Mercosur Countries Research Articles

Las indicaciones geográficas en el Acuerdo de Asociación entre MERCOSUR y la Unión Europea

Based on the conditions imposed by the European Union on MERCOSUR for the negotiation of the association agreement, referring to the protection of geographical indications, the demands of each party are identified and contrasted. The hypothesis assumes that the EU's ideal of supranational cooperation is to promote integration among developing countries and cooperation with these countries, as a contribution to their growth and development. We sought to verify this hypothesis by analyzing the requirements of each party regarding geographical indications, understanding these as the names that identify a product as originating from the territory of a member of the regional association, a region or locality of that territory. Methodologically, the extensive list of geographical indications that both parties agreed to protect each other was reviewed, where the extensive EU list contrasts with the narrow MERCOSUR list. It is concluded that the spirit of negotiation of the commitments that will regulate the protection of these geographical indications is opposed to the supposed will of the EU to promote integration and cooperation, given that its requirements exceed those indicated by the WTO; that the result of the application will possibly have a negative impact on trade relations between the MERCOSUR countries and that the negotiation calls into question the spirit of EU integration and cooperation with the MERCOSUR.

Trade and cooperation opportunities for the MERCOSUR countries in the livestock sector and beef meat in Indonesia

Indonesia is the largest economy in the Southeast Asia region, with the largest population in that region as well. Therefore, each productive and industrial sector that helps the growth and development of the country and its population gets attraction. The livestock sector can be a good example of the above. In this sense, the countries that make up the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), that is, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay (Venezuela is suspended) can contribute to develop the livestock sector in Indonesia, looking for further cooperation and business opportunities that can also help to improve the well-being of Indonesians. The objective in this article will be to make a brief approach to the Indonesian livestock sector in general and the beef market, to understand how the MERCOSUR countries could contribute to the development of that. The results of the analysis indicate that Indonesia should develop its livestock sector using best practices that contribute to sustainable development, with support from the public sector. The use of new technologies could contribute to the improvement of the sector, and bovine genetics can contribute to a greater and better supply. It is concluded that the MERCOSUR countries have opportunities to contribute to the growth and development of the livestock sector in Indonesia, through the signing of relevant legal agreements both at the bilateral level and, in the case of MERCOSUR, acting as a bloc.

Regional Trade Agreements and Export Trade Flows: Developing Economies and the Global Financial Crisis of 2007 to 2009

ABSTRACT We explore the impact of the global financial crisis on export trade flows among member countries of MERCOSUR, NAFTA, ASEAN, Maghreb, and SACU. The analysis also focuses on the role of political rights, exchange rate, and export diversification as control mechanisms during the economic crisis. The results show differentiated patterns of trade creation across regions. We found an annual reduction (increment) in the gains of MERCOSUR and ASEAN (NAFTA, Maghreb, and SACU) members during the years after the global financial crisis. We also found that export concentration was the sole robust mechanism enhancing the volume of exports.

Exploring the U-shape geographical bias in manufactured exports of MERCOSUR countries

We proposed a novel approach to understand the industrialization pattern of MERCOSUR countries during the last 60 years. We performed an index to measure the geographical bias of manufactured exports between the region and the world and showed that regional trade agreements allowed MERCOSUR countries to decrease the bias and increase competitiveness. However, we noted that in recent years the bias deepened in favor of exporting a higher proportion of manufactured goods to the region. Our main result is that these economies present a U-shape geographical bias in manufactured exports associated with a bimodal distribution of breaks. Furthermore, we observed that the 1980s and 2000s were the most relevant periods for defining the region trends.

Regional energy security goes South: Examining energy integration in South America

This article proposes to promote a regional approach to achieving energy security in South America. To this end, it first discusses the concept of energy security, concluding that it is a concept slippery, hard to define universally, because it is polysemic, multi-dimensional and context-dependent. Analyzing the South American case, initially focusing only on the Mercosur countries, we identify that there are different regional integration initiatives, such as the case of Itaipu Dam and GASBOL Pipeline, however the experiences are exclusively based on binational initiatives. Through an energy modeling called Open Source energy Modelling System using a new framework named South America Model Base (OSeMOSYS SAMBA), four scenarios are created with different levels of energy integration in the region. It is concluded that more integrated scenarios lead to a reduction in the need to increase installed capacity, as well as lower geographic and socio-environmental impacts, due to resource optimization and greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation.

Output volatility and efficiency gains: evidence from Latin American gross value added

ABSTRACT Based on gross value added (GVA) shares of economic activities from 1990 to 2014, the paper shows that convex growth-instability frontiers exist for 19 Latin American countries. Numerical simulations show that in 2011, Latin America's industry portfolios were below Markowitz's efficiency frontier, and that rearranging the shares of economic activities contributes to efficiency gains that are negatively linked to industrial diversification. Reducing output volatility, MERCOSUR countries with a low degree of industrial diversification would average relatively high efficiency gains, while the reverse is true for CACAM and CAN countries. Analyzing more recent industry portfolios, Latin American countries closed the efficiency frontier gap and captured efficiency gains in terms of lower output volatility and higher GVA growth rates. Convex growth-instability frontiers are confirmed by stochastic frontier analysis, which identifies variations in employment ratios and industrial diversification as the key sources of inefficiency.

Mercosur countries in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic: is it every man for himself?

Mercosur countries in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic: is it every man for himself?

La educación terciaria tecnológica en el Mercosur. Caracterización desde una perspectiva comparada

This paper presents the progress of a study carried out within the framework of the MERCOSUR Nucleus of Studies and Research in Higher Education (NEIES, 2020). In it, a characterization was made, from a comparative perspective, of the offer of technological tertiary education and of institutional management models in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay; including national and binational case studies (Brazil-Uruguay), surveys and interviews with managers of institutions to study the dynamics of transformation at the macro and micro levels (institutional management) resulting from policies for the sector. The trajectories and profiles of those who comprise them were also analyzed, given the centrality of those who explain or sustain these institutional models. Given the length of this article, we will limit ourselves to presenting only a part of it, the macro-level situation of higher technological education in MERCOSUR countries, from a comparative perspective.

Geographical Indications: A Major Challenge for MERCOSUR

Abstract This article focuses on the intellectual property chapter of the EU-MERCOSUR Free Trade Agreement. It is not intended to provide an exhaustive analysis of all the intellectual property rights involved but to go deeply into a specific matter, geographical indications, which is undoubtedly a controversial concession in the chapter. The entire free trade agreement negotiations took more than 20 years and ended in June 2019 with an ‘Agreement in principle’. From the very beginning it involved a red line for the MERCOSUR countries, namely the intellectual property chapter. This article will show the complexity of including the private rights of prior users (generic names, plant varieties and trademarks) as a trade-off for agricultural market access in negotiations mainly focused on tariff reduction and trade rules. In addition, the imbalance between the parties was deepened by the lack of regionally harmonized intellectual property standards within MERCOSUR. In this regard, the main objective of this article is to identify the legal challenges derived from the overlap of national, regional and bi-regional rules that the Mercosur countries will face when implementing the geographical indication commitments, given the bloc’s legal and institutional structure. Unlike tariff reduction, the commitments derived from the negotiation of private rights are a crucial issue. Against this background, some proposals are outlined to address how to determine a medium- and long-term strategy based on the needs of local producers to add value to their productions.

Synthetic image generation for training deep learning-based automated license plate recognition systems on the Brazilian Mercosur standard

License plates are the primary source of vehicle identification data used in a wide range of applications including law enforcement, electronic tolling, and access control amongst others. License plate detection (LPD) is a critical process in automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) that reduces complexity by delimiting the search space for subsequent ALPR stages. It is complicated by unfavourable factors including environmental conditions, occlusion, and license plate variation. As such, it requires training models on substantial volumes of relevant images per use case. In 2018, the new Mercosur standard came in to effect in four South American countries. Access to large volumes of actual Mercosur license plates with sufficient presentation variety is a significant challenge for training supervised models for LPD, thereby adversely impacting the efficacy of ALPR in Mercosur countries. This paper presents a novel license plate embedding methodology for generating large volumes of accurate Mercosur license plate images sufficient for training supervised LPD. We validate this methodology with a deep learning-based ALPR using a convolutional neural network trained exclusively with synthetic data and tested with real parking lot and traffic camera images. Experiment results achieve detection accuracy of 95% and an average running time of 40 ms.

Clinical dental protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mercosur countries: similarities and discrepancies

Introduction: The current coronavirus pandemic has led to the formulation of specific guidelines for dental care by several countries, in order to institute preventive measures and prevent the spread of the virus. Objective: This article analyzes dental protocols available in the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) countries – Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay – pointing out the main similarities and discrepancies between them. Method: Comparative documentary review of dental care protocols in four countries that are members of Mercosur and literature review about the current guidelines in relation to dental care. For this purpose, searches were carried out on the PubMed and SciELO databases. Results: Many similarities were found in the guidelines, mainly in relation to the procedures maintained during the pandemic, the use of PPE, antisepsis and cleaning methods. However, data on time intervals between consultations differed. In addition, not all aspects were mentioned in all protocols or were only superficially mentioned. When comparing the information available with that found in the literature, it was observed that there is scientific basis. Conclusions: The detailed guidance on the care to be adopted by dental professionals is especially important for them to be effectively implemented. The need to constantly update the protocols is also reinforced, based on the most recent scientific evidence, in order to reduce the risks of virus transmission..

A cooperação firmada por autoridades policiais e a inovação social para a solução de conflitos fronteiriços

O interesse da pesquisa teórica bibliográfica delimita-se no estudo de acordos de cooperação firmados por autoridades policiais em países integrantes do MERCOSUL, quanto ao uso da inovação social em medidas de segurança pública na solução de conflito nas fronteiras, tomando como parâmetro o caso do assalto à corretora de valores Prosegur do Paraguai, no ano de 2017. Foi verificado que a cooperação entre entidades policiais serviu como um importante auxílio no combate ao crime organizado e na maior agilidade do controle transfronteiriço. Além disso, constatou-se que a inovação na área pode ser realizada com êxito nos serviços públicos já consolidados, não apenas na criação de novos modelos como também na implementação e avaliação permanente e articulada de políticas públicas nacionais e acordos internacionais. Tais constatações evidenciam o quanto o serviço público ainda pode ser ampliado, preenchendo lacunas e melhorando a segurança à população, como direito fundamental e universal.

Mercosur – a Comparison of Four Member Countries on the Basis of Selected Economic Indicators

The aim of this paper is to present how countries can be compared on the basis of the development of selected macroeconomic indicators. The economic similarity of the four founding Mercosur countries (i.e., Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay), based on the development of five selected macroeconomic indicators in the period 1991–2016, is investigated. The following indicators were analyzed: current account balance, GDP per capita, trade-to-GDP ratio, unemployment rate, and the GDP deflator, using data from the World Bank database. Using hierarchical cluster analysis of changes in time series (differences and growth rates), it was found that the obtained clusters of countries are different. For this reason, cluster analysis was carried out for two different groups of indicators on the basis of the averages of the Euclidean distances obtained for the individual indicators.

The interactions between renewable energy consumption and economic growth in the Mercosur countries

ABSTRACTThe relationship between the consumption of renewable energy, economic growth, and globalisation is investigated. Data for five Mercosur countries in the period between 1980 and 2014 and the PVAR methodology are used. The estimated model and the results of a Granger causality Wald test indicate that a bidirectional relationship exists between the consumption of energy (from both renewable and fossil sources) and economic growth, and suggest that the assessed countries’ economic growth is dependent on fossil fuels. There is also evidence of substitutability in the consumption of energy from renewable and fossil sources in periods of drought, and that the process of globalisation has a positive indirect influence on the Mercosur countries’ consumption of renewable energy.

An estimation of the industrial production dynamic in the MERCOSUR countries using the Markov switching model

In this work the methodology applied is based on Bayesian statistical methods inspired by Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling schemes, which simplifies the estimation and prediction process of the Markov switching model. The general objective of this study is to determine simultaneously: non-linearity, structural changes, asymmetries and outliers that are characteristics present in many financial series. The methodology is empirically illustrated using series that measure the annual growth rate of industrial production in the MERCOSUR countries. The sampling algorithm is implemented to estimate the parameters of the model. The parameters were estimated in terms of expected values a posteriori and standard deviations a posteriori. Three criteria are used to assess the prediction model: square root of the mean quadratic error (RSME), the Diebold-Mariano (DM) test and the TRC statistical test. These measures of goodness-of-fit show, that the estimates have small errors. The execution time of the algorithm is calculated, observing high performance. As a result of the analysis of the data, it is concluded that there is no reduction of economic volatility and no reduction in the depth of economic cycles. At the breakpoints, atypical values and non-linearity in the data are observed. It also shows that there are no common economic cycles for the countries analyzed.

A educação como garantia de cidadania para os povos indígenas

O presente estudo tem como finalidade apresentar uma análise sobre a implantação do Projeto 914BRZ1148 Fortalecimento da Capacidade Institucional Para o Tratamento da Diversidade, Inclusão e Sustentabilidade Socioambiental, como garantia de cidadania para os povos indígenas do Brasil, à luz do Estatuto da Cidadania do MERCOSUL. Trata-se de uma pesquisa exploratória por meio de um estudo de caso. O principal documento que serve de referência ao exercício da cidadania é a Declaração Universal dos Direitos Humanos, que foi criada pela ONU em 1948. Na perspectiva regional, com a criação do Plano Estratégico de Ação Social (PEAS), os países do MERCOSUL definiram eixos comuns de políticas sociais e comprometeram-se, conjuntamente, com os objetivos de erradicação da miséria, fome, pobreza e analfabetismo. As políticas públicas relativas à educação são numerosas nos países membros do MERCOSUL, e o Brasil não mediu esforços para aprimorar a política nacional de educação indígena baseada nas necessidades dos povos indígenas fortalecida com o processo participativo denominado Conferência Nacional de Educação Escolar Indígena, realizada entre os anos de 2016 e 2018. Essa Conferência demonstrou que por meio da participação democrática, o Estado brasileiro tem o apoio na formulação das políticas públicas para assegurar a todos o direito à educação

Las megaempresas del agronegocio: un estudio del modelo agrario a partir de las prácticas empresariales

Este artículo aborda el estudio del agronegocio a partir de las prácticas de las megaempresas de producción agropecuaria de origen argentino, que contribuyen a dar forma y a consolidar los pilares sobre los que se asienta ese modelo productivo. En particular, el análisis de las prácticas productivas, comerciales y financieras de estas empresas −tanto en Argentina como en los otros países del Mercosur donde se expandieron− permite entender el vínculo entre los pilares financiero, productivo y organizacional de esta lógica de producción. A través del estudio de dos casos, el Grupo Los Grobo y El Tejar, se analiza la flexibilización de la producción y del trabajo que promueven estas empresas con su modelo de negocios en ‘red’, su participación en la financiarización de la agricultura, y el vínculo de ambos aspectos con los procesos de concentración que facilitan.

Performance Analysis and Trade Strategy Indonesia-MERCOSURE

Indonesia has established various cooperative relationships with Latin American countries. Various efforts to explore Indonesia's cooperation with other countries have been continuously done, especially with MERCOSUR founding countries (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay) as a potential market for Indonesian export products. The objectives of this study are (1) identifying the trade performance between Indonesia and MERCOSUR countries; (2) analyzing factors affecting Indonesia’s export to MERCOSUR countries; and (3) formulating strategies for trade cooperation between Indonesia and MERCOSUR countries. The analytical methods used are Qualitative Descriptive Analysis, Gravity Model, and SWOT Analysis. The results show that the value of Indonesia's exports and imports to MERCOSUR countries is still small compared to other competing countries. Import tariffs imposed by MERCOSUR countries on Indonesia's main export products are still relatively high, on the contrary, import tariffs imposed by Indonesia on MERCOSUR's main products are relatively low. Indonesia's exports to MERCOSUR countries are positively and significantly affected by the GDP of MERCOSUR countries. The recommendations for Indonesia-MERCOSUR trade cooperation strategies are: (1) optimizing Indonesia's ability to meet the MERCOSUR market, especially for palm oil, rubber, auto parts, artificial fibers, footwear, coconuts, and tobacco; (2) increasing cooperation intensity in Free Trade Area (FTA) form; (3) improving tariff structure and non-tariff barriers; and (4) strengthening the economic diplomacy.

New horizons for science in Mercosur

As we have published in The Academic Society Journal, especially in latest editorials, the idea of free scientific dissemination through free journals with open access articles is part of our proposal. However, contrary to the sustainability policy of several journals that charge processing fees for the publication of scientific papers, our group has invested in the idea of totally free publication. The strategy that has been applied to achieve this goal is the organization of a Conference (MEC3F) that collects quality manuscripts for publication. From this collection of scientific material for publication, members of The Academic Society have been invited to participate in the TASJ editorial board and to organize future issues. The human capital involved in this work goes far beyond the cost of maintaining our website and registering papers’ DOI on indexing platforms. Not just in the “Three Frontiers” countries of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil, but also in all countries of Mercosur, the access to financial resources for funding publication in major journals is limited and insufficient. Thus, it is complex to use developed countries' model of processing fees for publication without excluding the research from emerging groups. So far, the results of this initiative are more than two hundred papers presented in each edition of the MEC3F Conference, resulting in an average of 10 articles published in each TASJ issue. Completely free of charge, students have been bringing their research to the city of Foz do Iguaçu every year without paying registration fee and, being among the best manuscripts, their papers have been published in our magazine that has been increasing in quality and projection. Without judgment, the voluntary work of our reviewers has been very productive and we believe that the proposed model is not just sustainable but it is also a very healthy alternative for the research publication and projects dissemination with exchange among institutions from all over Mercosur.

Influência da corrupção agregada no desenvolvimento social e na geração de riqueza dos países do Mercosul

A corrupção é uma temática em ascensão nos governos mundiais, sendo um dos fatores associados à governança pública e ao desenvolvimento socioeconômico. Tendo em vista o cenário mundial, a presente pesquisa tem por finalidade investigar como a corrupção agregada influencia os indicadores socioeconômicos – Produto Interno Bruto (PIB) e Índice de Desenvolvimento Humano (IDH) – dos países do Mercosul. Para tanto, foram realizados testes de regressão em painel compreendendo uma análise temporal de 1996 a 2016. Com o desenvolvimento do estudo foi possível estimar uma relação significativa estatisticamente entre a Qualidade Regulatória e o IDH, já em relação ao PIB, o Controle de Corrupção, Estabilidade Política, Estado de Direito e Voz e Responsabilidade foram os indicadores que o influenciaram de forma positiva. As evidências indicam, assim, que a capacidade explicativa do modelo é melhor para o PIB do que para o IDH.