O objetivo deste artigo é analisar a eficiência dos municípios da Região Metropolitana de São Paulo (RMSP) na geração de bem-estar em 2000. Os procedimentos envolvem três etapas. A primeira é a identificação de indicadores de bem-estar que sejam convergen

This study is a regional market concentration analysis of private healthcare plans in Brazil between 2014 and 2019 and the effects of this concentration on the well-being of healthcare users. A literature review was performed to identify available evidence on market concentration in healthcare and definitions of relevant market, though there is little evidence about market concentration at regional level and how this could impact user's well-being. A random-effect panel data model was carried-out evaluating variations of quality of assistance from healthcare plans as a function of market concentration and income levels, per relevant market, between May 2014 and December 2019. The results of the econometric analysis suggests that relevant markets with an increased market concentration and reduced income levels may be associated with poorer quality of assistance from respective healthcare plans, where the number of complaints from users grew, highlight the negative effects from concentration over quality of assistance in private healthcare plans.

This paper estimates the effect of highways on land prices using the implementation of the west branch of a large beltway around Sao Paulo Metropolitan Area. This is a unique opportunity since the beltway is being implemented by branches. So, it is possible to use the zones surrounding the branches where construction has actually started as a treatment group to be compared with zones surrounding branches for which construction has not started yet. Since we have a proxy for land price data before and after construction, it is possible to estimate the impact by difference-in-difference. The evidence is that there are significant and asymmetrical effects caused by the highway construction. Parcels located close to ramps outbound of the track observed an increase in price faster than similar zones close to other (planned) branches. For parcels located inbound of the beltway, relatively far from the track (between 2.5 km and 5 km), the effects of construction and delivery/operation faced a (relative) decline in land prices. These results have consequences for transportation finance; betterment levies and value capture taxes; and welfare

1 Agradecemos a Abit e toda sua diretoria pela cooperação e auxílio no andamento da pesquisa.Sem sua participação não nos seria possível realizar as visitas de campo e as entrevistas.

The purpose of the paper is to apply Fraser’s methodology from the Economic Freedom of North America report to Brazilian data. government size, tax and labor market indicators vary among subnational entities. Following Friedrich A. Hayek’s tribute on the occasion the 70th birthday of Ludwig von Mises, the importance of an index for Brazilian States is to bring principles of liberalism—based on clear evidence—to public figures (Hayek 2012), particularly in a country dominated by interventionist ideas since the 1930s. Besides the academic challenge of obtaining and processing data in the same manner as the Economic Freedom of North America, the current turning point in politics and economics in Brazil demands this kind of applied research. The results suggest that the Brazilian states’ freedom scores are getting worse in recent years (2012–16), following the same trend as that of the national index. We argue for the idea that the increasing government interventions at the federal level have spread out to states and municipalities and have had the effect of institutionalizing and justifying decreases in freedom and greater influence of public entities on citizens’ everyday life. The final remarks point out improvement in institutional measures for the index, as an ongoing project as Milton Friedman stated on his foreword to Economic Freedom of the World: 1975–1995: to “bring the indexes of economic freedom up to date and to incorporate the additional understanding that will be generated.”