POST-EVENT

A UK-Brazilian network was funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council to explore different understandings of “place inequality” (territorial differences in citizen access to public services), and to exchange ideas on the data and research methods that might illuminate place inequality and its implications. The network met first in Edinburgh in 2010 with a focus on territorial financial arrangements and fiscal equalization. Its second meeting took place in São Paulo on March 17-18, 2011. It reviewed further work on territorial finance, and developed a second strand of work on public attitudes and voting behavior in devolved/regional settings in the UK and Brazil.

During the first session, at Cidade Universitária (FFLCH), the political scientist Charley Jeffery (University of Edinburgh), gave the lecture “The Multi-Level State: Reflections on the Politics and the Political Science of Regionalised and Federal States.”

On March 18, the Center for Metropolitan Studies received additional sessions to the initial presentation. Under the topic “Territorial Financial Arrangements,” Alan Trench (University of Edinburgh), Marta Arretche (Center for Metropolitan Studies) and Sandra Gomes (Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte) made initial presentations on Lessons for the UK from Brazil. Guy Lodge (Institute for Public Policy Research, London) offered comments.

Following that presentation and under the panel “Regional Public Attitudes,” Rogerio Schlegel (Center for Metropolitan Studies) and Richard Wyn Jones (Cardiff University) made initial presentations on “Challenges of Regional Public Attitudes Research.” Daniel Wincott (Cardiff University) offered comments.

Finally, the panel “Regional Elections Research” included Charlie Jeffery (University of Edinburgh) and Fernando Guarnieri (Center for Metropolitan Studies), with initial presentations on “Conceptual and Practical Challenges in Regional Elections Research,” with Arjan Schakel’s (University of Edinburgh) comments.