The Effects of Households’ and Firms’ Borrowing Constraints on Economic Growth

This paper considers an endogenous growth model with asymmetric information between lenders and borrowers, that leads to credit-rationing a proportion of borrowers. However, in contrast to the existing literature, both firms and consumers in this model face borrowing constraints. Nonetheless, the borrowing constraints facing a firm and those encountered by a consumer have opposing effects on growth. Relaxing borrowing constraints on firms is growth-promoting as more funds become available for productive investment. In contrast, relaxing borrowing constraints facing consumers has a detrimental effect as funds are diverted from productive investment to consumption. Such an adverse effect offsets the externality effect present in the production function that would otherwise ensure perpetual growth. Furthermore, it is shown that the interaction between households’ and firms’ borrowing constraints may give rise to endogenous cycles.

Recent paths in nineteenth-century history: diversity and modernity of a historiographic field

Este estudo debruça-se sobre um conjunto de noventa e seis teses de doutoramento relativas à História do século XIX realizadas em universidades portuguesas entre 2010 e 2018 e pretende analisar a sua distribuição pelas referidas escolas e programas doutorais, as suas principais áreas temáticas e espaços geográficos estudados, evidenciando ainda a ocorrência destas variantes pelos nove anos em estudo com o objetivo de verificar se há modelos ou tendências neste domínio.This study focuses on a set of ninety-six doctoral theses related to Modern History- nineteenth-century carried out in Portuguese universities between 2010 and 2018 and aims to analyze their distribution among the referred schools and doctoral programs, their main scientific focus and studied geographical spaces, evidencing the occurrence of these variants over the nine years under study in order to check for patterns or trends in this field

Operação cappuccino: os galegos, os cromos, os saldos, as vitaminas e os bacocos!...

Já vem sendo sina, de há uns anos a esta parte! É o que dá quando a palavra avião nos faz disparar a adrenalina! É o que dá fugir dele como o diabo da cruz!... É o que dá quando se recorre ao andante de quatro rodas... Nem sempre se vai para onde se deseja! Mas, entre ficar em casa e ir laurear a pevide, ou, simplesmente para o banho de cultura anual, mil vezes a segunda… Este ano voltámos a tripartir o périplo

Understanding the cross-talk between microbiota, host fitness, and the environment using Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) as a model

Tese de mestrado, Microbiologia Aplicada, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2017Gut microbiota is the complex and diverse community of bacteria, archaea, fungi, protozoa, and viruses present in the gastrointestinal tract of animals. Once established, this ecosystem is relatively stable, but responsive to a variety of effects, namely host diet, health, genetics, sex, and reproductive status, and also the habitat. Increasing importance has been attributed to host gut-microbe interactions due to implications in the immune system and ecological features, such as behavior, however, the microbiota of many carnivores remains unknown. In this work, the gut microbiota of Egyptian mongoose, a medium-size mammalian carnivore, with opportunistic feeding behavior, ranging in distribution throughout the African continent, but also in Mediterranean Middle East, southern Turkey, and the Iberian Peninsula, was thoroughly investigated using a wide range culture-based approach. The aims of this work were: [1] the characterization of the core gut microbiota of Egyptian mongoose population; [2] the investigation of sex- and age class-related differences of gut microbiota; and [3] the analysis of the relationship between bio-environmental features and gut microbiota of these specimens. Fecal samples from ten males and ten females sampled in mainland Portugal were enriched in Buffered Peptone Water, in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Part of the enriched samples was pasteurized and inoculated into YCFA P solid medium, under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The remaining part was inoculated into YCFA under anaerobic conditions and into YCFA, MacConkey, PDA supplemented with chloramphenicol solid media, ESBL chromogenic medium, with and without antibiotic supplement, and Brilliance ESBL solid medium. Selected isolates were grouped into different morpho-physiological types (MT) based on Gram character, catalase and oxidase activities, and endospore formation. A bacterial isolate belonging to each MT, in each media, for each mammal host, was selected for molecular fingerprinting using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) with M13 and PH primers. Strain relationships were analyzed by hierarchical numerical methods with Pearson correlation coefficient and Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic mean (UPGMA) clustering. One isolate from each cluster was randomly selected for 16S rDNA gene sequencing. Fungi isolates with different morphology were selected for genomic identification through Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region sequencing. In this study, we generated for the first-time extended baseline information on the microbiome of mongoose, enabling the exploitation of microbial community differences between sexes and exploring the influence exerted by the biological and environmental context of each host in its microbiota signature. Looking at each individual host as a habitat with its own community, the MT-II, MT-VI, MTVII, MT-IX and MT-XI types may be considered the core gut microbiota community and the remaining morpho-physiological types can be considered part of the intra-specific individual microbiota community. Additionally, we perceived that the majority of individuals possess MT-II ESBL-producing bacteria. Higher microbial load was present in fecal samples from female hosts in rich medium under anaerobic conditions, both for total and sporobiota bacterial community. The bacterial microbiota of both males and females was dominated by Gram-positive bacteria, mainly of the phylum Firmicutes, with bacilli isolates prevailing, in particular, Enterococcus spp. and Bacillus spp. The growth of putative Escherichia coli was only registered in female host samples. The specimens analyzed in this study revealed high Proteobacteria/Bacteroidetes ratio, a feature that may be related to a carnivorous or scavenger dietary regime and with highly efficient energy harvest. Filamentous fungi were exclusively detected in fecal samples from male hosts and their genus identified as Pseudozyma and Naganishia (Basidiomycota phylum), Penicillium (Ascomycota phylum) and Mucor (Mucoromycota phylum). Although the number of surveyed specimens is limited, considerable similarity between adult and juvenile microbiota was found, which contrasted with sub-adult’s, probably due to higher proximity and interaction between the first two groups, since this species social behavior includes protection of the cubs and juveniles, leading to similar diet and easier host-to-host transmission of microbiota. This work sets the ground for more comprehensive studies on the microbiota of Mediterranean wild carnivores, including sympatric threatened species. Future studies using culture-independent methods will improve our knowledge of this species microbiome and lead to a better understanding of its bioecology

Regional Incomes in Portugal: Industrialisation, Integration and Inequality, 1890-1980

The analysis of the evolution of the location of economic activity in Portugal between 1890 and 1980 depicts a strong concentration of productive activity in the coastal regions. We estimate data for regional GDP per capita, which show that the evolution of regional inequality followed an inverted U-curve, in line with that observed in other regions of Europe, but with a rather late peak, in 1970. The reasons for this behaviour may be found in the limits to industrialisation in the interior regions and the benefits generated by the agglomeration economies in the more developed coastal regions

Aircraft Engines Maintenance Costs and Reliability: An Appraisal of the Decision Process to Remove an Engine for a Shop Visit Aiming at Minimum Maintenance Unit Cost

Dissertação apresentada como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Estatística e Gestão de Informação.The decision to remove an aircraft engine for SV is not a deterministic process. The decision is taken under conditions ok risk or uncertainty and some subjectivity. In this document it is presented a case study using a decision tree to decide the best time to remove an engine with high FH since last SV. This case study and the answers from engine experts to a questionnaire about the decision process provide information that may assist to decide how to optimize engine time on-wing

Understanding the negotiation behaviour of Member States in the Council of the EU: the case of the Recast Asylum Procedures Directive

This study aims at explaining the factors that influenced and shaped European Union (EU) member states’ negotiation behaviour and strategies in the Council of the EU, in particular in the case of the recast Asylum Procedures Directive (APD). Based on a series of interviews with officials of member states and EU institutions, this research suggests that the Council negotiations in the post-Lisbon Treaty period are better explained through an institutionalist lens. Previous scholarship has shown that issue-salience along with regulatory expertise and administrative capacity was important to understand negotiation behaviour, bargaining success and policy output during the first phase of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). However, this study demonstrates that these variables are no longer sufficient to fully explain member states´ negotiation behaviour in the second and third phase of the CEAS. Thus, based on the actor-centered institutionalism framework (ACI), this study proposes a bargaining model that not only considers issue-salience, but also formal and informal institutional rules such as voting rule, consensus norm, ´co-decision´ and the type of legal instrument, as explanatory variables for the observed ´mixed-motive game´ in the Council. Furthermore, this research argues that the commonly used typologies on EU negotiations literature do not sufficiently portray the dynamic in the APD. It is not just a matter of bargaining strategies to maximise member states´ self-interest, nor just the search for creative joint solutions to the problems. Rather, there is a coexistence of both conflict and cooperation, in which self-interested actors accommodate joint solutions to obtain a non-zero-sum game. To sum up, actors are still perceived as rational, who seek to maximise their self-interests. Yet their course of action and behaviour are constrained by the EU institutional setting.Deze studie richt zich op het verklaren van de factoren die het onderhandelingsgedrag en de strategieën van de Europese Unie (EU) lidstaten in de Raad van de EU hebben beïnvloed en vormgegeven, met name in het geval van de herziene Richtlijn voor Asielprocedures. Gebaseerd op een serie interviews met ambtenaren van de lidstaten en de EU-instellingen, suggereert dit onderzoek dat de onderhandelingen van de Raad in de periode na het Verdrag van Lissabon beter worden toegelicht door middel van een Institutionalistische lens. Eerdere wetenschappelijke studies hebben aangetoond dat kwestie-saillantie samen met regelgevende expertise en bestuurlijke capaciteit was belangrijk om de onderhandelingsgedrag te begrijpen, succes te onderhandelingen en beleidsresultaten te leveren tijdens de eerste fase van het Gemeenschappelijk Europees Asielstelsel. Deze studie toont echter aan dat deze variabelen niet langer voldoende zijn om het onderhandelingen gedrag van de lidstaten in de tweede en derde fase van het CEAS uit te leggen. Dus, op basis van de acteur-gecentreerde institutionalisme kader, stelt deze studie een onderhandelingspositie model dat niet alleen rekening houden met kwestie-saillantie, maar ook formele en informele institutionele regels zoals stemregel, consensus norm, “medebeslissingsprocedure” en het type van juridisch instrument, als verklarende variabelen voor de waargenomen “gemengd-motief spel” in de Raad. Bovendien, selt dit onderzoek dat de meest gebruikte typologieën op EU-onderhandelingen literatuur onvoldoende beeld van de dynamiek in de APD geven. Het is niet alleen een kwestie van onderhandelen strategieën om het eigenbelang van de lidstaten te maximaliseren, noch alleen het zoeken naar creatieve oplossingen voor de problemen. Integendeel, er is een coëxistentie van zowel conflict en samenwerking, waarin zelf geïnteresseerde acteurs geschikt voor gezamenlijke oplossingen om een niet-nulsomspel te verkrijgen. Kortom, acteurs zijn nog steeds als rationeel gezien, die proberen om hun eigen belangen te maximaliseren. Toch, hun handelwijze en gedrag worden echter beperkt door het institutionele kader van de EU.Este estudo tem como objetivo explicar os fatores que influenciaram e moldaram o comportamento e estratégias de negociação dos Estados-membros da União Europeia (UE) no Conselho da UE, especificamente no caso da Diretiva de Procedimentos de Asilo adotada em 2013. Com base numa série de entrevistas conduzidas com as Representações Permanentes dos Estados-membros e Instituições da UE, esta investigação sugere que as negociações no Conselho após o Tratado de Lisboa são melhor explicadas através de uma lente institucionalista. Estudos anteriores demonstraram que a saliência do assunto, juntamente com a experiência regulatória e a capacidade administrativa dos Estados-Membros foram importantes para compreender o comportamento de negociação, o sucesso de negociação e o resultado da política durante a primeira fase do Sistema Europeu Comum de Asilo (SECA). No entanto, este estudo demonstra que estas variáveis já não são suficientes para explicar o comportamento de negociação dos Estados-membros na segunda e terceira fase do SECA. Desta forma, com base no actor-centered institutionalism framework (ACI), este estudo propõe um modelo de negociação que não só considera a saliência do assunto como também as regras formais e informais das instituições. Mais especificamente a regra de voto no Conselho, norma de consenso no Conselho, ´codecisão´ e o tipo de instrumento legal como variáveis explicativas para o ´mixed-motive game’ observado no Conselho. Ademais, esta investigação argumenta que as tipologias comumente utilizadas na literatura das negociações da UE não retratam suficientemente a dinâmica observada na diretiva em análise. Não se trata apenas de estratégias de negociação para maximizar o interesse dos Estados-membros, nem apenas a busca de soluções criativas para os problemas comuns. Mas sim uma coexistência de conflito e cooperação, na qual atores racionais acomodam soluções conjuntas para obter um jogo de soma não zero no Conselho. Em suma, os atores continuam a ser racionais, procurando maximizar seus interesses, no entanto, o seu curso de ação e comportamento são condicionados pelo contexto institucional da UE