State taxes rise to cope with recession in Brazil

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Networks ◽  
Alcoholic Beverages ◽  
Electricity Distribution ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Municipal Elections ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Local Taxes ◽  
The Poor ◽  
State Taxes

Significance The agency noted the likelihood of a worsening debt position and that 'challenging political dynamics' limit prospects for fiscal reform. Meanwhile, state governments have raised taxes on consumption, further crimping short-term economic recovery. In a context of rising unemployment and declining spending, increasing taxation offers another constraint on local businesses, which rely on the sluggish domestic market. Impacts To avoid hitting the poor, tax hikes target non-essential consumer goods, such as alcoholic beverages, tobacco and electronics. However, they also affect electricity distribution and communication providers, including mobile networks and cable. Cities and towns may also raise local taxes on property and services, but only after the 2016 municipal elections.

Prospects for free media in South Africa are bleak

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Municipal Elections ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Chief Operating Officer ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Broadcaster ◽  
Major Shift ◽  
Nationalist Sentiment ◽  
Free Media

Significance The public broadcaster may appeal the ruling through the courts. Opposition parties have long bemoaned the dire state of the SABC, but recent controversial moves by Chief Operating Officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng are dividing the ANC itself. Impacts Social media will feature prominently in political parties' communication strategies ahead of municipal elections in August. Motsoeneng's ban on airing footage of demonstrations will not boost ANC support in protest-wrought Pretoria, where the DA has a clear lead. However, his requirement that 90% of music broadcast must be locally produced will stoke nationalist sentiment. Any major shift in SABC policy -- at least in the short term -- would have to be forced on the broadcaster through court orders.

Guinea unrest is not yet a threat to stability

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Service Delivery ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Job Creation ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Municipal Elections ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mining Communities ◽  
The Military

Significance Recent demonstrations focused on the government’s failure to hold long-delayed municipal elections and voiced frustration with dysfunctional service delivery and deteriorating socio-economic conditions. As a result, President Alpha Conde has unveiled a new electoral code which could allow elections to be held in 2018. Impacts Conde’s grip on the military should ensure short-term stability. Modest growth is unlikely to lead to broader job creation and improvements in public service delivery. Protests in mining communities will persist over jobs and social services.

Brazil's local elections constrain national politics

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
National Politics ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Municipal Elections ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Democratic Movement ◽  
Business Elite ◽  
Electoral Support ◽  
General Elections

Subject Local elections and national politics. Significance Interim President Michel Temer is impeded not only by his interim status but also by local elections due in October. Politicians may fear losing further electoral support if they side with Temer and his Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) if he is unable to tackle major problems in the short term, particularly unemployment. Impacts The business elite will side with Temer and the PMDB, but other parties will offer muted support if the economic crisis is not addressed. However, failure to ease the crisis could benefit the Workers' Party, which conversely stands to lose if Temer is successful. Parties will prioritise municipal elections over national issues to boost their position before the 2018 general elections.

scholarly journals Comparing the day temperature and holiday effects on retail sales of alcoholic beverages – a time-series analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Hirche ◽  
Juliane Haensch ◽  
Larry Lockshin
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Alcoholic Beverage ◽  
White Wine ◽  
Alcoholic Beverages ◽  
Daily Maximum ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Retail Sales ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Us Counties

Purpose Little research on the influence of external factors, such as weather and holiday periods, on retail sales on alcoholic beverages is available. This study aims to investigate how weekly retail sales of different alcoholic beverages vary in association with daily maximum temperatures and annual federal holidays across selected US counties in the years 2013 to 2015. The research provides information, which can contribute to better sales forecasts. Design/methodology/approach Secondary data of weekly retail sales (volume) of alcoholic beverages from 37,346 stores in 651 counties in the USA are analysed. The data cover on average 21% of all existing US counties and 12% of the total US off-trade retail sales of alcoholic beverages in the period studied (Euromonitor, 2017). Additional data of federal holidays and meteorological data are collated for each county in the sample. Seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average models with exogenous regressors (SARIMAX) are applied to develop forecasting models and to investigate possible relationships and effects. Findings The results indicate that off-trade retail sales of beer, liquor, red and white wine are temperature sensitive throughout the year, while contrary to expectations rosé, sparkling and other wines are not. Sales sensitivities to temperature also differ by geography. In the warmest regions, liquor and white wine sales do not respond to temperature changes, as opposed to the coolest regions, where they are responsive. Public holidays, particularly Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year holidays, represent a constant influencing factor on short-term sales increases for all investigated alcoholic beverage categories. Originality/value This is the first large-scale study of weather and holiday-related sales variations over time, across geographies and different alcoholic beverage categories. Seasonal and non-seasonal short-term sales variations are important for retailers and manufacturers alike. Accounting for expected changes in demand accommodates efficiencies along the supply chain and has implications for retail management, as well as adjusting marketing efforts in competing categories.

Burkina Faso: Military reshuffle will not win the war

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Military Leadership ◽  
Ongoing Trial ◽  
Security Forces ◽  
Municipal Elections ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Counter Terrorism ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Military

Significance This comes as part of a general shake-up of the military leadership amid a litany of promises from Kabore and other officials that the country is revamping its counter-terrorism strategy and working to shore up morale among the security forces. Impacts Security issues may complicate plans for the scheduled May 2022 municipal elections. The poor pay and living conditions of soldiers on deployment may exacerbate human rights abuses and could lead to local mutinies. The ongoing trial for the 1987 murder of former President Thomas Sankara will help discredit many former regime figures.

scholarly journals The Effect of Heterogenous Subregions in Glioblastomas on Survival Stratification: A Radiomics Analysis Using the Multimodality MRI

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 153303382110330
Author(s):  
Lulu Yin ◽  
Yan Liu ◽  
Xi Zhang ◽  
Hongbing Lu ◽  
Yang Liu
Keyword(s):  
Poor Prognosis ◽  
Intratumor Heterogeneity ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Prognostic Information ◽  
Manual Delineation ◽  
Flair Sequence ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Contrast Enhanced ◽  
Mri Sequences

Intratumor heterogeneity is partly responsible for the poor prognosis of glioblastoma (GBM) patients. In this study, we aimed to assess the effect of different heterogeneous subregions of GBM on overall survival (OS) stratification. A total of 105 GBM patients were retrospectively enrolled and divided into long-term and short-term OS groups. Four MRI sequences, including contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging (T1C), T1, T2, and FLAIR, were collected for each patient. Then, 4 heterogeneous subregions, i.e. the region of entire abnormality (rEA), the regions of contrast-enhanced tumor (rCET), necrosis (rNec) and edema/non-contrast-enhanced tumor (rE/nCET), were manually drawn from the 4 MRI sequences. For each subregion, 50 radiomics features were extracted. The stratification performance of 4 heterogeneous subregions, as well as the performances of 4 MRI sequences, was evaluated both alone and in combination. Our results showed that rEA was superior in stratifying long-and short-term OS. For the 4 MRI sequences used in this study, the FLAIR sequence demonstrated the best performance of survival stratification based on the manual delineation of heterogeneous subregions. Our results suggest that heterogeneous subregions of GBMs contain different prognostic information, which should be considered when investigating survival stratification in patients with GBM.

Exploring claims and marketing techniques in Brazilian food labels

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (7) ◽  
pp. 1550-1564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafaela Corrêa Pereira ◽  
Michel Cardoso de Angelis-Pereira ◽  
João de Deus Souza Carneiro
Keyword(s):  
Product Category ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Claims ◽  
Alcoholic Beverages ◽  
Processed Foods ◽  
Nutrition And Health ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Food Market ◽  
Packaged Food ◽  
Nutrition And Health Claims

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the packaged food market in Brazil by examining the use of nutrition and health claims and marketing techniques, as well as the different levels of industrial food processing in relation to product category, nutrition information and price. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted on the labels of pre-packed foods and non-alcoholic beverages marketed in a home-shopping website in Brazil. Findings The authors showed that the use of nutrition and health claims on packaged foods in Brazil is widespread and varied across different food categories. Marketing techniques were also prevalent, and techniques emphasising general health, well-being or naturalness were the most frequent type used. Overall, products carrying nutrition and health claims and/or using marketing techniques had lower content of fat and higher content of fibre. However, the high prevalence of these strategies in ultra-processed foods is alarming. The presence of health claims and use of marketing techniques was not found to be an effective modifier of the three price measures. However, processed and ultra-processed foods were more expensive than unprocessed foods when considering price per energy and price per 100 g or mL. Originality/value These results indicate that there are clear opportunities to improve the packaged food environment in supermarkets. It is important to highlight the need to develop public policies to address these issues, including restriction of the promotion and advertising of unhealthy foods and beverages and use of warning labels.

DEA window analysis and Malmquist index to assess efficiency and productivity in the Spanish electricity sector

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime Sánchez-Ortiz ◽  
Teresa Garcia-Valderrama ◽  
Vanesa Rodríguez-Cornejo ◽  
Francisca Cabrera-Monroy
Keyword(s):  
Malmquist Index ◽  
Electricity Sector ◽  
Theory Of Constraints ◽  
Economic Regulation ◽  
Data Envelopment ◽  
Electricity Distribution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
External Constraints ◽  
Efficiency And Productivity ◽  
Dea Window Analysis

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that overcapacity and tariff deficit (external constraints) negatively affect the efficiency of distribution firms in the Spanish electricity sector. To do this, the paper is based on the theory of constraints and theory of economic regulation. Design/methodology/approach Data envelopment analysis (DEA) window methodology is carried out on the constant scales (I-C) with a sample consisting of five main distribution firms during the period from 2006 to 2015. In turn, an analysis of the Malmquist index is carried out to assess whether it has had a displacement with respect to the efficiency frontier. Findings The results show that the overcapacity and the tariff deficit negatively affect the efficiency of the distribution firms of the Spanish electricity sector. In addition, there is an existence of external constraints that affect the activities of regulated organisations and the importance of adequate legislation in regulated sectors. Originality/value This study defines a model that shows how the efficiency problems associated with electricity distribution companies such as productive overcapacity or tariff deficit can be measured based on the theory of constraints and theory of economic regulation.

Short-term effects of milkshake containing polydextrose and maltodextrin on subjective feelings of appetite, energy intake and blood glucose in healthy females

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
İsmail Mücahit Alptekin ◽  
Ece Erdoğan ◽  
Aylin İşler ◽  
Esma Cansu Yanalak ◽  
Funda Pınar Çakiroğlu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Glucose ◽  
Energy Intake ◽  
Postprandial Blood Glucose ◽  
Dietary Fibers ◽  
Analog Scale ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ad Libitum ◽  
Desire To Eat ◽  
Healthy Females

Purpose Previous studies have reported that dietary fibers such as polydextrose and maltodextrin can reduce food intake; however, the studies on the differences of this effect are insufficient. The purpose of this paper is to compare the effects of dietary fibers maltodextrin and polydextrose on alterations of short-term satiety, energy intake and postprandial blood glucose in healthy females. Design/methodology/approach This study was designed as a randomized, crossover and double blind research. For this purpose, 21 healthy females consumed a milkshake containing 0 g (control), 15 g polydextrose (PDX) and 15 g maltodextrin (MDX), and an ad libitum lunch meal was served 150 min later. Subjective appetite scores (hunger, satiety, prospective food consumption and desire to eat) were measured using a visual analog scale. Appetite scores and blood glucose were measured before preload and once per 15 min after milkshake consumption. Findings Visual analog scale scores showed that PDX had an improved effect on satiety and hunger feelings. Compared to the control, dietary fiber increased the Area Under Curve (AUC) scores of satiety (p < 0.001) and decreased the AUC scores of hunger (p < 0.001), prospective food consumption (p < 0.001) and desire to eat (p < 0.001). Energy intake during ad libitum meal was significantly lower in PDX (Control: 862 (54.3) Kcal versus PDX: 679 (35.4) Kcal and MDX: 780 (49.3) Kcal. Moreover, the blood glucose levels were significantly lower in MDX. Originality/value This study conducted with healthy females demonstrated that PDX was more effective in inducing satiety during subsequent food intake, and that postprandial blood glucose were within more healthy levels in MDX.

Assessing the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) program as a conditional income transfer: a search for a conceptual framework

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alhassan Abdul-Wakeel Karakara ◽  
Ernest Amoabeng Ortsin
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Insurance Coverage ◽  
Implementation Strategies ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Transfer Program ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Poor

Purpose Ghana has implemented different kinds of pro-poor program and policies since its independence to reduce poverty. The Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) is one of such program. LEAP is a social cash transfer program and its implementation has been under the auspices of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection since 2008. It provides direct cash and health insurance coverage for extremely poor households across the country to alleviate short-term poverty and encourage long-term human capital development. This paper examines the LEAP program in terms of how it has achieved its aim and the opportunities for improvement.Design/methodology/approach Primary data were obtained from interviews of 110 beneficiaries of the program. The study proposes a conceptual framework that links poverty reduction and social policies to assist researchers analyze pro-poor or social cash transfer program.Findings The findings show that the program is challenged with administrative bureaucracies, irregular inflow of funds, perceived political interferences, inconsistent implementation strategies and low value of the cash transfer (which results in little or no impact on consumption). However, the data also show that LEAP has positive impacts on nonconsumption spending like children's schooling. The program' exit strategy does not impact much on beneficiaries to allow them exit without the tendency of being poor.Practical implications This paper discussed the LEAP program as a social cash transfer to the poor in Ghana. The study constructed a conceptual framework to help researchers and practitioners analyze the implementation of pro-poor interventions. This conceptualization allows for cash transfer program to empower beneficiaries and exits them to allow for other beneficiaries to enroll, ensuring reduction in poverty over time. Generally, the beneficiaries have benefited from the LEAP in the areas of consumption, education and healthcare with few beneficiaries being able to accumulate some few assets. The LEAP program has no exit plan.Originality/value This study adds to literature by offering a conceptual framework to help researchers and policy makers in dealing with social assistance policies to the poor. The study also gave an insight into how pro-poor policy strategies could be crafted.

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