Time for change in Portuguese science

There is an almost perfect positive relationship between scientific output and gross domestic product (GDP) in Western Europe (Fig. 1). But two countries — Ireland and Portugal — spoil the relationship

On the expansion of finance and financialisation

In this paper we explore the role of finance in the recent crisis noting that its expansion, in a context of deregulation and globalisation, has boosted financial profits and capital accumulation, but at the cost of a growing systemic instability both in the leading capitalist economy, i.e. the USA, and at the international level. The expansion of finance tends to emerge in certain phases of capitalist development, in particular during periods of countries’ decline. At the same time, each phase has its peculiar aspects and, referring to the recent evolution, we focus on the phenomenon of financialisation, intended as an increasing involvement of economic agents in the working of financial markets.deregulation; renationalisation; capitalist accumulation; instability; inequality

Horizontal Differentiation and the survival of Train and Coach modes in medium range passenger transport, a welfare analysis comprising economies of scope and scale

The Portuguese transport system as a whole suffers from the dominance of personal transportation, this being generally less efficient. Coaches and trains struggle to stay in the business. This model explains the markets’ performance beyond price differentials, bundling the transport modes’ appeal in one index for each. The differentiated transport cost approach accounts for product differentiation, economies of scope accruing to the consumer, and allows for economies of scale, in the form of fixed costs, to be weighted in, as well as tax policies towards motoring. It goes further by building a general welfare function that permits all factors and competition regimes to be properly compared. These are a monopoly by cars, duopolies with cars and each of the public transports, and oligopolies with public transports either competing or colluding. Simulations are carried out, and discussed in light of swings in market share and changes in welfare, with a reasonable claim to plausibility. Both public transports make the public better off by staying in the market, although the coaches’ contribution is more decisive. Trains results are weighted down by heavy fixed costs, and the far reaching coach network of destinations offers the second best service (behind that of cars). Collusion in the public transports is a price worth paying, when compared with the car monopoly emerging from bankrupt operators.Horizontal Differentiation, Intermodal choice, Oligopoly, Economies of Scope, Economies of Scale, Regulation

Application of a structural model to a wholesale electricity market: The Spanish market from January 1999 to June 2007

The aim of this work is to analyse the agents’ behaviour in highly concentrated and strongly regulated electricity wholesale markets with rigid demand. In order to accomplish this aim, the analysis was based on the former Spanish electricity generation market, between January 1999 and June 2007, before the MIBEL (Iberian Electricity Market) has started. The analysis is carried out in the theoretical framework of the structural models. The result of the structural model supports the apparently competitive nature of the market analysed for the period 1999 to 2003, despite than fact that the Lerner index average was high during this period. It will therefore be important in future work to analyse whether the high average mark-up verified accords with the CTCs (stranded costs compensation which have the characteristics of contracts for difference) which frame the activities of the electricity producers.electricity market, rigid demand, structural model, market power