Bargained Wages, Wage Drift and the Design of the Wage Setting System

This paper aims at answering the question: How does a typically European bargaining system - with collective bargaining, extension mechanisms and national minimum wage - coexist with low unemployment rate and high wage flexibility? A unique data set on workers, firms and collective bargaining contracts in the Portuguese economy is used to analyze the determinants of both the bargained wage and the wage drift. Results indicate that wage drift stretches the returns to every worker and firm attribute, whereas it shrinks the returns to union bargaining power. Therefore, firm-specific arrangements, in the form of wage drift, partly offset collective bargaining, granting firms a high degree of freedom when setting wages. Union bargaining power raises the overall wage level, but lowers the returns on worker attributes, an outcome of the egalitarian policy pursued.

Disentangling the minimum wage puzzle: an analysis of job accessions and separations from a longitudinal matched employer- employee data set

Changes in the legislation in mid-80s in Portugal provide remarkable conditions for economic analysis, as the minimum wage increased very sharply for a very specific group of workers. Relying on a matched employer-employee panel dataset, we model gross job flows - accessions and separations - in continuing firms, as well as in new firms and those going out of business, using a Poisson regression model applied to proportions. Worker behaviour is as well modelled. Employment trends for teenagers, the affected group, are contrasted against older workers, before and after the rise in the youth minimum wage. The major effect on teenagers of a rising minimum wage is the reduction of separations from the employer, which compensates for the reduction of accessions (to new and continuing firms) and the rising dismissals from firms closing down. This result suggests the relevance of supply side factors overcoming demand forces, as they indicate that job attachment for low wage youngsters rises following an increase in their minimum wage. In this sense, our results can reconcile some of the previous evidence that has been presented in the empirical literature when analysing the overall impact of the minimum wage on youth employment without looking at its sources.

Disentangling the Minimum Wage Puzzle: An Analysis of Worker Accessions and Separations

Changes in the legislation in the mid-80s in Portugal provide remarkably good conditions for analysis of the employment effects of mandatory minimum wages, as the minimum wage increased sharply for a very specific group of workers. Relying on a matched employer employee panel data set, we model gross worker flows – accessions and separations – in continuing firms, as well as in new firms and those going out of business, using a count regression model applied to proportions. Employment trends for teenagers, the affected group, are contrasted to those of older workers, before and after the raise in the youth minimum wage. The major effect on teenagers of a rising minimum wage is the reduction of separations from the employer, which compensates for the reduction of accessions to new and continuing firms. In this sense, our results can reconcile some of the previous evidence that has been presented in the empirical literature when analyzing the aggregate impact of the minimum wage on youth employment without decomposing it by type of worker flow

Bargained Wages, Wage Drift and the Design of the Wage Setting System

This paper aims at answering the question: How does a typically 'European' bargaining system - with collective bargaining, extension mechanisms and national minimum wage - coexist with low unemployment rate and high wage flexibility? A unique data set on workers, firms and collective bargaining contracts in the Portuguese economy is used to analyze the determinants of both the bargained wage and the wage drift. Results indicate that wage drift stretches the returns to every worker and firm attribute, whereas it shrinks the returns to union bargaining power. Therefore, firm-specific arrangements, in the form of wage drift, partly offset collective bargaining, granting firms a high degree of freedom when setting wages. Union bargaining power raises the overall wage level, but lowers the returns on worker attributes, an outcome of the egalitarian policy pursued

Adequação dos exames de radiologia solicitados por um departamento de emergência: um estudo retrospetivo

Imaging tests are essential for diagnosis in the emergency context and convey clinical information that is essential to assess the appropriateness of the tests and improve their interpretation. Therefore, we aimed to analyze the imaging tests requested by the Emergency Department in a district hospital.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Disentangling the minimum wage puzzle : an analysis of job accessions and separations from a longitudinal matched employer- employee data set

Changes in the legislation in mid-80s in Portugal provide remarkable conditions for economic analysis, as the minimum wage increased very sharply for a very specific group of workers. Relying on a matched employer-employee panel dataset, we model gross job flows - accessions and separations - in continuing firms, as well as in new firms and those going out of business, using a Poisson regression model applied to proportions. Worker behaviour is as well modelled. Employment trends for teenagers, the affected group, are contrasted against older workers, before and after the rise in the youth minimum wage. The major effect on teenagers of a rising minimum wage is the reduction of separations from the employer, which compensates for the reduction of accessions (to new and continuing firms) and the rising dismissals from firms closing down. This result suggests the relevance of supply side factors overcoming demand forces, as they indicate that job attachment for low wage youngsters rises following an increase in their minimum wage. In this sense, our results can reconcile some of the previous evidence that has been presented in the empirical literature when analysing the overall impact of the minimum wage on youth employment without looking at its sources.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Disentangling the Minimum Wage Puzzle: An Analysis of Worker Accessions and Separations from Longitudinal Matched Employer-Employee Data Set

Changes in the legislation in mid-80s in Portugal provide remarkably good conditions for analysis of the employment effects of mandatory minimum wages, as the minimum wage increased very sharply for a very specific group of workers. Relying on a matched employer-employee panel dataset, we model gross worker flows - accessions and separations - in continuing firms, as well as in new firms and those going out of business, using a count regression model applied to proportions. Employment trends for teenagers, the affected group, are contrasted against older workers, before and after the rise in the youth minimum wage. The major effect on teenagers of a rising minimum wage is the reduction of separations from the employer, which compensates for the reduction of accessions to new and continuing firms. In this sense, our results can reconcile some of the previous evidence that has been presented in the empirical literature when analyzing the aggregate impact of the minimum wage on youth employment without decomposing it by type of worker flow.

Search for the higgs boson at ATLAS/LHC in WH associated production and decay to b-quark pairs

Tese de doutoramento, Física, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2017The Higgs mechanism was incorporated in the Standard Model of elementary particles and interactions in the 1960’s to solve the existent conflict between massive particles and conservation laws of particle physics. A consequence of this mechanism is the prediction of a new fundamental particle, the Higgs boson, observed for the first time in 2012 by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the Large Hadron Collider. This thesis describes the search for the Higgs decay into a pair of bquarks with the ATLAS experiment, using pp collision events with an 8 TeV center-of-mass energy provided by the LHC in 2012. Although the branching fraction of the H → bb⁻ decay is dominant (BR(H→ bb⁻ ) =57.7% for mH = 125 GeV), this decay mode was not yet observed. The search is particularly challenging given the huge amount of background events containing jets. To reduce this background, the Higgs production associated with aW=Z boson is usually explored, as the leptons resulting from the W=Z decay can effectively trigger the signal. The W associated production with the W boson decaying leptonically is considered. The data analysis searches for events compatible with the W H → lv bb⁻ signal topology: one electron or muon, missing transverse energy associated with the undetected neutrino and two jets resulting from b - quark fragmentation. Events containing jets and charged leptons, as topquark production andW+jets, are the main backgrounds of the analysis. Since their production cross-section is much larger than the signal cross-section, the resulting signal-to-background proportion, (B) S/ √B only 0.3. The analysis comprehends a Multivariate technique, Boosted Decision Tree (BDT), to exploit correlations in the event observables aiming at increasing the sensitivity to the signal. A study that resulted in a 12% gain in the BDT performance was carried on. Samples of signal and background simulated in the same conditions as data are also analysed. Given the small S=pB, it was indispensable to verify that the simulation models correctly the background processes, and to evaluate the systematical uncertainties associated with their prediction. In this context, a study to determine the systematic uncertainties of the single top background modelling was conducted. The ratio between the observed signal event rate and the Standard Model prediction was 1:65⁺0:58 ₋0:56(stat) ⁺0:58 ₋0:48(syst) = 1:65 ⁺0:82₋0:74, and therefore the measurement is compatible with the SM prediction within uncertainties. The signal significance, representing the compatibility between the data observation and the background-only hypothesis, corresponds to the gaussian probability of observing a value larger than 2.02 standard deviations and is not sufficient to state the observation of the W H → lv bb⁻ process.O mecanismo de Higgs foi introduzido no Modelo Padrão das partículas elementares e suas interacção¸ na década de 1960, para resolver o conflito existente entre partículas massivas e leis de conservação da física de partículas. Uma das consequências deste mecanismo ´e a previsão de uma nova partícula fundamental, o bosão de Higgs, observado pela primeira vez em 2012 pelas experiencias ATLAS e CMS do LHC/CERN. Esta tese descreve a pesquisa pelo bosão de Higgs através do seu decaimento em pares de quarks b com o detector ATLAS, usando acontecimentos de colisões pp com uma energia de centro-de-massa de 8 TeV. Este modo de decaimento ainda não foi observado, embora a razão de bifurcação (BR) seja dominante relativamente aos processos alternativos: para um Higgs de massa mH = 125 GeV, BR(H → lv bb⁻) =57.7%. A sua procura ´e desafiante e difícil devido à quantidade de acontecimentos de fundo com jactos de partículas. Para reduzir esse fundo, escolhe-se a produção do bosão de Higgs associada a um bosão W=Z, uma vez que os leptões resultantes do decaimento do W=Z constituem uma forma efectiva de identificar o sinal. Considera-se a produção associada a umW e seleccionam-se os acontecimentos de acordo com a topologia do sinal W H → lv bb⁻ : um electrão ou um muão, energia em falta associada ao neutrino e dois jactos resultantes da fragmentação dos quarks b. Acontecimentos que resultam em jactos e leptões carregados, como a produção¸ de quarks top e de W+jactos, constituem os fundos principais da análise. Como a seccão eficaz de produção¸ ˜ao destes processos ´e muito superior à do sinal, a proporção de acontecimentos de sinal (S) e fundo (B) S/ √B e de apenas 0.3. A análise usa uma t´técnica Multivariacional, que explora correlações entre diferentes observáveis através do método Boosted Decision Tree (BDT), para aumentar a sensibilidade aos acontecimentos de sinal. Realizou-se um estudo que permitiu melhorar o desempenho da BDT até 12%. São também analisadas amostras de simulação de sinal e fundos nas mesmas condicões. Dada a pequena significância do sinal relativamente ao fundo, foi indispensável verificar que a simulação modela correctamente os fundos e avaliar as incertezas sistemáticas na sua previsão. Neste contexto, foi efectuado um estudo que levou `a determinação das incertezas sistemáticas associadas `a modelação da produção¸ do quark top. A razão entre a taxa de acontecimentos de sinal observada e a prevista pelo Modelo Padrão foi 1:65⁺0:58 ₋0:56(stat) ⁺0:58 ₋0:48(syst) = 1:65 ⁺0:82, medida compatível com a previsão tendo em conta as incertezas obtidas. A significância do sinal medido, que representa a probabilidade dos dados observados serem compatíveis com a hipótese de ausência de sinal, corresponde `a probabilidade gaussiana de observar um valor superior a 2.02 desvios padrão e ´e insuficiente para se declarar a observação do processo W H → lv bb⁻

Vitamin A Deficiency and Training to Farmers: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Mozambique

Vitamin A deficiency is a widespread public health problem in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper analyzes the impact of a food-based intervention to fight vitamin A deficiency using orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP). We conducted a randomized evaluation of OFSP-related training to female farmers in Mozambique, in which the treatment group was taught basic concepts of nutrition, and OFSP-planting and cooking skills. We found encouraging evidence of changes in behavior and attitudes towards OFSP consumption and planting, and considerable increases in nutrition-related knowledge, as well as knowledge on cooking and planting OFSP.Fundação Calouste Gulbenkia

Everything you always wanted to know about sex discrimination

Earlier literature on the gender pay gap has taught us that occupations matter and so do firms. However, the role of the firm has received little scrutiny; occupations have most often been coded in a rather aggregate way, lumping together different jobs; and the use of samples of workers prevents any reliable determination of either the extent of segregation or the relative importance of access to firms versus occupations. Our contribution is twofold. We provide a clear measure of the impact of the allocation of workers to firms and to job titles shaping the gender pay gap. We also provide a methodological contribution that combines the estimation of sets of high-dimensional fixed effects and Gelbach's (2009) unambiguous decomposition of the conditional gap. We find that one fifth of the gender pay gap results from segregation of workers across firms and one fifth from job segregation. We also show that the widely documented glass ceiling effect operates mainly through worker allocation to firms rather than occupations