Using a factor decomposition of the Gini coefficient we measure the contribution to inequality of direct monetary transfers to and from the Brazilian State. Among the transfers from the State are wages of public workers, pensions and social assistance; the transfers to the State are direct taxes....

This paper presents a method for classifying the ancestry of Brazilian surnames based on historical sources. The information obtained forms the basis for applying fuzzy matching and machine learning classification algorithms to more than 46 million workers in five categories: Iberian, Italian,...

The paper examines the evolution of the thesis which states that the type of colonization determines, or conditions, the future of societies. Adam Smith already presented this proposition and a typology of colonies. However, it were the German authors Heeren and Roscher, in the 19th century, who...

Since the last decade, there has been much debate on the central government's activism in the implementation of development policies that resemble those from Brazil's authoritarian past. However, only rarely, scholars and practitioners have discussed the state capacities that are necessary to...

This Discussion Paper presents an introductory approach to presidential governance in Brazil. The historical institutionalism framework, the comparative historical method, and the policy-focused political analysis are used in this approach which consists in highlighting the critical component of...

This paper examines the institutional arrangements that organize the arenas of formulation and implementation of development policies in Brazil, asking if such policies are setting up more democratic decision-making processes with the inclusion of a larger number of actors and at the same time...