use of organic certification, which would reduce the measurement cost in the relationships between agents, thus leading to a convergence between these governance structures initially distinct. Regarding the countries studied, it was assumed a difference of complexity in their governance structures, and those that occurred in the U.S.A could be the less complex, mainly due to its greater consolidation in these markets studied and its major alternative marketing channels for FFV products. To test these hypotheses were conducted 128 interviews, which were analyzed with the creation of some indices and then some regressions using ordinary least squares (OLS) with robust estimates of the deviations. The results showed that the main difference was that the criteria for choosing among the governance structures differ depending on the institutional environment. In Brazil, the governance was better explained by variables related to asset specificity (governance cost), whereas in the U.S.A were the variables of measurement cost that best explained the arrangements between supermarkets and suppliers. Such differences are due to the more advanced development of standardization of organic products in the U.S.A. The main similarity was that in both countries there has been a convergence of governance structure between supermarkets and farmers, regardless of the type of production (organic or conventional). So the supermarket relates similarly to conventional and organic producers, mainly due to the advent of certification. It is possible to conclude, in the end of this work, that there are empirical evidences, demonstrated through the creation of these indices, that the institutional environment matters in the choice criteria of the governance structure to be used.

As famílias assentadas na Gleba Ribeirão Bonito, que vivem ao lado do Parque Estadual do Morro do Diabo, estão, ao contrário do que se poderia esperar, contribuindo, através de projetos articulados por uma rede de organizações, para a conservação dos recursos naturais desta Unidade de Conservação. A dissertação explora os fatores que têm condicionado tal realidade, fundamentando-se nas contribuições teóricas da economia das instituições e da sociologia ambiental. A conclusão é que está em processo de construção, na região do Pontal do Paranapanema, uma nova instituição que pode contribuir para a promoção de um modelo de desenvolvimento regional que inclua, ao mesmo tempo, o desenvolvimento social e econômico das famílias assentadas e a conservação da natureza. / The families seated in the Gleba Ribeirão Bonito, who live to the side of the Morro do Diabo State Park, are, in contrast of that we could wait, contributing, through designs articulated for a network of organizations, for the conservation of the natural features of this Unit of Conservation. The text explores the factors that condition such reality, basing itself on the theoretical contributions of the institutional economics and environmental sociology. The conclusion is that it is in construction process, in the region of the Pontal of the Paranapanema, a new institution that can contribute for the promotion of a model of regional development that includes, at the same time, the social and economic development of the seated families and the conservation of the nature.