“…On the other hand, those with di culties to accumulate wealth were penalized with the resource's scarce availability (Dolhniko , 2005). This situation contributed to the predominance of the southern region in the composition of Empire revenues and expenditures and disproportionately harmed the regions to the north (Villela, 2007).…”
This paper aims to discuss some aspects of the taxation system genesis and to present a brief highlight about the Bank of Brazil and the National Treasury’s role in the Brazilian economic policy during the nineteenth century. We also discuss the main state and social aspects of Brazilian taxation: regressivity and fiscal privileges to the richer classes. Our goal is to indicate the conflictive nature of these institutions, as well as the distinct options that materialized in the Brazilian State formation first moments. We emphasize that the Brazilian economic formation was not unalterable and inevitable.
“…On the other hand, those with di culties to accumulate wealth were penalized with the resource's scarce availability (Dolhniko , 2005). This situation contributed to the predominance of the southern region in the composition of Empire revenues and expenditures and disproportionately harmed the regions to the north (Villela, 2007).…”
This paper aims to discuss some aspects of the taxation system genesis and to present a brief highlight about the Bank of Brazil and the National Treasury’s role in the Brazilian economic policy during the nineteenth century. We also discuss the main state and social aspects of Brazilian taxation: regressivity and fiscal privileges to the richer classes. Our goal is to indicate the conflictive nature of these institutions, as well as the distinct options that materialized in the Brazilian State formation first moments. We emphasize that the Brazilian economic formation was not unalterable and inevitable.
“…This is because even though the 1824 Constitution decentralized the provision of education, the collection of revenues, mostly coming from foreign trade, was highly centralized during the Imperial period (1821–1889) (Hilsdorf 2003). The central government actually spent disproportionately on public goods that benefited the capital city of Rio de Janeiro or the armed forces (Villela 2005, 2007).…”
Section: The Diffusion Of Elementary Education In Brazil 1890–1930mentioning
In this paper, we examine the role of trade shocks in promoting the diffusion of elementary education in subnational units in Brazil during a period in which they had relative financial autonomy to collect export taxes and spend on public goods. The argument is that trade shocks affect asymetrically the tax revenues of state governments and, thus, their expenditures on elementary education per capita according to what crop mix they had. We then show that states with more egalitarian and democratic institutions use positive trade shocks to invest in education, while the opposite takes place in states with less democratic institutions (e.g., in states that had more slaves). We also show using OLS and instrumental variables that positive trade shocks increased expenditures on education per capita and led to higher literacy rates and to more schools per children. The resulting distribution of human capital across states persists until today.
“…The central government actually spent disproportionately on public goods that benefited the capital city of Rio de Janeiro or the armed forces (Villela, 2005(Villela, , 2007. .…”
Section: The Diffusion Of Elementary Education In Brazil 1890-1930mentioning
Research assistance for this paper was ably provided by Jenna Bernhardson, Diego Galeano, and Carlos L. Góes. We want to thank the comments and helpful suggestions of Paul Rhode and the anonymous referees of this journal. We benefited from comments on earlier drafts by Ran Abramitsky,
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