The aim of this paper is to analyze the relation between economic growth and labor market dynamics in Brazil between 1981 and 2009, making a comparison with the United States. Among the findings, one can mention that economic growth in Brazil has been related to a massive incorporation of labor force in labor intensive activities, whereas, in the United States, to a substantial improvement of labor productivity in high-technology activities. Despite the favorable economic context in the 2000s, huge inequalities between these countries have widened since the structure of the Brazilian labor market remained with few or no changes.

This paper aims to examine the impacts of new technologies, especially of the digital TV, on the industry of terrestrial TV in selected countries. Taking the evolution of information and communication technologies (ICTs) as a background scenario, the transformations provoked by digitization of TV on the following aspects are analyzed: (i) the market structure of terrestrial TV (or free-to-air TV broadcasting), (ii) the plurality and diversity of TV programming. Based on secondary data and on recent studies on the technological trajectory of terrestrial TV in selected countries, one concludes that digital TV may provide great opportunities for development in such industry, but the magnitude of its benefits is strongly conditioned by socioeconomic factors and by how the service was regulated. Such findings may contribute to Brazilian debate on development opportunities opened by technological change to the television sector.

À medida que aumentam as necessidades de comunicação da sociedade e as relações entre os agentes do mercado se tornam cada vez mais complexas, o planejamento de novos bens ou serviços de telecomunicações requer a adoção de paradigmas sintonizados com o cenário que se delineia. A orientação que tradicionalmente baliza a concepção de novos projetos nesse setor expande-se de um foco técnico-econômico para um panorama que inclua as dimensões sociocultural e político-reguladora. O presente artigo discorre sobre o papel que um paradigma holístico, caracterizado por uma abordagem sistêmica e por uma visão pluralista, desempenha na concepção e na análise de viabilidade de projetos inovadores em telecomunicações, integrando as vertentes sociotécnica e técnico-econômica de análise. A reflexão aqui conduzida busca destacar a importância que o pensamento sistêmico, conjugado com abordagens de cunho qualitativo e que adotam múltiplas perspectivas, exerce em um contexto de análise ex ante de projetos de natureza complexa.

As societal needs for communications increase and relations between market agents become more and more complex, planning of new products and services in the telecommunications sector requires the adoption of paradigms tuned to the new scenario. The orientation that traditionally framed project conception in this sector now expands from a techno-economical focus to one that includes the socio-cultural and political-regulatory dimensions. The present article discusses the role that a holistic paradigm, characterized by a systemic approach and a pluralist vision, plays in the conception and viability analysis of innovative telecommunication projects, comprising both the socio-technical and the techno-economical views. The reflection undertaken here aims to point out the importance that systems thinking, allied to multiple perspectives qualitative approaches, exerts in a context of ex ante analysis of projects of this nature.