In this paper Scully's model (1995) was implemented empirically to determine the optimal size of the public sector in Brazil in terms of "serfdom" days allocated by individuals for the payment of taxes (the so-called tax freedom day). The results indicate that this number would be approximately...

Does the occurrence of crimes increase or decrease on sporting event days? There is no conclusive answer in the literature. This article uses a database that combines crime occurrences in the Metropolitan Region of Porto Alegre and the performance of soccer matches in a panel of daily data for...

There are many studies on the relationship between economic development and institutions. Institutions can be classified as formal or informal. This article emphasizes the importance of the relationship between culture (informal institutions) and the quality of public goods supplied by the...

Cartazes were an instrument of power the Portuguese used in the Indian Ocean during the age of the ultramarine explorations. In this short lecture note, after an initial review of the literature, I propose that the Portuguese Cartaz fits the definition of rent-seeking

The COVID-19 pandemic caused an interruption in Brazilian soccer in 2020. Since early July, the presence of fans at stadiums was strictly forbidden by law. The literature states that crowds' pressure could result in a referee's bias against the away team and increase the home team's pressure to...

How successful did the Brazilian Hereditary Captaincies done at the 16th century? Until recently, no data-oriented study has explored this question. In this article I use Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to address this question, estimating several production possibility frontiers. The main...