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Thesis Chapters by Igor Martins

Master's Thesis, Department of Economic History, Lund University, 2016

Following a macroeconomic stabilization and consistent economic growth during the 2000s, Brazil e... more Following a macroeconomic stabilization and consistent economic growth during the 2000s, Brazil experienced a continuous decrease on poverty incidence for the first time in its contemporary history. While the literature emphasizes the importance of economic growth alongside social development to fight poverty, the Brazilian experience also displays strong government action through expanding social coverage targeted to the poor. Considering a scenario where all factors are observed simultaneously, this study aims to shed light on the poverty dynamics during Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's presidential term. Specifically, this study explores which factor has contributed the most for poverty reduction: the sectoral composition of growth, the public spending or the general improvement in the socioeconomic context. The findings suggest that inequality reduction alongside the increase in human capital attainment were the most important factors behind poverty decline followed by economic growth, especially through the tertiary sector. Government expenditures played a marginal role through education and health while federal cash transfers did not provide any significant effect.

Master's Thesis, Department of Economic History, Lund University, 2015

The gender pay-gap is not a new phenomenon in Brazil. Since the increase of female participation ... more The gender pay-gap is not a new phenomenon in Brazil. Since the increase of female participation on the labor market, the gap has remained a persistent problem that has generated a wide range of studies on the topic. The Human Capital Theory argues that individuals' education and on-the-job experience are essential determinants on wage estimations. This assessment is not disputed in the literature however; there are still differences on wages that are not explained by the traditional variables suggested in the theory. These differences are usually attributed to active discrimination against women. This study suggests that discrimination is not just one reason behind the gap but instead, it is the most relevant reason since women have achieved equal or even higher productive characteristics as men and their ability on obtaining financial compensation for their work is being severely affected.

Papers by Igor Martins

Issues in Science and Technology

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Dec 6, 2020

Agricultural output fluctuated worldwide after the emancipation of slaves. The usual explanation ... more Agricultural output fluctuated worldwide after the emancipation of slaves. The usual explanation is that former slaveholders now lacked labor. This is not the full story: slaves were not just laborers but capital investments to support production. Using databases covering more than 40 years from Stellenbosch in the British Cape Colony, this study measures changes in output before and after emancipation to determine the role of slaves as factors of production. Large shortfalls in compensation paid to slaveholders after the 1833 Abolition Act reveal that slaves were a source of capital that strongly influenced production levels, an important reason for the output variation.

Studies in Comparative International Development

Development economics has long focused on growth patterns to explain countries’ ability to catch ... more Development economics has long focused on growth patterns to explain countries’ ability to catch up and forge ahead. We argue, however, that resilience to economic shrinking matters more. Using the examples of Brazil and Indonesia, we propose that a framework consisting of social capabilities—namely structural transformation, autonomy, and inclusion—can explain why Indonesia is more resilient to economic shrinking than Brazil and why the country is more likely to be successful in its catching-up process.

Explorations in Economic History, 2022

Can wealth shocks have intergenerational health consequences? We use the partial compensation sla... more Can wealth shocks have intergenerational health consequences? We use the partial compensation slaveholders received after the 1834 slave emancipation in the British Cape Colony to measure the intergenerational effects of a wealth loss on longevity. We find that a greater loss of slave wealth shortened the lifespans of the generation of slaveholders that experienced the shock albeit these effects are usually small and mostly confined to older cohorts of slaveholders who likely exploited slaves both as labor and capital inputs. The lifespans of those of the second generation who survived infancy were unaffected by the shortfalls and no effects of the shortfall were found for the third generation.

OASIS, Nov 12, 2019

We ask what caused poverty to decline in Brazil during the first decade of the 21st century. Our ... more We ask what caused poverty to decline in Brazil during the first decade of the 21st century. Our contribution lies in the introduction of a structural change perspective to assess the evolution of poverty by considering the sectoral impact of growth and the social policies at the federal, state and municipal level. By structural change we mean the recomposition of output and employment over time. We run a first difference model to estimate the effects of mean income per capita by sector and of disaggregated public expenditures, without any attempts to infer causality. We confirm previous findings in the literature that the service sector rather than agriculture contributes the most to the sustained poverty reduction. Strikingly, the public administration is the leading sub-sector. We also find that state and municipal expenditures in human capital contribute more to poverty reduction than federal expenditures associated with conditional cash transfer programs; investment in infrastructure does not seem to contribute to poverty reduction. In short, we conclude that the payoffs of decentralized policies associated with human capital can be seen in the short run and therefore raise the bar for politicians to maintain and care for these policies. Furthermore, the public service sector, which is one of the main employers in today's economy, must find ways to innovate and improve productivity if poverty reduction is to be sustainable in the long run.

Poverty, Politics and the Poverty of Politics, 2018

OASIS, 2019

Qué causó la disminución de la pobreza en Brasil durante la primera década del siglo 21 es la pre... more Qué causó la disminución de la pobreza en Brasil durante la primera década del siglo 21 es la pregunta principal en este estudio. Nuestra contribución radica en incorporar una perspectiva de cambio estructural para evaluar la evolución de la pobreza en un contexto de altos precios en la agricultura y decentralización de la política social a nivel federal, estatal y municipal. Presentamos, entonces, un modelo de primeras diferencias para captar los efectos de ingreso medio por sectores y de gasto público descentralizado, sin ningun afán de comprobar causalidad. Confirmamos hallazgos previos en la literatura de que el sector de servicios, en lugar de la agricultura, es el que más contribuye a la reducción sostenida de la pobreza. Sorprendentemente, la administración pública es el principal subsector en rama de servicios. También encontramos que los gastos estatales y municipales en capital humano contribuyen más a la reducción de la pobreza que los gastos federales asociados con l...

Few could have foreseen the consequences when the British Parliament, in 1807, passed the Slave T... more Few could have foreseen the consequences when the British Parliament, in 1807, passed the Slave Trade Act that sought to abolish slave imports into the British Empire. From population decreases in the British Caribbean to increased prices in the Cape Colony, historical evidence suggests that the eﬀects of the Act were felt far and wide even though commercialization of slaves was still possible within colonial territories. Using newly digitized historical datasets covering more than 40 years in two diﬀerent districts of the British Cape Colony, this paper measures changes in slave ownership and acquisition patterns from a longitudinal perspective. This approach allows me to tease out the eﬀects of the Act on farmers with diﬀerent types of agricultural outputs, most notably crop and livestock farming, agricultural types with very diﬀerent labor demands. The results show that livestock farmers, surprisingly, were more inelastic to the import ban in comparison to crop farmers. These res...