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Publication date: 23 March 2017

Barbara de Lima Voss, David Bernard Carter and Bruno Meirelles Salotti

We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in…

Abstract

We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in the construction of hegemonies in SEA research in Brazil. In particular, we examine the role of hegemony in relation to the co-option of SEA literature and sustainability in the Brazilian context by the logic of development for economic growth in emerging economies. The methodological approach adopts a post-structural perspective that reflects Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The study employs a hermeneutical, rhetorical approach to understand and classify 352 Brazilian research articles on SEA. We employ Brown and Fraser’s (2006) categorizations of SEA literature to help in our analysis: the business case, the stakeholder–accountability approach, and the critical case. We argue that the business case is prominent in Brazilian studies. Second-stage analysis suggests that the major themes under discussion include measurement, consulting, and descriptive approach. We argue that these themes illustrate the degree of influence of the hegemonic politics relevant to emerging economics, as these themes predominantly concern economic growth and a capitalist context. This paper discusses trends and practices in the Brazilian literature on SEA and argues that the focus means that SEA avoids critical debates of the role of capitalist logics in an emerging economy concerning sustainability. We urge the Brazilian academy to understand the implications of its reifying agenda and engage, counter-hegemonically, in a social and political agenda beyond the hegemonic support of a particular set of capitalist interests.

Details

Advances in Environmental Accounting & Management: Social and Environmental Accounting in Brazil
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-376-4

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Article
Publication date: 11 May 2015

Catarina Moura e Sa Cardoso and Geetha Ravishankar

The purpose of this paper is to assess the effect of human capital development on regional productivity growth and convergence in the Spanish provinces over the period 1991-2006…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the effect of human capital development on regional productivity growth and convergence in the Spanish provinces over the period 1991-2006.

Design/methodology/approach

The stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) methodology is used to estimate production inefficiencies. This approach enables the assessment of the degree to which a given region’s observed output deviates from the maximal possible. Therefore, the resulting region specific productive efficiencies are modelled as outcomes of the level of human capital. A β-convergence equation for the regional efficiency levels is also estimated to detect any signs of regional catching-up.

Findings

The results show that increasing levels of human capital development are associated with lower regional inefficiency. All levels of education contributed to reduce the inefficiency levels, however, secondary schooling played a stronger role than primary and even higher education. There is also evidence of regional convergence towards the best practice frontier through a process that is beneficially aided by human capital development.

Originality/value

The paper combines the use of the SFA to study the effect of human capital on regional productivity with the estimation of a β-convergence equation for the obtained regional efficiency levels.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 42 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

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