This paper presents a non-technical overview of the recent investment literature with a special emphasis on the connection between technological progress and the investment decision. First of all, we acknowledge that some dramatic advances have been made in the 1990s in understanding and...

In this paper, we propose to explain capital accumulation in a stochastic framework by taking into account the two main motives for investment. Specifically, firms invest to expand capacity and to replace old machines. The model considers irreversible investment under uncertainty and embodied...

In this paper, we extend the usual models of irreversible investment under uncertainty by introducing the stock of public capital as an input for the private sector. Public investment takes place in a stochastic environment. Public capital then increases the productivity of private capital which...

We estimate the return to technical education in Brazil between 2007 and 2018. A rich administrative record of formal labor market (Relação Anual de Informações Sociais - Rais) allows us to construct a panel of all formal workers in 2007, following them until 2018. Identification of workers...

This paper analyses risks and opportunities related to the management and the allocation of wealth derived from the exploitation of natural resources in Brazil. We first discuss natural resources curse hypothesis and present some examples to deal with its negative effects based on the...

O trabalho procura analisar os riscos e as oportunidades inerentes à gestão e à alocação das rendas provenientes da exploração de recursos naturais no Brasil. Inicialmente, discute-se a questão da maldição dos recursos naturais e, com base na experiência internacional, são...

This paper attempts to evaluate public sector expenditure efficiency comparing Brazil with other Latin American countries for the period 1998-2002. We first computed a composite index, comprising economic and social indicators, to measure public sector performance. Efficiency of expenditure was...

This article analyses the evolution and the composition of gross aggregate tax burden and government transfers in Brazil and their relationships with equity and income distribution for the period 1995-2008. Along this period, gross aggregate tax burden grew considerably motivated by the...