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Scholars concur that free and fair elections are essential for proper democratic functioning, but our understanding of the political effects of democratic voting systems is incomplete. This article mitigates the gap by exploiting the gradual transformation of voting systems and ballot structures in Brazil's 1998 executive elections to study the relationship between voting systems and viable and nonviable candidates' vote shares, using regression discontinuity design. It finds that the introduction of electronic voting concentrated vote shares among viable candidates and thus exhibited electoral bias. We posit that this result occurred because viable candidates were better able to communicate the information that electronic voters needed to cast valid ballots than were their nonviable counterparts. The article uses survey data to demonstrate that electronic voters responded to changes in ballot design and internalized the information viable candidates made available to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Production of kaolin for the paper-coating industry in the Brazilian Amazon region generates large amounts of waste, most of which is kaolinite. It is known that such materials can be used to synthesize zeolites. The use of kaolin waste for zeolite synthesis could, in principle, help social and economic development while providing valuable materials for industry. Additionally, there is a significant environmental appeal if such wastes could be used instead of new raw materials.This study focused on the production of zeolite A. Samples of the raw material were first calcined (700ºC/2 h) to obtain metakaolinite for further reaction with NaOH solution. Different parameters were evaluated to optimize the synthesis conditions of zeolite A. The results showed that zeolite A with a large degree of structural order was generally obtained as the only zeolitic product. The following synthesis conditions were used: temperature 110ºC, time 24 h and a Na/Al ratio of 1.36. Hydroxysodalite was also obtained under specific conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preparing regional development strategies for the Amazon Basin is a vexing task for policymakers. Forests continue to fall and agriculture to move in to a region with patchy (in terms of agronomic potential) yet broadly nutrient-poor soils. The spatial distribution of soil types is not well mapped at finer scales relevant for agriculture. There is, moreover, little evidence about how farm land use or farm household welfare varies by soil quality in this frontier setting. Despite these information gaps, regional planners continue to use soils as a basis for policy action, some of which may influence future options for the Amazon. This paper uses a farm-level bioeconomic model that captures soil-quality-specific degrading effects of agricultural activities to assess the impacts of soil quality differences on deforestation, use of cleared land, and smallholder income in the western Brazilian Amazon. Focusing on an archetypical area farm with reasonable market access but limited access to labor and credit, simulations show soil quality mattered more for income than for deforestation or land use, although extremely cash-strapped farmers on poor-quality soils could face displacement. Pasture dominated farm land use across all soil types as farm forest disappeared within a generation on successfully established farms. Good- and (viable) poor-soil farms had slightly slower deforestation rates than their medium-soil counterparts – rich-soil farms shifting small amounts of area (and labor) to the more nutrient- and labor-intensive annuals, and (even viable) poor-soil farms lacking sufficient resources to clear and farm additional land. Farms with good soils could generate about 44 per cent more income than their viable poor-soil counterparts, but the lower-income level still surpassed thresholds for meeting food security and other needs. At no combination of income level and soil quality explored did the (simulated) farmer find it worthwhile to purchase and apply chemical fertilizer; nutrients came instead from secondary forest fallow, whose area rose or fell in step with annual cropping area. The implications of these results for land-use zoning, forest conservation, poverty alleviation, and other policies are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent collection of essays on Germany''s relations with Latin America Natalja Karthaus argued that ‘Latin America was never a priority area for German foreign policy’. Natalja Karthaus, ‘Lateinamerika als Bezugsfeld der (bundes-) deutschen Außenpolitik’, in Manfred Mols and Christoph Wagner, eds., Deutschland-Lateinamerika: Geschichte, Gegenwart und Perspektiven (Frankfurt/Main: Vervuert, 1994), 53. Karthaus''s verdict can, in fact, be extended to the Luso-Hispanic world as a whole, thus including Portugal and also, for most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Spain. On aspects of the history of German – Spanish relations see now Conrad Kent, Thomas K. Wolber and Cameron M. K. Hewitt, eds., The Lion and the Eagle; Interdisciplinary Essays on German – Spanish Relations over the Centuries (New York and Oxford: Berghahn, 2000). Even Hitler''s foreign policy, despite its global aspirations, is included in Karthaus''s assessment. The focus of this article is largely on Brazil, Argentina, Spain and Portugal. These four countries were of comparatively greater importance to the Nazi regime than the other Latin American countries. On the latter see, inter alia, Jobst-H. Floto, Die Beziehungen Deutschlands zu Venezuela 1933 bis 1958 (Frankfurt/Main, Vervuert, 1991); María M. Camou, Los vaivenes de la politica exterior uruguaya ante la pugna de las potencias; las relaciones con el Tercer Reich (1933–1942) (Montevideo: Fundación de Cultura Universitaria, 1990); Klaus Volland, Das Dritte Reich und Mexiko. Studien zur Entwicklung des deutsch-mexikanischen Verhältnisses 1933–1942 unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Ölpolitik (Frankfurt/Main, Berr: Peter Lang, 1976). To Hitler, both Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula (with the exception of Spain during the first year of that country''s civil war and again in 1940/41) were of marginal relevance to his foreign policy objectives. This verdict notwithstanding Nazi Germany maintained regular, indeed in some areas close, relations to the countries of Latin America and the Iberian peninsula which warrant closer examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This paper describes the first web-based self-completed 24-h recall designed to categorise food intake according to Nova groups – Nova24h – and its agreement with a reference tool in estimating the dietary relative contribution of the four Nova food groups (% of total energy intake). Design: Comparisons of estimates of dietary relative contributions of Nova groups obtained by Nova24h and one standard interviewer-led 24-h recall. Setting: Nationwide adult cohort study in Brazil. Participants: The subjects were 186 participants of the NutriNet Brasil Cohort Study (n 186). Results: No statistically significant differences were observed between the Nova24h and the reference tool mean contributions of unprocessed or minimally processed foods (52·3 % v. 52·6 %), processed culinary ingredients (11·6 % v. 11·9 %), processed foods (17·1 % v. 14·7 %) and ultra-processed foods (19·0 % v. 20·9 %). Intraclass correlation coefficients between individual estimates obtained for each Nova group showed moderate to good agreement (0·54–0·78). Substantial or almost perfect agreement between the tools was seen regarding the ability to rank participants according to quintiles of contribution of each Nova group (PABAK 0·69–0·81). Conclusions: Nova24h is a suitable tool for estimating the dietary relative energy contribution of Nova food groups in the NutriNet Brasil cohort. New studies are necessary to verify its adequacy in other populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Violent conflicts involving non-State armed groups challenge conventional perceptions of war and armed conflict. Criminal enterprises (transnational organized criminal groups including gangs and cartels) are involved in violent competition for both profit and territorial control in many parts of the world. This paper examines the situation in Mexico and Brazil as case studies to assess the legal challenges to criminal armed violence when criminal groups battle among themselves and the State. The paper focuses on the operational challenges and considerations facing police, military, and security forces and justice institutions to illuminate the legal challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The solution to weak bureaucratic capacity in developing countries is often presumed to be more accountability. This paper shows how accountability initiatives, intended to reduce corruption, can actually hinder the development of capable government agencies by making it harder for directors to recruit experts and spend their budgets. It further highlights a common way public servants escape the accountability rules that limit their effectiveness: outsourcing bureaucracies to nonstate organizations. This practice of outsourcing bureaucracy to avoid accountability rules creates what I call "shadow" state capacity and, paradoxically, it may help explain "pockets of effectiveness" among government social programs in developing countries. Drawing on in-depth interviews and descriptive statistics, I show how outsourcing was a critical factor in producing two of Brazil's most vaunted social sector programs. However, I also suggest that outsourcing bureaucracy may ultimately limit state capacity, even if it helps to build capable programs in the short run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper covers the development of the sawtooth wages model, a graphical representation of the behavior of periodically adjusted fixed nominal wages under persistent inflationary conditions. Ranging from the immediate postwar years to the late 1980s, our narrative covers the history of the model, underscoring Bent Hansen's (1951) contribution, followed by several improvements that aimed to incorporate into inflation theory several institution-specifc traits of underdeveloped economies. The diagram had a lukewarm reception in the 1960s but managed to defend its legacy until the 1980s, as the inertial inflation hypothesis gained terrain in the debate on economic stabilization in Latin America. Under the widespread diffusion of indexation practices, the model was then fully rehabilitated as a workhorse for theoretical and policy analysis in Brazil until a succesful stabilization was achieved in 1994 under the Real plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many countries, the structure of wages and the labor law legislation are completely different for public and private sector employees. In this paper, we develop a general equilibrium overlapping generations model to study the effect of such differences on household savings and labor supply. To conduct our analysis, first we use microdata from two Brazilian household surveys to document that civil servants save and work significantly less than their counterparts in the private sector. Second, we use matched employer–employee microdata from Brazil (RAIS) to document differences between the two sectors in terms of wage and unemployment risk. Then, we calibrate the model to be consistent with micro and macro evidence for Brazil. Our counterfactual exercises show that differences in wages characteristics and labor law legislation account for nearly 70% of the gap in savings between civil servants and private sector workers, and 57% of the gap in labor supply. In addition, we find that eliminating those differences can produce sizable increase on aggregate savings, employment, and welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biochar is considered a promising option for the development of sustainable agroecosystems, due to its diverse agronomic and environmental benefits. In this context, the aim of this study was to carry out a bibliometric analysis on biochar research in Brazil within an agricultural context, including investigating the raw materials most employed for its production in the country. The analysis was conducted based on a search for scientific articles (peer-reviewed papers) at the Web of Science database (WoS Core Collection) from 2003 to 2020 specifically in Brazil. A performance analysis was carried out by applying a descriptive and metric approach concerning research constituents (authors, institutions, countries and keywords) and science mapping to clarify scientific collaborations and cognitive and intellectual structure patterns regarding the biochar domain in Brazilian research, using the VOSviewer software. The obtained studies were also analyzed individually to classify the different raw materials employed in biochar production. A total of 261 scientific articles met the screening criteria, indicating that the beginning of biochar publications in Brazil took place in 2003, increasing until 2015 and peaking in 2021. Institutions and authors with the highest publication contributions were the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) (Novotny E.), São Paulo University (USP) (Cerri C.) and Federal Lavras University (UFLA) (Melo L.). The United States, Spain, Australia, Germany and the Netherlands present the most collaborations on biochar research with Brazil. The biochar domain was highly associated with the following keywords: biochar, pyrogenic carbon, pyrolysis, charcoal, immobilization, black carbon, soil fertility and soil and characterization. Raw materials of plant origin were the most employed in biochar research in Brazil, with wood residues being the most studied and residues originated from the sugar-energy industry (straw, bagasse and filter cake) identified as exhibiting high potential for future studies. Poultry litter is the most promising animal waste for biochar production, while the use of biosolids can be innovative, contributing to the consolidation of biochar as an option for serious urban waste sanitary management problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineered products have economic, environmental, and social impacts, which comprise the major dimensions of sustainability. This paper seeks to explore interactions between design parameters when social impacts are incorporated into the concept development phase of the systems design process. Social impact evaluation is increasing in importance similar to what has happened in recent years with environmental impact consideration in the design of engineered products. Concurrently, research into new airship design has increased. Airships have yet to be reintroduced at a large scale or for a range of applications in society. Although airships have the potential for positive environmental and economic impacts, the social impacts are still rarely considered. This paper presents a case study of the hypothetical introduction of airships in the Amazon region of Brazil to help local farmers transport their produce to market. It explores the design space in terms of both engineering parameters and social impacts using a discrete-event simulation to model the system. The social impacts are found to be dependent not only on the social factors and airship design parameters but also on the farmer-airship system, suggesting that socio-technical systems design will benefit from integrated social impact metric analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Afro-Brazilian religion of Candomblé arose during the Atlantic slave trade and has unmistakable Yorùbá influences. In the city of Salvador, the term nação ketu [Ketu nation] is used among the oldest temples in describing Yorùbá heritage. This has led some scholars to assume that the founders came from the Yorùbá kingdom by that name. This paper critically examines the idea of Kétu origins, taking as a case study the temple Ilê Axé Iyá Nassô Oká, a national historic heritage site in Brazil that is recognized by UNESCO as a site of diasporic memory. The paper shows that the first generations of leadership were dominated by people from Ọ̀yọ́ and that the term ketu emerged not as an allusion to ethnic origins but perhaps as a metaphor for a heterogeneous cultural context in which Yorùbá speakers from disparate regions lived in close coexistence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on collective action has poorly addressed processes of incremental institutional changes within organizations. This paper helps fill this gap by shedding light on how the community-based management of an organic label has changed following its formal recognition as a 'participatory guarantee system' (PGS). Ostrom and Basurto's (2011) analytical tool is useful to describe the changes in collective rules to address collective action problems that take place in standard-setting and labeling activities. Using original data collected from the Ecovida Agroecology Network – the oldest and largest PGS in Brazil –, we study the multi-scale changes in governance rules from the 1970s until today. We pay particular attention to the links between the institutional consolidation of PGS, its recognition by public authorities, and its adaptation to legal rules. We detail analytical operators indicating whether the introduction of the PGS rules at the national level was bottom-up or top-down. Our findings emphasize how local communities have been able to both adapt their governance system in response to the official arrangements concerning organic regulations, and influence national public arenas where these arrangements are defined. This form of co-management has been accompanied by a significant increase in the number of PGS-certified farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How is policy implementation affected by increased polarisation and extreme shifts in politics? In order to address this question, the paper focuses on frontline workers' (street-level bureaucrats') interpretations of political shifts and how these are then translated into practice. Building on ethnographic fieldwork conducted among social workers in Northeast Brazil, the paper proposes a theoretical framework for analysing the influence of political landscapes on policy implementation by foregrounding the political processes in which these agents play a critical role. Drawing on empirical data, the paper proposes ideal types of possible outcomes of translation practices – counterbalance, collaboration, resistance – that function as a guiding framework for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the association between ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption and internalising symptoms (IS) among adolescents.Design: It is a cross-sectional study. Paper-pencil survey was completed in classroom with information on UPF consumption, IS and selected covariates. IS were assessed with the Internalizing Symptoms sub-scale from the Social Behaviour Questionnaire (IS-SBQ). UPF was evaluated with a FFQ extracted from the Brazilian National School Health Survey. Crude and adjusted association between UPF and IS was investigated with structural equation models.Setting: São Paulo, SP, Brazil.Participants: A total of 2680 students, Mage = 14·85; (95 % CI 14·81, 14·88).Results: UPF consumption was associated with higher scores in IS in the crude (β = 0·14; P < 0·001) and adjusted (β = 0·12; P < 0·001) models. The higher the consumption of UPF, the higher is the IS score. The following variables were associated with a lower risk of UPF consumption: male sex, public school and having more meals with parents. The change in the magnitude of the standardised score was almost negligible, but the model was significantly improved with the inclusion of covariates.Conclusions: Our results provide evidence about the positive association between UPF consumption and IS among adolescents. The association, despite its low magnitude, remained significant after adjusting for potential confounders. These results are relevant considering the increase in UPF consumption worldwide and in low- and middle-income countries. Also, our study emphasises the importance of a healthy diet with a reduction in UPF consumption among adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Latin American Studies is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Lagoa Salgada is located in the Paraíba do Sul river delta plain on the coast of Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, and is one of the few lagoons in the world that have well-developed recent stromatolites. Lagoa Salgada is a hypersaline lagoon formed in a very complex environmental system subjected to terrestrial and oceanic influences under different sea level regimes and climate variations. In addition, sediment and stromatolites are characterized by unusually positive inorganic δ13C VPDB values. For this reason, it has been the target of several geological and paleoenvironmental studies, which, in their great majority, require a geochronological technique in order to determine the changes in the environment over time. When radiocarbon (14C) dating is used, it is necessary to consider some details as the source of 14C in the environment and perform 14C ages calibration accordingly. In the present paper, a bibliographic survey was carried out in order to review the data treatment and improve the environmental evolution discussion based on accurate calibration. Using the Marine20 curve and an undetermined ΔR, we generated growth and depositional models to establish an overview of the formation of this lagoon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a research paper which aims to investigate the anthropometric and body composition parameters associated with the metabolically obese normal-weight (MONW) phenotype.

Presents an abstract on a research paper entitled `Government Guarantees, Private Profits, and Social Returns: Public Transport Policy in Brazil, 1854-1913,' by William R. Summerhill, presented at the annual meeting of the Economic History Association.

This paper seeks to understand how decision‐making works at the first appearance hearings (Custody Hearings) in Brazil, an initiative that intends to make the Brazilian criminal justice system more accusatorial. We used primary data gathered in the hearings between April and December 2018 in nine Brazilian states. Binary logistic regression models were applied to identify the variables that affect the odds ratios of pretrial detention. Results indicated a high level of homology between the prosecutors' requests and the judges' decisions, even when controlling for the characteristics of offense and offender, which precludes any direct openness to the defense. Decision‐making in the Custody Hearing reinforces the inquisitorial characteristics and the institutional features of the Brazilian Criminal Justice System, suggesting that the reforms carried out over the last years were not able to change how actors operate on a daily basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A total of eight species of thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) have been listed as banana pests in Brazil. Their feeding and oviposition behaviour on these fruits damage their appearance in ways that can impair commercial value. As a result, taxonomic studies that seek to correctly identify thrips can positively impact the cultivation of bananas. Many earlier records of banana thrips in Brazil consist of doubtful identifications or untraceable reports. In this paper, the identification of these banana pests in Brazil is revised and an illustrated identification key is provided. The specimens examined were collected over a period of 10 years from the most representative banana-growing areas in Brazil. Seven banana thrips in Brazil are now recognised: Bradinothrips musae (Hood), Chaetanaphothrips orchidii (Moulton), Danothrips trifasciatus Sakimura, Elixothrips brevisetis (Bagnall), Frankliniella brevicaulis Hood, Frankliniella parvula Hood, and Hoodothrips lineatus (Hood). Chaetanaphothrips orchidii and Danothrips trifasciatus are recorded for the first time as causing damage to banana crops in Brazil. In addition, the following three species are considered misidentifications and should be disregarded as banana pests in Brazil: Frankliniella fulvipennis Moulton, Hercinothrips bicinctus (Bagnall), and Hercinothrips femoralis (Reuter). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the question as to whether it is profitable to apply a mechanical mulching technology (MT) in the Bragantina region of Brazil and assesses the technology''s feasibility as an alternative to the slash-and-burn practices of the Amazon. Using empirical data collected from a prototype assessment and a few secondary sources, the paper employs a cost–benefit analysis of ‘with’ and ‘without’ technology cropping systems (plots that applied the technology are compared with those that did not) to assess the financial and economic feasibility of investing in the MT. The analysis showed that the technology is profitable, both financially and socially, mainly because it is able to produce yields that are high enough to offset the costs, including the hiring of the mulching equipment. However, it may not be a feasible alternative to slash-and-burn farming unless certain conditions are fulfilled by farmers. Most of these conditions relate to farmers'' adherence to a set of rules for the successful application of the technology. These rules include the abandonment of a single cropping cycle, typical for the traditional slash-and-burn system, and the adoption of two cycles of crop cultivation. In addition, farmers have to choose profitable crop combinations, such as cassava and beans for both cycles. Since most of the trial farmers did not meet these conditions, the technology received a notably low acceptability (8%). Further analysis indicated that the main reason for this trend was the increase of total labor requirement (by 32%), though the technology reduced labor demand during land preparation to almost zero. Similarly, there was a 22% increase in requirement for inorganic fertilizers. Thus, compared with the slash-and-burn practices of the Amazon, the MT can be regarded as a more intensive method of farming which gives higher crop yields but demands higher quantities of inputs such as labor and inorganic fertilizers. The paper concludes by deriving policy implications for the feasibility of the MT as an alternative to slash-and-burn agriculture in the Amazon. Among these is the importance of creating incentives to extend the cropping period from one to two consecutive cycles. Moreover, the necessity to conduct further studies after the technology has been adopted by the farmers is underscored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper draws on the cases of Brazil and Chile to consider the lack of progress towards securing better health outcomes for women in the field of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). At first glance, these poor outcomes for women appear surprising, given that both countries represent middle-income countries where significant developments have occurred towards ensuring universal access to healthcare services. Yet, a more nuanced analysis uncovers the historically constructed gender regimes and policy legacies within relevant institutions that act to limit progress. The discussion in the paper specifically focuses on the evolution of the health sector in the two countries, the role of the medical profession and the influence of the Catholic Church, which, we argue, have been key to constraining women's SRHR in Brazil and Chile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Law and globalization studies have documented how Global South lawyers compete over the adaptation of international norms. Yet, little is known about how this adaptation legitimates worldviews beyond the law. To advance this literature, this paper proposes a discourse‐centered field analysis of the legal globalization of anti‐corruption ideas in Brazil. It examines Brazilian lawyers' disputes over a 2016 anti‐corruption bill. The bill supporters mobilize global anti‐corruption discourses that are exogenous to the legal field to defend harsher criminal law. Their critics counter the reform by mobilizing endogenous legal ideas against criminal law expansion. In so doing, they do not challenge reformers' ideas about corruption. I show how this discursive mismatch leads to a form of globalization by stealth, whereby local dynamics allow global ideas to remain unchallenged in local fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a context of rapid technological innovation and expensive new products, the paper calls for the generation of real-world data to inform decision-making and an international discussion on the affordability of new medicines, particularly for low- and middle-income countries. Without these, the challenges of health judicialization will continue to grow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to characterize the main actors in the Brazilian pharmaceutical industry — national companies, foreign companies and public laboratories — and analyze how they were affected and how they reacted to changes over the last 30 years in the institutional framework. The results show that national companies have been gaining prominence in the Brazilian pharmaceutical market with their internationalization movement and their strengthening of innovation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquaponics technology has recently been offered as a good option for sustainable food systems among small-scale farmers, particularly those seeking an organic production or dealing with land quality constraints, such as urban farmers. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence for the capacity of small farmers to adopt the technology. The unique requirements of aquaponics may create technical, economic and even cultural constraints and opportunities. This paper uses empirical evidence gathered with small-scale farmers in São Carlos, State of São Paulo, Brazil, to present the capacity of adoption for the technology, including possible limiting factors and incentives for farmers. The study conducted interviews with owners of 'agriculturas familiares' (Portuguese for small family owned farms) within 30 km of São Carlos. The interviews revealed that there is widespread interest in the potential profitability of aquaponics systems, significant interest in environmentally friendly practices, familiarity with organic production and hydroponics and a large base of agricultural knowledge in the community that can drive adoption. However, lack of initial financing, limited human power and concerns about product placement were significant barriers to adoption. For settlement farmers (those working on land formerly abandoned) poor soil quality and water scarcity are key issues that could be alleviated by the technology. The city of Sao Carlos present program for purchasing specific types of products from these farms could be used as a model for increasing aquaponics adoption and relieving success concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of History in Africa: A Journal of Method is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper we assess the potential economic effects of climate change on Brazilian agriculture scenarios in different regions in a general equilibrium framework, using a detailed regional economic database for the year 2005. Two different climate change impact scenarios are simulated. This paper extends the Brazilian literature in three different ways: by considering detailed shocks by product and region; by highlighting the connections between the potential impacts of climate change on agriculture and the labor market, with an inter-regional focus; and by specifying the links between climate change forecasts for agriculture and household expenditures. Results show that climate change impacts on Brazilian agriculture would have a relatively small economic effect on the Brazilian economy in aggregate terms, but with severe consequences at the regional level, making a strong case for losses that would be concentrated in the poorest regions and for the poorest workers and households in those regions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Harvard political science professor Samuel P. Huntington (1927–2008) made visits to Brazil in 1972 and 1974 to advise the government about 'decompression' or regime liberalisation. The literature on Brazil's dictatorship references these visits as having had a major causal impact. This article argues that his influence on Brazilian regime change is greatly exaggerated. It also argues that Huntington, who became a leading theorist of democratisation, had an interest in and commitment to democracy that was more recent and circumstantial than is often thought. This helps to explain the current period of democratic 'deconsolidation' associated with the rise of authoritarian national populism in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Latin American Studies is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Latin American Studies is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Summary: Rivulidae comprises a family of fish largely distributed in Brazil that includes 201 species, of which 125 are considered endangered. This fact emphasizes the need for development of conservation strategies including studies on genetics and reproduction. In this paper, we describe aspects of biology and reproduction of the rivuliid species Hypsolebias sertanejo. We outline the reproductive behaviour of this species under laboratory conditions, analyze ploidy status by flow cytometry, describe reproductive behaviour and performance and test dry and wet incubation of eggs. Although H. sertanejo showed well known patterns of reproductive behaviour, we verified many peculiarities inherent to its reproductive biology. As expected, most individuals were diploid (87.71%), however 14.29% were considered mosaics. Although no sterility was observed within mosaics, infertility of these fish was not fully evaluated. Hatching rate of the eggs collected was very low following both dry and wet incubation (5.04 and 3.79%, respectively). These results provide interesting information regarding the reproductive success of this species, and suggest that chromosomal abnormalities described may reduce the survival of H. sertanejo under natural conditions, limiting the perpetuation of this species, and emphasizing the need for more preservation efforts, including artificial propagation and gene banking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Population growth and rising incomes have led to increasing global demand for meat products. Meeting this demand without converting remaining natural ecosystems or further degrading ecosystems is one of the largest global sustainability challenges. A critical step to overcoming this challenge is to increase the productivity of livestock grazing systems, which occupy the largest land area of any type of agriculture globally. Integrated crop−livestock systems (iCL), which re-couple crop and livestock production at the farm scale, have been considered a promising strategy to tackle this challenge by restoring degraded pasturelands and providing supplemental nutrition to livestock. However, few studies have analyzed the economic viability of such systems, especially in Brazil, an important player in global food systems. This paper presents an economic analysis of iCL in Mato Grosso, Brazil, the largest grain and beef producer in the country, which spans the ecologically diverse Amazon, Cerrado and Pantanal biomes. We compare the economic performance of an integrated soybean/corn and beef cattle system to a continuous crop (soybean/corn) system and a continuous livestock (beef cattle) production system from 2005 to 2012. We use empirical case study data to characterize a 'typical' farm for each production system within the study region. We find that the integrated crop−livestock system has a higher annual net present value (NPV) per hectare (ha) than continuous cropping or livestock under a range of discount rates. However, under a scenario of substantially higher crop prices, the continuous cropping outperforms iCL. While iCL is not feasible in all regions of the Amazon and Cerrado, our results indicate that in places where the biophysical and market conditions are suitable for production, it could be a highly profitable way to intensify cattle production and potentially spare land for other uses, including conservation. Nevertheless, additional credit and technical support may be needed to overcome high upfront costs and informational barriers to increase iCL areas as a sustainable development strategy for agriculture in the Amazon and Cerrado regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relationship between land concentration and deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. It develops a conceptual framework in which an individual may have three alternatives: to be a farmer in an already established place, to be a rural worker, or to migrate to the agricultural frontier in order to deforest. This model implies that land inequality affects deforestation positively. Based on data from municipalities with positive deforestation from 2002 to 2011, a model has been estimated to test this theoretical prediction. By making use of an instrumental variable, results show that there is statistical evidence to support the existence of a direct relationship between land inequality and deforestation. Results are stronger for the period 2002–2005. This might be due to command and control policies which have significantly increased the cost of clearing land since the mid-2000s. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper evaluates the impact of climate change on agricultural productivity. Cross-sectional variation in climate among Brazilian municipalities is used to estimate an equation in which geographical attributes determine agricultural productivity. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predictions based on atmosphere–ocean, coupled with general circulation models (for 2030–2049), are used to simulate the impacts of climate change. Our estimates suggest that global warming under the current technological standards is expected to decrease the agricultural output per hectare in Brazil by 18 per cent, with the effects on municipalities ranging from−40 to+15 per cent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Historia Económica / Journal of Iberian & Latin American Economic History is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Did Latin American privatisation policies fail because of flawed implementation of fundamentally sound policies or because privatisation policies were themselves seriously flawed? Using the Brazilian electric power reforms as a narrative tool, this paper examines the causal chain assumed by large-scale privatisation policies that were implemented as part of structural reform and adjustment programmes. The paper concludes that many privatisation policies and the economic stabilisation programmes within which they were embedded were not mutually reinforcing in the way that policymakers had expected, and that in their application much of what privatisation theories had claimed was lost in translation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expansion of sugarcane crop to regions with lower water supply in Brazil has increased the importance of correct estimation of crop water requirements. Currently, the irrigation management is generally done using the crop coefficient (Kc) based on the FAO 56 bulletin. Kc is used to determine the potential water demand of the crop for a given period of time and is considered constant for each crop stage. However, some recent studies have shown that Kc can be significantly variable under different evapotranspiration (ETo) rates. This paper aimed to analyse sugarcane water consumption at different scales: plant (sap flow measurements by energy balance method); canopy (Bowen ratio energy balance method); and plant–atmosphere coupling (infrared gas analyser) to reduce the uncertainties on the irrigation practices. Measurements were taken at two experimental sites, where a modern Brazilian cultivar CTC 12 was grown under drip irrigation and an old main Brazilian cultivar (RB867515) was grown under sprinkler irrigation by a central pivot. The mean crop evapotranspiration (ETc) values by the Bowen ratio energy balance method were 2.92 and 3.68 mm d−1 for RB867515 and CTC 12, respectively, resulting in a mean Kc of 0.99 at the full vegetative growth stage. Kc values were dependent on ETo and varied between 0.2 and 1.7 for both cultivars. This occurred in a crop coupled to the atmosphere (Ω = 0.37) and was the same found in other coupled crops such as coffee and citrus. In conclusion, the sugarcane Kc for southeast Brazil presented temporal variability due to coupling conditions according to reference evapotranspiration, and this should be considered in irrigation management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the contribution of agricultural output prices and policies to the reduction in Amazon deforestation in the 2000s. Based on a panel of Amazon municipalities from 2002 through 2009, we first show that deforestation responded to agricultural output prices. After controlling for price effects, we find that conservation policies implemented beginning in 2004 and 2008 significantly contributed to the curbing of deforestation. Counterfactual simulations suggest that conservation policies avoided approximately 73,000 km2 of deforestation, or 56 per cent of total forest clearings that would have occurred from 2005 through 2009 had the policies adopted beginning in 2004 and 2008 not been introduced. This is equivalent to an avoided loss of 2.7 billion tonnes of stored carbon dioxide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 was one of the rare events that shocked almost every world government simultaneously, thus creating an unusual opportunity to understand how political institutions shape policy decisions. There have been many analyses of what governments did. We focus instead on what they could do, focusing on the institutional politics of agency – how institutions empower rather than how they constrain, and how they affect public policy decisions. We examine public health measures in the first wave (March-September 2020) in Brazil, India, and the U.S. to understand how the interplay of institutions in a complex federal context shaped COVID-19 policy-responses. We find similar patterns of concentrated federal executive agency with limited constraints. In each case, when federal leadership failed public health policy responses, federated, subnational states were left to compensate for these inefficiencies without necessary resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper measures the economic impacts of Brazil's climate mitigation strategies contained in its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). To do so, we employ the computable general equilibrium MIT Economic Projection and Policy Analysis model and simulate alternative carbon pricing scenarios (sectoral versus economy-wide carbon markets), set to achieve the country's overall emissions targets announced under the Paris Agreement. The results show relatively cheap emissions reductions from land-use changes and agriculture in the short run: the cost of the Brazilian NDC is predicted to be only 0.7 per cent of GDP in 2030. Further efforts to reduce carbon emissions beyond 2030 would require policy changes, since all the potential emissions reductions from deforestation would be finished and the capacity to expand renewable energy sources would be constrained. In this case, an economy-wide carbon pricing system would help substantially to avoid higher compliance costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The family Clinostomidae Lühe, 1901 contains 29 species allocated to seven genera, of which Clinostomum Leidy, 1856 is the most diverse, with c. 14 valid species. The diversity of Clinostomum has been assessed, combining morphological and molecular data. The genetic library for species in this genus has increased steadily, although there is little or no information for the other genera included in the family. Molecular phylogenetic relationships among the genera of clinostomids have not been assessed, and their classification is still based on morphological traits. The monotypic Ithyoclinostomum was described from a fish-eating bird in Brazil, and its metacercariae have been found in several locations in South America, parasitizing erythrinid freshwater fishes. We collected unusually large metacercariae from the body cavity of cichlids in several locations across Middle America. These metacercariae exhibited some resemblance to Ithyoclinostomum , although several differences prevent their inclusion in Ithyoclinostomum dimorphum , casting doubt on their taxonomic identification. The main objective of this paper was to characterize the metacercariae collected in cichlids using both morphology and molecular data from three molecular markers, and to assess the molecular phylogenetic relationships among the genera of Clinostomidae to establish the position of the newly generated sequences. We took a conservative position and tentatively placed the metacercariae as belonging to Ithyoclinostomum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Irresponsible fiscal behavior by subnational units is a concern for federal or decentralized systems, especially in the developing world. States' expenditures in Brazil have been no different. Still, spending varies considerably among the Brazilian states, even after controlling for their financial resources. This article provides a political explanation for the variation in current spending, focusing on intergovernmental political relationships. It argues that credit claiming for pork distributed in a state plays a crucial role and that governors elevate state spending in order to make up for their loss in political credit from the pork distributed by the president. Analyzing data from the period 1996-2005, it finds that expenditures decrease as the relative number of federal deputies from the state governor's party increases compared to the number of deputies from the president's governing coalition when the national agenda encourages federal pork distribution in the states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Latin American Studies is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A recent review paper on nepheline solid solutions dealt mainly with sodic varieties from nepheline syenites and differentiated alkali basaltic sills. Excel spreadsheets were provided for recalculating cell formulae in terms of the stoichiometric parameters ΔAlcavity cation charge and ΔTframework charge and molecular percentages of the end-members Ne, Ks, Ca-nepheline and excess Si (Qxs). Small amounts of tetrahedral divalent species (usually <0.10 wt.% though with up to 0.33 wt.% MgO) were related to a stuffed-tridymite end-member of ideal formula K8Mg4Si12O32 (denoted KsT2+-nepheline), although the equations used to calculate these end-members only considered Si, Al and Fe3+ as tetrahedral framework species. Recently, K-rich nepheline and kalsilite which contain up 0.54 wt.% MgO have been found in some feldspar-free mafic potassic volcanic rocks from central Brazil. Equations have been developed to deal rigorously with the presence of significant amounts of Mg (and Mn) in recalculating nepheline solid-solution parameters. In two related communications reworked spreadsheets are provided with examples of their use. High quality microprobe analyses of nepheline and kalsilite from magmatic rocks must include analyses for Mg and Mn and, if possible, estimates of Fe2+ contents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Historia Económica / Journal of Iberian & Latin American Economic History is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Latin American Studies is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This research discusses contextual factors that influence the development of complementary and/or integrative therapies developed by local health units on street-level bureaucracy in Santos. Through a qualitative approach, the research verifies that street-level bureaucracy is free to suggest and implement the aforementioned therapies, even if they do not have formal support of the municipality; however, they need support from their immediate local supervisors so they can adjust and implement the practice's routine, or the practice might not occur. Additionally, this text also presents guidelines in order to further develop the research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]