CEEAplA Working Paper Series 2010
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- How fast do wages adjust to human-capital productivity? Dynamic panel-data evidence from Europe and the United StatesPublication . Andini, CorradoThe standard human-capital model is based on the assumption that the observed wage of an individual is equal to the monetary value of the individual net human-capital productivity, the so-called net potential wage. We argue that this assumption is rejected by micro data for Belgium, Denmark and Finland. The empirical evidence supports a dynamic approach to the Mincer equation where no equality is imposed but an adjustment between observed and potential earnings is allowed to take place over time. Controlling for regressors’ endogeneity and individual unobserved heterogeneity, we estimate a dynamic panel-data wage equation and provide measures of the speed of adjustment in Belgium, Denmark and Finland. Further, we elaborate on the implications of a dynamic approach to the Mincer equation for the computation of the return to schooling, including the implication that the return is not independent of labormarket experience, as suggested by Heckman et al. (2005) and Belzil (2007). Finally, we show that a dynamic wage equation can be seen as the solution of a decentralized wagebargaining model and argue that this model can fit both European and US data better than a simple adjustment model but requires more theoretical assumptions.
- Higher Education attainment : the case of intergenerational transmission of education in PortugalPublication . Pereira, Pedro TelhadoThe lack of formal education and competences of the Portuguese workers is one of the biggest problems of the country. This lack is disappearing as quickly as desired and the young generations still lag far behind those in other OECD countries. This paper studies the intergenerational transmission of education achievement, in particular higher education completion, seeking to determine the influence on future attainment of parents’ education and labor market conditions while the child was growing up. We conclude that the education of the parents is very important, even if it is only one of them that has it. This influence seems not to be independent of the gender of the parent who has it. The fact that the parents face unemployment has a negative effect on the educational achievement of the child. Females generally perform better than males, but there are exceptions. For instance, it is significantly lower if the father has low education and the mother has secondary or higher education.
- The determinants of length of stay in the Azores : a count model approachPublication . Menezes, António Gomes de; Moniz, Ana Isabel Arruda; Vieira, José CabralThis paper employs count data models to estimate the determinants of length of stay, as count data models naturally lend themselves to overcome the censoring and truncation data issues associated with the non-negative, integer nature of length of stay. This paper employs a rich micro data set gathered through questionnaires ministered to a representative sample of tourists departing from the Azores: the fastest growing touristic region in Portugal. It is found that sociodemographic profiles, such as nationality and Azorean ascendancy, and trip attributes, such as repeat visitation rates and type of flight, are important determinants of length of stay. In addition, it is found that destination image and attitudes regarding environmental initiatives, constructed from a factor analysis exercise, also influence length of stay. In particular, the results suggest that marketing strategies that promote the Azores for its nature, landscape, remoteness, weather and safety may increase length of stay, whereas cultural heritage has the opposite effect.
- The Future of the Asylum Institute in the WorldPublication . Rodrigues, José NoronhaWhat is the future of the Asylum Institute? In our opinion it is of the utmost importance to urgently proceed to universalize and to uniform the rights and obligations of asylum seekers and sheltered, the qualified entities who evaluate the asylum requests, the essential and necessary criteria and requirements for the concession of asylum, and to trigger the necessary processes and procedures which will enable to successfully achieve the so yearned for international protection.
- Valuing nature attributes by the tourists : are there socio-demographic differences?Publication . Oliveira, Paulo; Pereira, Pedro TelhadoThis research studies if there are different valuations of nature attributes due to different socio-demographic characteristics of the individuals. We use the case of the Natural Park of Madeira and the valuation of its different attributes by the tourists to test if there are differences due to gender, age, education, and nationality; we control by the duration and number of previous visits to the destination. We use a probit model to see how socio-demographic characteristics of the tourists and different aspects of the trip affect the valuation given to 24 aspects of the Park and its organization. We conclude that males tend to value 12 of the aspects less and do not value any more than females. Age does not seem to affect the way individuals value the different aspects; the exception is the WC, which is more valued by the elderly. More educated people tend to value less the organizational aspects of the park and the services provided. British visitors value more than tourists from other nationalities 10 of the 24 aspects of the Park, while Germans tend to value less the services provided by the Park.
- PSI-20 fluctuation : correlation of the portuguese stock market with major global capital marketsPublication . Couto, Gualter; Faria, RicardoIn this paper, we will analyze the increase of correlations in the market during periods of crisis, due to its paramount importance to the management and optimization of the portfolio, and especially for risk diversification in portfolio management. An evaluation of the level of correlation between the stock markets is important for several reasons. First, it enables to evaluate changes in the patterns of correlation, and thus to make the proper adjustments in portfolios’ investment. Second, policy makers are also interested in these correlations because of its implications for the stability of the financial system. The correlation coefficients are biased measures of dependence when markets become more volatile. This paper explores the correlation of the Portuguese capital markets with the Asian, American, European and Latin American Spanish stock markets. To this end, we used the PSI-20 index, Nikkei 225, NASDAQ, S&P 500, Euronext 100 and Ibex-35. Our analysis results show that the correlation does exist as a phenomenon during financial crises (Bear Market), reducing the benefits of portfolio diversification when most needed. Moreover, we believe that correlations have increased between the markets in recent years.
- Prediction of entrepreneurship : an ordered regression approachPublication . Silva, Francisco; Couto, Gualter; Coelho, HugoEntrepreneurship is a popular research topic over the last several decades. Various authors study the characteristics that best define future entrepreneur profiles. In this paper, we apply a framework to screen school populations in the Azores Islands, Portugal, for prospects of entrepreneurship and to study the profiles of those who show noticeably entrepreneurial orientations. The contribution of the paper consists of applying ordered regression to explain the entrepreneurial prospects of students in high school.
- Quality of the Azores destination in the perspective of touristsPublication . Santos, Carlos; Couto, Gualter; Pimentel, Pedro; Vieira, José CabralTourism is a growing industry in the Autonomous Region of the Azores. However, little is known about how tourists evaluate this destination, something which certainly constitutes a shortcoming if one takes into consideration that this is a very competitive industry, with new destinations appearing every year and others increasing their market share. This paper focuses on the quality of the Azores destination in the perspective of tourists and, to an extent, has the goal of contributing to reduce this shortcoming. According to our findings, 74% of the tourists interviewed consider the global quality of the Azores destination to be very good or excellent, with the landscape, the climate/weather, the hospitality, the cleanliness and the security being the most highly-rated partial indicators. Additionally, a regression analysis indicates that the evaluation of the global quality of this destination varies according to the individual characteristics of tourists.
- Knowledge management : critical perspectives on e-business activitiesPublication . Tiago, Flávio Borges; Tiago, Maria Teresa Borges; Couto, João Pedro AlmeidaThis article is both a review and an agenda-setting piece. It argues that knowledge management suffers from conceptual and definitional ambiguity, oversimplification of its development processes, and methodological limitations. Nevertheless, there is a consensus in business and academia that knowledge is a key component of success and allows firms to achieve and sustains competitive advantages. In a digital era, these advantages arise from the potential of data and information that can be gathered, processed, shared, and used to improve e-business activities. Thus, this research bridges the gap in the assessment of knowledge management and e-business relationship, by applying an SEM to a large database sample of KM activities performed by European firms.
- Grau de inovação das pequenas e médias empresas nas Regiões Periféricas da Guarda e AçoresPublication . Natário, Maria Manuela; Couto, João Pedro Almeida; Sousa, Maura Helena CoutoEste trabalho enquadra-se conceptualmente numa visão sistémica do papel da inovação, considerada como o modo como as empresas criam valor explorando a mudança. A mudança pode, por conseguinte, ser associada a avanços tecnológicos, mas também a modificações no contexto estrutural de uma indústria, a mudanças nas preferências dos consumidores, a mudanças da composição demográfica, ou, até mesmo, a grandes mudanças da geopolítica global. A presente investigação analisa o grau de inovação das Pequenas e Medias Empresas (PME’s) em zonas periféricas, nomeadamente no distrito de Guarda e Açores. O objectivo foi o de verificar quais os factores que condicionam e/ou potenciam a inovação, aliado ao grau de envolvimento das empresas com universidades/politécnicos e outros actores, de onde resultam a maior parte do capital humano, essencial à criação de valor. Foi construído um inquérito realizado às empresas das zonas anteriormente referidas e a metodologia empregue consiste na estimação de um modelo logit que permite verificar a influência de factores como o sector, idade da empresa, dimensão, actuação e região na definição de inovação. As conclusões apontam para a existência de um relacionamento positivo entre a introdução de inovações no mercado e o sector de actividade, a idade da empresa e o tipo de actuação e uma relação inversa no que se refere a dimensão da empresa e uma relação pouco significativa em relação à variável região.