Economic growth and greenhouse gases in Brazilian States: is the environmental Kuznets curve applicable hypothesis?

The aim of this study was to analyze the existence of the Kuznets environmental curve (EKC) hypothesis for a diverse spectrum of environmental pollutants (carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide) from the Brazilian states from 1980 to 2020. In the Kuznets hypothesis, economic growth, represented by GDP per capita, grows inflection in relation to environmental degradation. Upon reaching a certain point, the relationship becomes inversely opposite, being a positive trend of growth and a retract to environmental indicators, as in the case of greenhouse gases. The application of regression models in strict observance of Grossman and Krueger's EKC econometric model (1995) allowed a critical analysis of the Brazilian empirical model relative to pollutant emissions. The results show the corroboration of the EKC hypothesis for carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, but not methane gas. Additionally, the discussion on the subject was extended to the debate about Brazil on the world stage. Brazil is on the world stage as a major influencer in environmental issues, so everything empirically contributes, both to academia and public managers, by presenting evidence of the relationship of economic growth aligned with sustainable development. Thus, the study provides contributions to professionals, researchers, and international readers. On the other hand, this study shows as political implications the need for improvements and reformulations of environmental policies in favor of mitigating environmental degradation.

Determinants of CO2 emissions in the MERCOSUR: the role of economic growth, and renewable and non-renewable energy.

The main objective of this study was to analyze the impact of energy consumption (divided into renewable and non-renewable sources) and income on CO2 emissions within the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) model for the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR). To do so, the annual panel data collected during the 1990-2014 periods was used. The CO2 variable, representing carbon dioxide emissions in metric tons per capita, was used as a proxy for the emission of pollutants. The annual data were obtained from the World Bank (World Development Indicators). The sample consisted of the five MERCOSUR member countries: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela, comprising a period of 25 consecutive years. The results showed that energy consumption from renewable sources had a negative impact on CO2 emissions, while the energy consumption from non-renewable sources had a positive impact. The positive impact of economic development on CO2 emissions was also seen. In addition, this study supports the validity of the EKC hypothesis for the MERCOSUR because GDP (real output) leads to environmental degradation while GDP2 reduces the level of gas emissions.

Centralidade municipal e interação estratégica na decisão de gastos públicos em saúde / Municipal centrality and strategic interaction in deciding on public healthcare spending

Este artigo examina a influência que os municípios catarinenses exercem uns sobre outros nas decisões de gasto com saúde no ano de 2010. Partindo da teoria dos lugares centrais, tem-se como ponto focal a ideia de que há relações verticais entre municípios centrais e periféricos, principalmente em relação aos serviços mais específicos, como os hospitalares. Argumenta-se que esse tipo de interação vertical ocorre simultaneamente com a interação horizontal e que, quando a primeira é desconsiderada, pode mascarar esta última. Foi utilizado um modelo espacial autorregressivo para testar tal hipótese. Os resultados empíricos dão suporte a essa ideia, mostrando que municípios centrais apresentam maiores custos na subfunção hospitalar. Há também evidências de que, quando se considera a centralidade no modelo, o coeficiente de dependência espacial horizontal torna-se mais pronunciado.

This article examines the influence that the municipalities of the state of Santa Catarina exerted on each other in deciding how much to spend on healthcare, in 2010. Using central place theory as a starting point, this paper focuses on the idea that there existed certain vertical relationships between central and peripheral municipalities, especially in more specific services such as those provided by hospitals. We argue that this type of vertical interaction occurs simultaneously with horizontal interaction and that, when the former is not considered, the latter may end up being concealed. We used a spatial self-regression model to test this hypothesis. The empirical results of the test support this idea, showing that the central municipalities have higher costs in terms of their sub-function of hospital services. We also found evidence that when the model takes centrality into account, then the horizontal spatial dependency coefficient becomes more pronounced.

Este artículo examina cómo los municipios de Santa Catarina se influyen entre sí en las decisiones degasto en salud, con base en el año 2010. Sobre la base de la teoría de los lugares centrales ha sido unpunto focal para el análisis de la idea de que existe una relación vertical entre el centro y municipiosperiféricos, especialmente en relación con los servicios más específicos como los servicios hospitalarios.Se argumenta que este tipo de interacción vertical, se produce simultáneamente con la interacciónhorizontal, y cuando omiso puede ocultar esto. Se utilizó un modelo autorregresivo espacial paraprobar esta hipótesis. Los resultados empíricos apoyan esta idea, mostrando que los municipios centralestienen incluso mayores costos en los servicios hospitalarios. La evidencia también muestra que,al considerar esta centralidad en la relación horizontal la dependencia especial es más pronunciada.

Sustentabilidade econômica das instituições de longa permanência para idosos / Economic sustainability of long-stay institutions for the elderly

O objetivo do trabalho é verificar a forma de sustentabilidade econômica e o valor do custo de permanência de um idoso nas Instituições de Longa Permanência para Idosos - ILPIs. Foram coletadas informações das despesas e receitas de quatro instituições, por meio da aplicação de um questionário e de entrevista, em maio de 2011. O resultado da pesquisa mostra que há uma insuficiência de recursos destinados às instituições, sendo que a principal fonte de arrecadação das filantrópicas são as doações da comunidade, com o suporte da prestação de serviços voluntários. Os recursos do governo representam uma parcela pouco expressiva, pois para cada idoso com razoável condição física o governo repassa R$ 6,71, enquanto para os incapacitantes o valor chega a R$ 7,81.

The purpose of this study is to verify the form of economic sustainability and the cost of staying of an elderly in Long Stay Institutions for Aged People. Information about income and expenditure of four institutions were collected through a questionnaire and interview in May 2011. The research result shows that there is a failure of resources destined for the institutions where the main source of revenue comes from philanthropic donations from the community, with the support of volunteer service. The government resources represent a nonsignificant portion because for every elderly person in reasonable physical condition the government passes R$ 6.71, while for the disabled the value reaches R$ 7.81.