Economia
Portugal’s Inequality Regime: Many contradictions, multiple pressures
Abstract:
This paper applies the concept of inequality regime, in the tradition of the Regulation School, to the analysis of the patterns and drivers of socioeconomic inequality in Portugal in the last few decades. Key empirical patterns are identified with respect to income inequality, top and bottom incomes, wealth inequality, monetary poverty and non-commodified provision of basic goods. We then discuss several underlying processes and mechanisms, namely the capital-labour relation, classification struggles, financialisation, redistribution, and welfare, to account for the identified empirical patterns. We conclude that Portugal’s inequality regime is remarkably contradictory and argue that the country’s success in curbing most measures of inequality in recent times is especially vulnerable to a variety of pressures.
Quotation:
Abreu, A. (2023). “Portugal’s Inequality Regime: Many contradictions, multiple pressures”. Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais, 130:127-156
Tourism Competitiveness in Cape Verde: The case of Tarrafal/Santiago
Abstract:
The study of competitiveness has been constantly gaining importance in recent decades. Cape Verde Government elected Tarrafal as a development hub of tourism competitiveness. Since the empirical validation of competitiveness Cape Verde is still shortfall, so the current research aims to analyze the determinants of competitive advantage of tourism in Tarrafal. To achieve this goal, it was adopted a qualitative methodology based on a sample of the major 136 key players in the tourism area and the creation of four working groups during Tarrafal Technical Days (1 and 2 July 2022) to better discuss these issues. The discussion of the nal conclusions from each working group, allowed to systematize some major development alternatives to Tarrafal as a strategic tourism hub. Major implications for managers were also presented, such as the importance to develop and reinforce cultural traditions, reinforce entrepreneurship in order to maximize the tourism chain value through the implementation of better infrastructures (better roads, a maritime port as well as an aerodrome), diversify the tourist o er based on di erent segments (culture, nature, sports, events, remote working among others) and bene t other regions and municipalities around the county.
Quotation:
Sarmento, Eduardo Moraes e José Luís Mascarenhas Monteiro (2023). ” Tourism competitiveness in Cape Verde : the case of Tarrafal/Santiago”. Revista Turismo & Desenvolvimento, 42:117-132
Exploring Co-creation Process in the Wineries: The relevance of social partner characteristics
Abstract:
In a global market, the exchange is regarded as one of the most important strategic resources that are critical for business company success (Hammervoll 2012; Johnson 1999; Powers and Reagan 2007). Hence, it is not a surprise that producers, distributors, retailers, customers, and even competitors join forces to co-create value solutions. With the business environment becoming more competitive, a dyadic perspective of buyer–seller relations is increasing. Partners should be concerned about joining forces and working together to improve their joint performance and add value to their offers (Cannon et al. 2010). In sum, the success of a company can be influenced by the style of the relationship that is developed with other players (Arranz and de Arroyabe 2012; Cunha, Loureiro, and Rego 2015a; Monteiro, Guerreiro and Loureiro 2019; Terpend and Ashenbaum 2012). Following this appeal for research, this chapter aims to explore how distributors and wine producers describe the personal and organizational social capabilities as facilitating facets of relationship quality (RQ) (it is an issue that depends on confidence, satisfaction, commitment, and trust). The wine sector is selected as a field of research because it has unique features which have not yet been deeply studied and could explain management specificities: 1 Portugal is an old wine country full of tradition and heritage, ‘in which the wine culture has been flourishing for centuries’ (Loureiro and Kaufmann 2012, p. 331). 2 The wine sector has not been deeply analyzed and studied in previous research. 3 This sector plays an important role in the national economy, and the recognition of the quality of the work carried out in this sector is being acclaimed internationally. This chapter is organized as follows: after this introduction of our topic research, we present the theoretical background that supported this study, followed by a description of the methodology. The following sections discuss research findings from the empirical study, and the implications for managers of this study are discussed. Finally, limitations and new research directions are suggested.
Quotation:
Sarmento, E. M, Loureiro, S. M. C., and Cunha, N. Exploring Co-creation Process in the Wineries: The relevance of social partner characteristics. In: Dixit, S.K. (Ed.). (2022). Routledge Handbook of Wine Tourism. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003143628
Lições de macroeconomia: uma introdução
Abstract:
The book that is now being published, in the form of lessons in macroeconomics, is the result of 3 years of work in teaching the discipline of Economics II, of the degrees in Economics, Mathematics Applied to Economics and Management and General Studies, at the Instituto Superior of Economics and Management at the University of Lisbon. These Macroeconomics Lessons are the result of a pedagogical experience of teaching an introductory-level subject and the objective is to facilitate the transmission of knowledge in a subject that is nonetheless complex, but which is indispensable in the training of any economist or manager. The approach presented in this book reflects three methodological options that aim to make it more attractive and user-friendly for its readers. The first is the search for the greatest possible clarity and simplification in the presentation of concepts and theories. The second is the purpose of making the distinction between the model of reality and reality understood. The third is the inclusion of the Portuguese economic reality in virtually all chapters, either as a reference for the discussion of concepts, which acquire a concrete and quantified dimension in this way, or as a specific object of macroeconomic analysis. Aimed primarily at students starting their university education, these Lessons do not fail to go further in dealing with the issues, and may be useful to all those who, regardless of their motives, wish to acquire an introductory vision of contemporary macroeconomic analysis.
Quotation:
Mendonça, António (Coordenador) e Vitor Magriço … [et al.] .(2021) . “Lições de macroeconomia: uma introdução”. Edições Silabo, Lisboa: p. 451.
The primacy of accommodation in the Brazilian economy
Abstract:
The capitalist world-economy is immersed in a generalized inertia. A movement of slow accumulation, low investment, limited growth rates, but with a high level of profit, and which takes place through intense pressure on existing levels of inequality, combining a global restructuring of wealth and income generation with a reproduction of the workforce in terms of its limited maintenance. Inertia that can be seen, mainly, from the productive-financial crisis of the first decade of the 2000s. Brazil is not oblivious to this inertia and its consequences. This article intends, from a conceptual reflection, to discuss the elements that characterize what I call the accommodation structure of the Brazilian economy.
Quotation:
Moreira, Marcelo José (2021). “A primazia pela acomodação da economia brasileira”. Revista de Economia da UEG. 17(2), p. 44-65
Working Paper 190/2023: Study of the value chain of the tourism sector in Angola as an alternative economic, social, and environmental development strategy under the Prodesi programme
Abstract:
Angola has been facing several economic and social problems, with one of the most important being related to the country’s long tradition of dependency on oil as a major external revenue. Due to this situation, the country’s income has been slowing and there is a need to find alternative strategies to increase the liquidity of the economy without which Angola would lack the necessary funds to increase investment and proceed with adequate policies to combat social exclusion and eradicate the flows of poverty. Aware of this situation, the government implemented the national PRODESI project, whose aim is to accelerate the process of the diversification of the nation’s economy. To this end, the project aims to promote production and exports in the non-oil sectors, as well as in sectors with a strong potential for import substitution. One of these areas is tourism, as a means of developing some of the country’s regions and provinces, and also in order to benefit populations living in worse conditions, whilst diversifying the economic restrictions. The focus of actions in PRODESI foresees that the to accelerate the diversification of the economy, whether through import substitution or through diversification and an increase in exports, will be directed towards the production of goods and services or the implementation of new strategies designed to gain critical mass and create intra and intersectoral relationships, such as in the case of tourism. Accordingly, the purpose of this research is to identify the main weaknesses of the core value chain of tourism and to propose a set of measures and recommendations to be implemented within the scope of PRODESI. The main objective is to ensure that this activity effectively contributes to diversifying Angola’s economy in a sustainable path and that it helps leverage the increase in national production in a faster and more efficient way and thus significantly help decrease the dependency on imports and increase the export basis, which can be achieved through adopting a strategy of diversification, based on both international and national tourism. 3 Methodologically, several studies were consulted and various meetings and in-depth field visits were made, between January and March 2000, in the provinces of Luanda, Malange, Huíla, and Namibe. Several interviews were carried out up until 2021with major players (ranging from ministers through to national directors and other experts) and tourist organizations (Ministries, Travel Agencies, and entrepreneurs). It is estimated that in the next 10 years Sub-Saharan Africa will register a growth in tourism superior to the global average, regardless of the COVID pandemic. Study of the Value Chain of the Tourism Sector in Angola as an Alternative Economic, Social, and Environmental Development Strategy Under the Prodesi Programme concluded that even though tourism in Angola still faces a deficit at several levels, the country nevertheless has a set of natural resources and tourism attributes that, if properly explored and used, could provide an alternative way for the future development of Angola’s society. Angola still faces residual tourism receipts from tourism activity as well as in total international incoming tourists, and therefore Angola’s national government may have a huge opportunity to implement a suitable tourism strategy (both for internal and external flows), in order to not only reinforce its importance but also to benefit the population, fight poverty, and diversify economic activities, as defined in the PRODESI strategy.
Quotation:
Sarmento, E.M. 2023. “Study of the Value Chain of the Tourism Sector in Angola as an Alternative Economic, Social, and Environmental Development Strategy Under the Prodesi Programme“. Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão – CEsA/CSG – Documentos de Trabalho nº 190/2023
Desafios para Moçambique, 2022
Abstract:
This issue of Desafios para Moçambique (2022) comes as the country faces enormous challenges – the war in Cabo Delgado, with some signs of expansion into other provinces; the Rovuma basin gas extraction and liquefaction projects, which realise some 24 Challenges for Mozambique 2022 Introduction of the greatest challenges in Mozambique’s economic history; the lingering effects of the global crisis, the bursting and implosion of the economic bubble, of which the sovereign debt crisis was a manifestation, and the social and economic after-effects of the covid-19 pandemic. These challenges and crises stimulated research and resulted in lessons, some of which are developed in this issue. Recently ended in Maputo, the trial of some of the state agents and private agents involved in the illicit international financial transactions that resulted in the odious debts. What was already clear before – that these illicit transactions are a reflection of more general dynamics of expropriation, privatisation and financialisation of the state for private accumulation of capital, even if this is done at heavy social costs – has, if possible, become clearer. The hypothesis that the legal process, which we had the opportunity to follow for about a year and a half, only touched on the recipients of commissions for corruption and influence peddling, the executors of the great default against the public purse, was confirmed.
Quotation:
Castel-Branco, C.N., Ali, R., Chichava, S., Forquilha, S., Muianga, C. (2022) Desafios para Moçambique, 2022. IESE. Maputo, Moçambique. ISBN: 978-989-8464-58-3
As Perspetivas de Cooperação Económica entre Portugal e a China
Abstract:
As Perspetivas de Cooperação Económica entre Portugal e a China exposes how Since the state visit of President Xi Jinping to Portugal in December 2018, a framework for diplomatic relations between Portugal and China has been established, with a high level of cooperation in areas such as economy and trade, investment and finance, energy, technology, blue economy, education and culture. Of the 17 cooperation protocols signed then between Portuguese and Chinese governmental and private institutions, one is of particular relevance because it structures in a very significant way the level of cooperation between the two countries and its framework in the new global context. I am referring to the cooperation protocol between the governments of Portugal and China, within the framework of the Silk Road Economic Belt Initiative and the New 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. The presence of Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa at the “Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation”, which was held in Beijing from 25 to 27 April 2019, confirms the importance of the signing of this protocol and the prospects for economic cooperation that it opens, both in bilateral and multilateral relations. According to the signed document, the vision of the multilaterality of this cooperation is expressed with regard to other EU countries but implicit in the relationship with other Portuguese-speaking countries, mostly African developing countries, with the Belt and Road Initiative (IFR) focusing especially on connectivity between countries aimed at sustainable development objectives.
Quotation:
Fernanda Ilhéu (2019), As Perspetivas de Cooperação Económica entre Portugal e a China. O Economista-Anuário da Economia Portuguesa, 32ª Edição, Ordem dos Economistas, ISBN 1646-9909, pp:40-45, Lisboa.
Fresh Validation of the Low Carbon Development Hypothesis under the EKC Scheme in Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain
Abstract:
Fresh Validation of the Low Carbon Development Hypothesis under the EKC Scheme in Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain is in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs) that address pertinent global issues. This study focuses on the need for access to clean and affordable energy consumption, responsible energy consumption, sustainable economic growth, and climate change mitigation. To this end, this paper evaluates the relevance of the renewable energy sector on the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) framework in Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain for the period 1995–2015. As an econometric strategy, we adopt the use of panel data over the highlighted countries. In the first step, we apply the unit root test recommended by Levin, Lin, and Chu in conjunction with ADF-Fisher, and Phillips-Perron for robustness and consistency. We found that the variables used in this study are integrated I (1) in the first difference. In the second step, we apply the Pedroni cointegration test, and Kao Residual cointegration test, and we observe that the variables are cointegrated in the long run. The generalized least squares (GLS), the panel fully modified least squares (FMOLS), ordinary least squares robust (OLS), and panel quantile regression are considered in this research. The econometric results validate the assumption of the environmental Kuznets curve, i.e., and there is a positive correlation between income per capita and a negative effect of squared income per capita on carbon dioxide emissions. In contrast, we observe that renewable energy reduces CO2 emissions. Finally, we also find a direct connection between the urban population and the environmental degradation in the examined blocs. These results show that in Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain, more is required to achieve environmental sustainability in the respective countries growth trajectory. Further policy prescriptions are appended in the concluding section of this study.
Quotation:
Balsalobre-Lorente, D., Leitão, N.C., Bekun, F., V. (2021). Fresh Validation of the Low Carbon Development Hypothesis under EKC Scheme in Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain. Energies 2021. 14(1), 250. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14010250
The Impact of Renewable Energy and Economic Complexity on Carbon Emissions in BRICS Countries under the EKC Scheme
Abstract:
Economic complexity makes it possible to assess the development of the countries, the relations of innovation, and the differentiation of products. The Impact of Renewable Energy and Economic Complexity on Carbon Emissions in BRICS Countries under the EKC Scheme considers the links between the hypotheses of the Kuznets environmental curve and economic complexity using panel data for the group of BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) from 1990 to 2015. As an econometric strategy, this study considered the panel fully modified least squares (FMOLS), panel dynamic least squares (DOLS), fixed effects (FE), and Panel Quantile Regression. The empirical results showed that economic complexity, income per capita, renewable energy, and carbon dioxide emissions are integrated with the first difference when applying the unit root test. The arguments of Pedroni and Kao cointegration tests were also used. According to these results, the variables used in this research are cointegrated in the long run. The results validated the arguments of the EKC hypothesis, i.e., the income per capita and squared income per capita are positively and negatively correlated with CO2 emissions. Moreover, economic complexity and renewable energy aim to improve environmental damage and climate change.
Quotation:
Leitão, N.C., Balsalobre-Lorente, D., Cantos-Cantos, J.M. The Impact of Renewable Energy and Economic Complexity on Carbon Emissions in BRICS Countries under the EKC Scheme. Energies 2021, 14, 4908. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14164908
