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What are the effects of extractive informal institutions on the horizontal accountability process in a developing democracy? This paper presents evidence about the harmful effects of extractive informal institutions on horizontal accountability within subnational governments in Brazil. After three decades of free and competitive elections, the institutional design of oversight institutions for state governments has hardly changed. We explore the hypothesis that more extractive informal institutions, measured by the level of income inequality, is associated with decreasing transparency levels. Given its extensive social, political, and economic diversity embedded in an overall centralized formal institutional framework, Brazil provides an appropriate setting to test the hypothesis that extractive informal institutions responsible for increased income inequality can undermine horizontal accountability in new democracies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the efficiency of federal government funding for destination competitiveness and the relationship among destination competitiveness enhancement and local development. Destination competitiveness models provide the theoretical background. The research is exploratory and descriptive. We mapped the investments from Brazilian Ministry of Tourism in 65 destinations. Destination Competitiveness was measured with information from the Brazilian Competitiveness Model. Data were analyzed with data envelopment analysis and multiple regression analysis. Study findings demonstrate that competitiveness enhancement does not depend on the amount of funding, but on its strategic application according to destination development stage. Besides, competitiveness dimensions Marketing, Monitoring, and Cooperation are major drivers for local development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper was to identify to what extent public policies were responsible for the strong economic development seen in the Arapongas/PR furniture-focused Local Productive Arrangement (LPA), between 2000 and 2012, as seen from an institutional perspective. The research for this paper based itself on a case study using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The qualitative phase involved the analysis of the thematic content of documents, carried out in 2012, which then supported the quantitative phase through the application of a structured questionnaire in 2013 to 38 companies within the LPA. The conditions of the institutional environment altered the technical environment in terms of allowing for the level of development observed to be sustained. However, they proved much weaker than expected in terms of improving the competitiveness of and economic benefits to these companies as per the APL model disseminated. This was evident in the limitations seen in social relations, which were too weak to offer local actors a degree of trust and to reduce isolation in small groups and individual competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social innovation policies have sparked extensive discussions on the future of European socio-economic development, despite there being very few studies that link them to the question of territorial development. This paper analyzes how social innovation initiatives encourage the development of policies capable of boosting territorial development. The case study, which is based on a qualitative analysis, describes the experience of the Bolsa de Terras (Land Exchange). The Land Exchange was created within the field of social economy in order to make use of abandoned land and was transformed into a national policy in Portugal. The research shows that initiatives of social economy are mechanisms able to generate more sustainable local support systems. They also show that the network structure, based on cooperation, appears to be a key mechanism in fostering social innovation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyze the dynamics of participation of social actors in the social management of territorial development policy and how it influences the process of allocation of public resources through the process of monitoring projects in the Territory of Serra do Brigadeiro, Minas Gerais. The study identifies that the experience of constructing and legitimizing policy has enabled a new institutional space (Territorial Forum), which enabled the discussion and selection of collective projects. The Forum, through its deliberative action, managed to establish a relatively autonomous development agenda, which enabled broader discussions on rural development, despite the limitations of the operation of the public policy program and the quality of participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to evaluate, through a single case study, the functioning of the Câmara de Animação Econômica da Subprefeitura do Itaim Paulista (CAE-IT), a mechanism by which it sought to promote work and income generation. The region has about 380,000 inhabitants, a high rate of violence and a large number of young people without access to basic education and no job offer. Thus, in 2005, the Subprefeitura do Itaim Paulista articulated with a series of partners developed the idea of CAE-IT. Initially, they sought to understand the local reality, through the analysis of secondary data. Then, there was a consultation with community health workers to understand what were the economic vocations of the region and in which public policy should focus on targeted efforts. The final decision was to focus on promotion of local productive arrangements involved in waste recycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the role of diverse social actors -- particularly entrepreneurs -- in the construction of a model of economic development which is descriptive of Lessingers (1986) "Penturbia". We used the town of Tiradentes, Minas Gerais State, as archetypical of the concept and we analyze its developmental trajectory in a grounded theory study. Our research included classic ethnographic methods; analysis of documents, direct observation, and in depth interviews with representatives of restaurants, hotels, studios, foundations, the church, and political figures. We used the N-vivo 8.0 software program to validate our interpretation of interview transcriptions. Our data suggested two general categories of entrepreneur which emerged from oppositional themes in respondent discourse. These categories, in turn were expanded into four additional categories -- craftsperson, engineer, bricoleur and artist suggested by the international entrepreneurship literature. The frequency and policy orientation of these categories vis-à-vis local development has important implications for the sociocultural and economic future of the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]