In this paper we investigate the macroeconomic and welfare effects of recent proposals to reduce the tax burden on the production sector in Brazil. We evaluate two specific policy measures: a) the replacement of social security taxes with a consumption tax; and b) the provision of tax incentives...

This paper aims to contribute to the debate on the best way to reduce the tax burden on the production sector in Brazil, by simulating an overlapping generations model calibrated to the country's economy. Our focus is on the comparison of the macroeconomic and welfare impacts brought about by...

The Programa Crescer is a sub-program under the Programa Nacional de Microcredito Produtivo Orientado (PNMPO), considered a microcredit policy aimed at low-income formal and informal micro-entrepreneurs, providing credit without collateral and with interest rates subsidized by the Governo...

Financial constraints on Brazilian firms are very high compared to advanced economies. In Brazil, 59% of firms have access to a bank loan or a credit line. In developed countries, the average percentage is 95%. Loan collateral requirements are much higher in Brazil (95% of the loan value) than...

This paper analyzes the determinants of local institutions and distribution of political power within a constant 'macro-institutional' setting. We show that characteristics of Brazilian municipalities related to institutional quality and distribution of political power are partly inherited from...

When agricultural productivity improves, farmers may react by expanding farming and further encroach on forest lands, or they may choose to intensify and produce more output with less land. We specify the conditions under which agricultural productivity can have such ambiguous effects on...

This paper examines the effect of nonagricultural land use on agrarian organization and land reform, providing a simple model to determine its policy implications and some evidence on its importance. It is argued that, if land-rental market is imperfect, there is a role for redistributive land...

Since Henry George (1839-1897) economists have been arguing that a tax on unim- proved land is an ideal tax on e¢ ciency grounds. Output taxes, on the other hand, have distortional effects on the economy. This paper shows that under asymmetric information output tax might be used along with...