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This paper investigates the price elasticity of Brazilian residential electricity demand for 2012-2016. The estimations use random and fixed effects panel data and impulse response function in a VAR/VECM model for time series analysis. Furthermore, we analyze the consumers in two categories, Low Income consumer and B1 consumer (household electricity average consumer). The most relevant contribution of this research is the analysis of the different kinds of consumers and the impact of change in electric power prices on these consumers. The results of the panel estimation are lower than the unity and have a negative relation on the consumption for positive changes in prices. The results show that, for the average consumer, the response of price change is less relevant than to lower income consumers. In the impulse response function, we can see the lower income consumers respond faster than the average consumers. Moreover in impulse response function, for electricity price change the response is more drastically negative. We can infer from these results, that the impact of a price change in elasticity is more sensitive in consumers that have a lower income and lower electricity consumption. However, an average consumer, which has a higher electricity demand, the relation between changes in prices and changes in consumption is more inelastic. This occurs, we suppose, because electricity is a most necessary good and also a smaller share of the consumption basket for the average consumer. The study also presents an estimate for the income elasticity of demand for electricity in Brazil, which, although it does not differentiate consumers by income brackets, shows a positive, inelastic relationship with a high correlation between the wages of families and their consumption of energy, which can be used for the formulation and evaluation of sectoral policies.

Nos últimos anos tem-se assistido a uma mudança, a nível global, da conjuntura económica e industrial. Há cada vez mais, uma maior preocupação pelos impactos que o processo de globalização e industrialização têm causado quer em termos climáticos quer em termos ambientais. Nesse sentido, assiste-se a um processo de tentativa de reversão destes efeitos, o processo de descarbonização. Este caracteriza-se essencialmente pela substituição de fontes de energia poluentes por fontes de energia renováveis. Contudo, e conforme será testado neste estudo, a aposta neste tipo de energias nem sempre promove a estrutura de um mercado liberalizado, sobretudo quando falamos do mercado da eletricidade. Ora, sendo esta forma de mercado em muito semelhante a um mercado de concorrência, a aposta no sector de energias renováveis poderá trazer efeitos indesejáveis para o mercado. Assim, através da metodologia econométrica e do uso de Dados em Séries Temporais, será analisada a evolução dos preços da eletricidade no mercado ibérico após o processo de liberalização e de constituição do MIBEL e de que forma a geração de energia elétrica, através de fontes de energia renovável, impacta no preço da eletricidade. Serão ainda utilizadas variáveis cujo comportamento retrata as alterações do mercado após o processo de liberalização, medindo também o seu impacto sobre o preço da eletricidade. Este estudo conclui que, de facto, se verifica o paradoxo entre os ideais de um mercado liberalizado e a conjuntura ambiental que leva ao recurso por fontes menos poluentes na geração de eletricidade. The global economic and industrial environment has been changing, in recent years. There is a growing focus on the processes of globalization and industrialization and the environmental and climate concerns that they impact. In order to prevent and reverse those impacts, the economies are now adopting a new process, the decarbonization, which is characterized by the replacement of polluting energy sources by renewable energy sources. However, as it will be tested in this study, this type of strategy does not always promote the structure of a liberalized market, especially when considering the electricity market. Since this market is very similar to a competitive one, the renewable energies strategy could bring undesirable effects to this type of market. By using the econometric methodology with Time Series Data, this study will analyze the electricity prices behavior in Portugal and Spain after the liberalization and the MIBEL process. This methodology will also be used to study how renewable energy sources used for electricity generation affect electricity prices. Variables that represent the behavior of the market after the liberalization process will also be will be included in the model to measure their impact on the electricity prices. This study concludes that there is, in fact, a paradox between the ideals of a liberalized market and the environmental scenario that leads to the use of less polluting sources in the electricity generation.

O ramo da Economia Comportamental estuda a forma como o comportamento dos consumidores afeta o seu processo de tomada de decisão, conduzindo a enviesamentos face aos pressupostos dos modelos económicos clássicos. A influência da norma social ou, na prática, a comparação com os outros, é um dos fatores que tem vindo a ser abordado por vários autores, cujas experiências revelaram algum tipo de impacto na ação dos indivíduos, ainda que com efeitos mistos e nem sempre mensuráveis. O presente estudo apresenta evidência empírica relativa ao consumo energético de uma amostra de 212 agregados domésticos portugueses, na cidade de Évora. Com a parceria da operadora Galp Energia, foi levada a cabo uma experiência de campo natural, que consistiu no envio da comparação social e de dicas de eficiência e poupança energética para 110 agregados da amostra, durante um período de 3 meses, por forma a analisar o impacto da norma social e da informação no comportamento dos consumidores energéticos. O estudo inclui ainda a reação de alguns dos elementos do grupo de tratamento à experiência. Os dados foram analisados através do método "Differences-in-Differences" e os resultados revelaram uma influência pouco expressiva da norma social e da informação na tomada de decisão dos consumidores energéticos, bem como uma reação mista por parte dos participantes. Todavia, e embora alguns inquiridos tenham negado o impacto da comparação, parece haver um interesse em continuar a receber este tipo de relatório mensal e uma convergência entre as reações dos participantes e os comportamentos abordados pela literatura. The field of Behavioral Economics studies how consumers' behavior affects their decision-making process, leading to assumptions bias that contradict classical economic models. The influence of social norm or, simply, the comparison with others, is one of the factors that has been approached by several authors, whose experiments have revealed different impacts on human action, although with mixed effects, not always measurable. The present study provides empirical evidence on the energy consumption of 212 Portuguese households in the city of Évora. With the partnership of Galp Energia, an energy company, was held a natural field experiment, which consisted of sending the social comparison as well as energy conservation and efficiency tips to 110 households of the sample, for a three-month period, in order to study the impact of social norms and information on energy consumers’ behavior. This paper also includes the reaction to the experiment from some elements of the treatment group. Applying the Differences-in-Differences method the results revealed a small and nonconclusive influence of the social norm and information on the energy consumers’ decision-making, as well as mixed reactions from the participants. However, while some respondents denied the impact of the comparison, there seems to be an interest in continuing to receive the monthly report and a convergence between participants' answers and the behaviors addressed in the literature.

This text for discussion is part of a research aimed to understand the institutional constraints to the implementation of investment in infrastructure in contemporary Brazil and to propose public policy improvement. The rationale for their implementation is that there is evidence that indicate the low capacity of the Federal Government and Brazilian companies to perform "accelerated" investment in infrastructure projects. For analysis were selected six case studies, three successful and not successful three considered, namely: exitosos: thermoelectric of Candiota III hydroelectric power plant phase Teles Pires and BRT south exit DF; and successful not-Transnordestina, subway of Salvador and BR-163 North of Mato Grosso, Santarém (Pará). For each case study, seven conditions were analyzed: planning, designing, managing and coordinating intragovernamental; Bidding and Contracting; Socio-environmental licensing; Expropriation and land conflicts; Federal joint, State and society; Bureaucratic and judicial controls ("U"); and private protection Market of goods and services. This text, in particular, addresses the environmental licensing etching. In Brazil, through licensing, in recent years, through changes in its regulatory framework, has been a theme yet little understood and object of permanent criticism, particularly by the productive sector and linked to major economic infrastructure projects. Are cited issues such as slow decision-making and reasoning, ideological content, process and contribute to delays, increased costs, judicialization, creation of contingent liabilities and non-compliance with service delivery goals to improve the well-being of society. This text aims to make a general analysis of the problems, with the general question: what are the guiding factors and institutional conditions that interfere with the implementation of public and private investment in economic infrastructure in Brazil? Two specific questions are were defined: i) how and why the licensing relates to the ability to execute? and ii) what are the possible alternatives to improve it? Given this, some points analyzed in references and in six selected case studies help answer the question guiding general: i) the still low overall coordination capacity of MMA; ii) little articulation and cooperation between the institutions involved within and outside of Amazonia; iii) the licensing body is continually overwhelmed with questions and demands that are not necessarily of its responsibility; and iv) important intervention but sometimes excessive MPF; among others. As to the first question guiding specific, can be answered by licensing be deprecated or little considered in decision-making; by the progress of works of the projects; ideological contamination of the process; excess "developmentalism" of entrepreneurs; entrepreneurs with great economic and political power; poor quality of technical studies; among others. As for the second question guiding specific suggestions for improvements are make involving policy, regulatory, institutional issues contracts, multiplicity of actors, judicialization, etc.

The article evaluates the intersectorial relations of the Energy Production industry in the economy of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. For this, the Power Generation sector was built in the state’s input-output model for the years 1998 and 2003. It was found that the industry uses imported inputs mostly, shows a high level of self-supply and provides a little less than eighty percent of its production for the industries of the state. The sectorial linkages and the production and final demand relations indicate the Energy Production industry as a key sector with strong links to the front, and show that the Household consumption and Interstate exports have a high dependence of its production. Accordingly, we conclude that this sector is an important supplier of basic inputs which productive activity encourages, in an embracing and uniform way, the growth of several production and consumption sectors of the economy in the State of Rio Grande do Sul., O artigo avalia as relações intersetoriais do setor de produção de energia na economia do estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Para isso, foi construído o setor de produção de energia no modelo insumo-produto do estado para os anos de 1998 e 2003. Verificou-se que o setor utiliza majoritariamente insumos importados, apresenta um nível elevado de autoabastecimento e fornece pouco menos de 80% de sua produção para as indústrias do estado. Os encadeamentos setoriais e as relações entre a produção e demanda final apontam o setor de produção de energia como um setor-chave com fortes ligações para frente e mostram que sua produção apresenta elevada dependência em relação ao consumo das famílias e às exportações interestaduais. Portanto, conclui-se que o setor é um fornecedor importante de insumos básicos, cuja atividade produtiva estimula de forma abrangente e uniforme o crescimento dos diversos setores de produção e de consumo da economia gaúcha.