This paper examines how Brazilian prosecutors promote compliance with labor and environmental laws while preserving or even enhancing the competitiveness of local firms. In the cases analyzed, prosecutors realize that the bottlenecks that prevent compliance are often located outside the firm and...

This paper addresses the following question: how can we reconcile workers` rights and social protection with firms` competitiveness and productivity? In Latin America, there is an intense debate about the perverseness of the labor law (claimed to be harmful both to workers and to firms) and, in...

In most developing countries, small and medium firms in the informal sector have grown steadily over the last decade as a consequence of regulation and increasing international competition. In these places, the great challenge for policymakers and economic-development practitioners today is how...

A significant portion of the northeastern territory of Brazil has a population and water resources such that, when combined, they result in low to very low water availability per inhabitant. Over time, numerous human interventions were carried out in the region in an attempt to mitigate the...

The supply of drinking water and the proper disposal of waste generated by human activities are two important factors that influence the quality of life and health of a population. In recent decades, access to basic sanitation services has shown advances in all Brazilian regions. Despite this,...

The blue economy describes the economic activities related to the sea such as fishing, tourism, maritime transportation, marine renewable energy, naval industry and other marine sectors. In addition, the blue economy field of study considers the sustainable exploitation of natural resources. It...

The study seeks to analyze the importance of agricultural trade policy in Brazil for economic development, discussing issues such as food security, poverty reduction and inequality, employment creation, mitigation and adaptation to climate change and environmental sustainability. The problem...

In 2012, as a result of the Rio+20 Conference of the United Nations (UN), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were created, including access to drinking water and basic sanitation (challenge 6 of the SDGs). In Brazil, the semiarid region is the region where achieving the goals of SDG 6 is...