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The entrepreneurship of small business has been almost unanimously viewed as beneficial for the social and economic life in different countries and regions. This paper aims to answer the following research question: in Brazil, do varying rates of entrepreneurship across regions affect economic performance? The paper investigates the effects of entrepreneurial activity on economic growth and unemployment rate in 853 municipalities in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Entrepreneurship rate of a municipality is the proportion of self-employment in the work force. Its impact on the growth of GDP and unemployment is analyzed by the methodology of multiple regression models. The empirical results reveal a robust association between entrepreneurship and unemployment: the higher the entrepreneurial activity of the municipality, the lowest the unemployment rate. But the influence of entrepreneurship on the local economic growth is also negative: where there was more entrepreneurial activity in 2000, GDP growth was smaller the following three years. The interpretation of these results leads us to the discussion of entrepreneurship by necessity that characterizes major part of the entrepreneurial activity in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the profi le of the economic growth in the regions of Mato Grosso do Sul State in Brazil. For this analysis were made quantitative estimates using gross domestic product data (GDP), regional population and gross domestic product per capita and review of theories of economic growth. The results showed that the most populous and most dynamic regions stagnated, while peripheral regions advanced by stimulating the convergence of the level of regional economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents and discusses original ideas defended by the Brazilian and critical thinker and art Mário Pedrosa in his books Option Imperialist and the Brazilian Option, launched in 1966 during the dictatorship, about the prospects for an economic planning of the country at odds with the market economy. To this end the article recalls the criticism of development economists in the 1960s, a brief presentation of the initial theoretical debates about the deployment of a planned economy in the USSR in the 1920s and the reforms implemented in the 1960s by the Soviet planned economy. The author examined defended the concrete possibilities and characteristics common to a higher synthesis between the great Soviet trusts and the big monopolies of the US economy. Under this basis, finally, Original Ideas proposals are submitted to what the author calls "transition economy" in Brazil, which should incorporate the development of a broad democratic process of building the priorities for future planned economy in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the issue of development and dependency in the work of the Brazilian sociologist Fernando Henrique Cardoso as possible explanation / understanding or interpretation of Brazil. It departs from the critical Cardoso ECLA structuralism and Marxist approaches on addiction through the fundamentals of his theory of dependence, where the position of the present political pacts between elites / national and international actors shape the pattern of dependence and associated development. This discussion highlights the importance given by Cardoso' s Policy, which assumes the centrality of economic analysis in place, and as the author articulates, departing from Marxist dialectics. A critical analysis from a methodological orientation assumed by the author and given to political centrality to development thinking and Brazilian dependence will be analyzed as a fundamental explanatory / interpretative understanding, especially for Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 1980s and 1990s, while the Brazilian economy performed poorly compared to previous decades, the state of Santa Catarina grew above the national average. In the 2000s, with the change of direction of the federal government's economic policy, the country resumed its growth and income distribution, but Santa Catarina economy grew below the national average. Based on the resumption of the growth rate of the Brazilian economy in the early 2000s and the loss of the growth rate of the Santa Catarina's economy in the same period, current research is analyzes which factors contributed to this result. The objective of current paper is to study the performance of the Santa Catarina's economy during the last decade by analyzing the behavior of industrial production, exports, employment and credit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Independently of the sector in which company operates, all are subject to economic crisis, growth slowdowns and problems arising from economic instability, forcing companies to be prepared for the challenges of everyday. Against this reality a research was realized at Fruteira Japonesa, at the city of Palmeira das Missões, that aims the development of a budget system, including a strategic plan, planning of purchases, sales, cash, statement of income and balance sheet designed. This paper had characteristics of applied research, descriptive, documental, qualitative and participatory observation. The applicability of the budget system held in the company had considerable importance for planning and development, succeeding in their goals and projecting a future financial situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The persistence of indexation in Brazil post-Real. The paper analyzes the shortcomings of the Real Plan combining political science and economics, considering evidences on difficulties in implementing a complete plan of deindexation, namely: the distributional conflict, the corporatist relations between the State and society and the bureaucratic isolation of a highly specialized technocracy. The announcement of the plan triggered defensive reactions, fueling distributive tensions during the URV period, forcing the economic team to take measures that contradicted the overall guidelines followed. The persistence of indexation mechanisms indicate the resulting obstacles in seeking a reform of the State through a stabilization plan, even though the latter has the former as a precondition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development projects of contemporary Brazil. This paper makes an analysis on the expansion of the development debate, from the rise of the democracy and social justice cycle, in the Brazil of the post-national-developmentalism era, using as method the structural-historical approach. Initially, the article will feature the three main cycles of development of the country, according to the chronology proposed by Bresser-Pereira. Later, they identify four causes for the transition from second to third cycle. Finally, some considerations are made about the current development cycle, interpreting the political spectrum of development projects in dispute in the contemporary Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current paper discusses how the historical analysis of regional development may be applied as research methodology to define the quantitative and qualitative tools in a historical approach. The literature on the evaluation of regional development, reports by public institutions of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, and IBGE and IPEA data were the tools employed for this investigation. The relevance of quantitative tools on the measurements of inter-regional differences and the need to use them was established, coupled to the qualitative tools for the definitions of activities that foreground regional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While by no means an exhaustive account, this article discusses the influence of Africa on the economy of Salvador, Brazil's third most populous city and the largest concentration of people of African origin outside the continent. This paper details the findings of fieldwork that examined how religious cults such as Candomblé have become vehicles for folklore- inspired economic activity. It hopes to present an approach that results in a deeper economic and anthropological understanding of these phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Brazilian state of Alagoas, sugar cane agriculture and Tourism are activities which have common territories. The main consequence is the absence of a tradition in other economic activities. Due to this, the strengthening of organisations and other productive models is an important factor to the local socioeconomic development. Considering these arguments, the aim of this paper is analysing the handicrafts production at Feliz Deserto village, searching elements which collaborate to the development of Local Innovation Systems (LIS). For that, it was necessary the characterisation of LIS and comprehension of its role to the local development. This research is classified as qualitative, exploratory and descriptive, and the method utilised was the case study. As research findings, the institutional arrangement was characterised as a maturated LIS. It was evidenced that the work developed by the LIS has collaborated to strengthening of authenticity, through the act of structuring of handicrafts production into three pillars: raw material consolidation, linkage to localisation and valorisation of community profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growth and industrialization in Brazil. In this paper, based on the writings of Kaldor and his followers, we compare two phases of Brazilian economic growth, one showing fast growth rate and other with lack of growth. Our aim is to analyze the Brazilian economic behavior in the last 40 years, pointing out economic policy intervention, structural change, foreign trade and capital flows as determinants to account for gross product development path performance. Our aim is to shed some light on which is the potential rate of growth of the Brazilian economy nowadays, considering its historical growth path and recent structural changes in the industrial sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper using a sample of Brazilian companies and models proposed by Eckel (1981) and Leuz, Nanda, and Wysocki (2003) as empirical proxies to measure income smoothing, test results indicate that companies that promote income smoothing are likely to have a lower cost of capital and a capital structure with greater percentage of long-term debt. The methodology used included a panel data Nerlove type for a period from 2003 to 2007. The analysis lagged in one and two periods reveals that smoothing will impact on future cost of capital and the capital structure. Results after controlling heterogeneity and factors known to explain the cost of capital and capital structure proved to be robust, indicating the significance of income smoothing with respect to alternative explanatory variables. The influence of smoothing factor in one and two years delayed have comparable magnitude to other factors such as size and risk. The results support the notion that income smoothing in Brazil is an information-signaling mechanism, with implications for the cost of capital and the financing decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The financial and investment decisions are influenced by the degree of risk concerning variables that explain the decision making process. This paper focus on the risky variables of the economic sectors and segments that influence the decision making process of credit concession in financial institutions. The aim is to present a pragmatic method for evaluating the risky variables using an alternative approach that aggregate multiples criteria in a single evaluation system. Hence, the AHP method is used and as a result we have a purpose of risk rating of sectors and segments of the Brazilian economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent behavior of the Brazilian labor market: 1992-2005. This study aims at describing the behavior of the Brazilian labor market between 1992 and 2005. This period comprises significant changes in the economic scenario, in the midst of the process of opening the economy to adjust to the prevailing international economic order. In the one hand, the paper focuses on the time evolution of the main labor market indicators, trying to identify trends and stylized facts. On the other, it emphasizes aspects related to spatial patterns, particularly in terms of the metropolitan versus non-metropolitan behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article “The territory’s management in question: a perspective coming from Brazil” is divided into four parts: the first one, destined to the presentation of the initial idea for the analyses at hand, the territory’s management by the National State; the second part demonstrates, by means of inquiries, new contributions from geography, sociology and economy regarding the territory’s social and political potential. Composing the two last parts of the paper, the present positioning for Europe’s territorial planning, in a very tight synergy with the scientific effort, as its influence on Brazilian territorial policies; concluding with the author’s interpretation regarding these innovations under Brazilian perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the formation and the development of the tin industry in Brazil, analyzing its linkings with adopted public politics, from the nature deliberate or not, in the second half of century XX. The including in the context of the sector, in national and international scenery, attend the foundling in the current period, demonstrating its vicissitudes, giving it has supported the presented perspectives and conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the recent trends in, and outlook for, Brazilian outward foreign direct investment (FDI). It shows that outward FDI from Brazil has declined against that from other developing countries and it analyses the prospects for recovery. A survey of the international literature reveals that outward FDI benefits both the investing firm and the home country. It is thus relevant to ask why outward FDI by Brazilian firms is so low. In answer, the article surveys the literature on Brazilian outward FDI and presents new evidence in terms of the firm (Brazilian firms are small and they prefer the home market), product (commodities are the main export), technology (low innovation rate), industry (Brazilian firms generally belong to mature or competitive sectors) and the economy (unsuitable financial system and high interest rates). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The State and its reasons: the 2nd PND. This paper intends to contribute to the debate on the reasons why the Geisel administration (1974-78) chose — as it faced an adverse conjuncture — an accelerated growth agenda which was materialized in the 2nd PND (National Development Plan). In order to do so, it resorts to a methodological definition which is based upon an institutionalist approach and favors the interaction between the political and the economic variables. Contradicting the literature that interprets the strong presence of the State and the regional decentralization of the 2nd PND as signs of neopatrimonialism, it is advocated that this category of analysis is inadequate to explain the government's choice, although this aspect is embedded in the Brazilian social-historical formation. The political rationality of the plan must be investigated in the conjuncture itself, marked by the liberalization project, which does not clash with the plan's economic rationality — on the contrary, it is complemented by it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper has objective to present productivity performance of brazilian industrial sector using Malmquist TPF index and its components (efficiency change and technical change)between 1996 and 2002. The productivity index used is Malmquist index, that follow Färe et alli (1994) methodology, and is calculated by two methods: stochastic frontier analysis (SFA)and data envelopment analysis (DEA). In both methods, the Brazilian industry obtained gains efficiency, technical frontier regress and there was decline in TPF of industry pulled by technical frontier regress. Otherwise, the division of full period into two samples, prior and posterior to the change in the exchange-rate regime, did not contribute to explain observed changes in Malmquist index and its components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relevance of small and mid-sized businesses as a job and income-generating sector of our economy has been object of reflection of several segments, including that of the academia. The importance of this sector was, in fact, taken into account by the Brazilian Constitution of 1988 that, in clauses 170 and 179, proposed a differentiated treatment to the sector, also comprising the issue of credit. The opening of the economy, initiated in 1990, has widened the vulnerability of these firms. Based on this evidence, this paper develops a historical study on the existing credit alternatives for this segment, from their first appearance -- which occurred in the beginning of the 1970s, a time of intense growth of the Brazilian economy -- to these days, in a scenario of profound discussions over the ways to be taken towards sustainable economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a bibliographic review of the historic situation of income inequality and poverty within the evolution of Brazilian economics. It compares the statistics which rank Brazil as a medium human development economy with one of the ten largest economies of the world by its GDP, with the elevated degree of income inequality that brings millions of people to situations of poverty. These factors are complimented with some reflections about Brazilian development in regards to the five hundreds years of discovery. Effective actions for the access to education and information are proposed for the exercise of civil and political rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]