The notions of inclusion and exclusion have a long tradition in sociology, but have gained significant currency more recently in public policy analysis. However, a certain conceptual inflexibility arises when the distinction is applied to complex social situations. This article examines the main approaches to inclusion/exclusion in the sociological tradition, systems theory and the theory of new inequalities. On this basis, five interrelated situations of inclusion and exclusion are constructed: self-inclusion/self-exclusion, inclusion by risk/exclusion by danger, compensatory inclusion, inclusion in exclusion and sub-inclusion. They are illustrated with specific examples to refine an analytical approach to problems of inclusion and exclusion, with a view to contributing to sociological analysis and to assessing the consequences of public and private decisions.

Financial literacy (fl) is generally regarded as an economic good which individuals choose whether or not to consume depending on how much of a contribution they expect it to make to the quality of their financial decision-making. This construct has not, however, been tested empirically. In this study we analyse variations in fl on the part of individuals who experience major life-cycle events that show up in the data and that can be assumed to have repercussions on their personal finances. The analysis of a panel made up of approximately 12,000 people indicates that there is a correlation between 13 of the 17 selected life events and financial decisions, but only one of those events (job training) is associated with a change in fl. This evidence casts doubt upon the conceptualization of fl as an economic good and is in line with a series of other studies that, for one reason or another, have questioned the soundness of the current conceptual approach to FL.

This article tests whether the profit share of gdp and capacity utilization affect capital accumulation in Brazil in the period 1950-2008 (in the sense of Granger causality). The methodology developed by Toda and Yamamoto (1995) is used to verify the Granger non-causality hypothesis. The results show that capacity utilization “Granger-causes” capital accumulation in the Brazilian economy and, also that the profit share of gdp does not “Granger-cause” the national investment-capital ratio. This corroborates the Kaleckian proposal based on the fundamental role of the accelerator, and suggests that the Brazilian economy can grow with either a concentration or a de-concentration of income, provided a suitable institutional arrangement is in place.

This study uses some backward-looking versions of Phillips curves, estimated from both revised and real-time data, to explore the existence, robustness and size of the contribution that a variety of activity measures may make to the task of predicting inflation in Chile. The main results confirm the findings of the recent international literature: the predictive power of the activity measures considered here is episodic, unstable and of moderate size. This weak predictive contribution is robust to the use of final and real-time data.

La Clasificación de Actividades de Uso del Tiempo para América Latina y el Caribe (CAUTAL) es el resultado de una larga trayectoria de trabajo del Grupo de Trabajo sobre Estadísticas de Género de la Conferencia de Estadística de las Américas (CEA) que responde a la necesidad de los países de América Latina y el Caribe de contar con un instrumento con enfoque de género y adecuado al contexto regional, que permita la armonización y estandarización de las encuestas de uso del tiempo, así como la producción de estadísticas en esta temática. Las actividades cotidianas y los tiempos que las personas les dedican, se enmarcan en un contexto definido por factores de género, sociales, económicos, culturales y del marco jurídico e institucional. La CAUTAL ofrece la posibilidad de disponer de una visión integral y ordenada de las actividades que las personas realizan y del tiempo que les dedican. Así, permite visibilizar las diferentes asignaciones de tiempo de mujeres y de hombres, aportando insumos y evidencias para las políticas públicas de igualdad en los ámbitos social y económico.