Electoral agency models suggest that government effi ciency is better when voters penalize poor performance, and party competition is balanced. Uncertainty in the electoral mechanism dillutes the incentive to produce effi ciently. We test this proposition on panel data on local governments. The dataset includes a broad set of indicators on service output and quality, which facilitates the measu...

We show that a recently proposed model generates accurate commuting networks on 80 case studies from different regions of the world (Europe and United-States) at different scales (e.g. municipalities, counties, regions). The model takes as input the number of commuters coming in and out of each geographic unit and generates the matrix of commuting flows between the units. The single parameter o...

OBJECTIVE Brazil's large socioeconomic inequalities together with the increase in neonatal mortality jeopardize the MDG-4 child mortality target by 2015. We measured inequality trends in neonatal and under five mortality across municipalities characterized by their socio-economic status in a period where major pro poor policies were implemented in Brazil to infer whether policies and interventi...

The goal of this paper is to identify the key financial distress performance indicators of local governments by using published financial data. Thus, using proper financial ratios the financial performance of municipalities is assessed through a multicriteria methodology that combines simulation analysis approach (stochastic multicriteria acceptability analysis) with a disaggregation technique....

BACKGROUND The Brazilian National Tuberculosis Control Program (NTCP) recommended the fixed-dose four-drug combination (FDC-RHZE) regimen to treat new tuberculosis cases in December 2009, expecting to increase adherence and avoid resistance. We evaluated factors associated with the speed of the new regimen implementation process in this continent-sized country. METHODS We conducted an ecologi...

Municipalities as well as any other organization have needed assessment and efficiency measurement to make better use of their limited resources and greater effectiveness. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficiency of municipalities, determining efficient and inefficient municipalities using data envelopment analysis, and classifying the municipalities using Anderson Peterson technique...

Lutzomyia (Nyssomyia) whitmani s.l.is the main vector of cutaneous leishmaniasis in state of Mato Grosso, but little is known about environmental determinants of its spatial distribution on a regional scale. Entomologic surveys of this sand fly species, conducted between 1996 and 2001 in 41 state municipalities, were used to investigate the relationships between environmental factors and the pr...

Drought conditions in Amazonia are associated with increased fire incidence, enhancing aerosol emissions with degradation in air quality. Quantifying the synergic influence of climate and human-driven environmental changes on human health is, therefore, critical for identifying climate change adaptation pathways for this vulnerable region. Here we show a significant increase (1.2%-267%) in hosp...