Economic growth, convergence and quality of human capital formation system

This paper’s goal is to make use of a human capital proxy that takes into account quantitative and qualitative aspects of this factor to measure with a higher level of accuracy the impact of human capital on countries’ income level and rate of growth. The empirical study will take place by means of a comparative analysis of Mankiw, Romer and Weil’s 1992 paper.human capital proxy, qualitative aspects of human capital

Capital humano: uma nova proxy para incluir aspectos qualitativos

The role of human capital on the development process has been recognized as a crucial element by many researchers. Nevertheless, many empirical results have showed no correlation between human capital and income per capita level or between human capital and growth rates. It is argued that the interaction between the two variables is more complicated than predicted by endogenous model of growth as the one developed by Lucas-Uzawa. Other problem that is usually mentioned is the proxy´s lack of quality because it does not take into account the disparities in the educational system when different nations are compared. The main goal of this paper is to employ a proxy for human capital that tries to take into account this characteristic and compare with Mankiw, Romer and Weil 1992’s results.Human capital, empirical results, new proxy

CAPITAL HUMANO E CRESCIMENTO: IMPACTOS DIRETOS E INDIRETOS

The objective of this study is to evaluate the different channels in which human capital affects income level and growth and to use a proxy of human capital variable that incorporates quantitative and qualitative aspects of this factor. The human capital proxy that will be used is years of schooling (h) times HDI (Human Development Index) and h times HDI squared. HDI utilization is to measure countries degree of development. The assumption is that the more developed a country is, the better is its system of human capital formation. The empirical analysis is based in a model that incorporates several channels in which human capital affects the rate of income per worker growth: 1) improving the marginal productivity of labor; 2) through creation of technology; and 3) diffusion of technology. The consideration of several channels in which human capital affects income is due to the complexity of the relationship between these two variables. Therefore, if we consider only some channels we can incur in model specification errors.

Capital humano e crescimento: impactos diretos e indiretos

The objective of this study is to evaluate the different channels in which human capital affects income level and growth and to use a proxy of human capital variable that incorporates quantitative and qualitative aspects of this factor. The human capital proxy that will be used is years of schooling (h) times HDI (Human Development Index) and h times HDI squared. HDI utilization is to measure countries degree of development. The assumption is that the more developed a country is, the better is its system of human capital formation. The empirical analysis is based in a model that incorporates several channels in which human capital affects the rate of income per worker growth: 1) improving the marginal productivity of labor; 2) through creation of technology; and 3) diffusion of technology. The consideration of several channels in which human capital affects income is due to the complexity of the relationship between these two variables. Therefore, if we consider only some channels we can incur in model specification errors.human capital, income per worker, quality aspects of human capital, marginal productivity of labor, creation of technology, diffusion of technology

Assessing performance of post-fire hillslope erosion control measures designed for different implementation scenarios in NE Portugal: simulations applying USLE

Wildfires are common in NE Portugal, annually affecting large areas and contributing to increase soil degradation in a territory under severe erosion risk. Wildfires dominantly occur in forests and scrubland that cover mountain areas all over the region. Post-fire measures, required for erosion control in such hillslopes, if applied, currently lack background design. The research aimed at assessing the performance of erosion control measures in hillslopes representing different implementation scenarios in Bragança District, NE Portugal (6608 km2). Methodology applied involved building up regional scenarios for simulated application of common post-fire measures (seeding and contour barriers), using USLE procedures. Variability of precipitation, soil and slope gradient across the region was represented by 14 simulation scenarios, for which potential erosion was calculated with USLE R, K and S factors, regionally assessed in previous work by the authors. Scenarios correspond to a range of susceptibility of burnt areas across the region, represented by potential erosion. Different sediment retention degrees and spacing of contour barriers (made with burnt vegetation residues) were simulated, exploring USLE L factor to estimate their effectiveness in reducing erosion. Seeding herbaceous vegetation as a post-fire measure was simulated applying USLE C factor and considering vegetation growth rates typical of each scenario. Post-fire measures were classified according to their performance in reducing potential erosion to tolerable rates in the different implementation scenarios: low, moderate, and high performance with, respectively, erosion rates > 10 Mg ha-1 y-1, 10 – 2 Mg ha-1 y-1, and < 2 Mg ha-1 y-1. Seeding is a low performance measure and reseeding next post-fire year is recommended. Contour barriers show generally high performance, yet dependent on design parameters. In fact, increasing barrier retention degree is more effective than reducing the spacing between barriers, a result that highlights the need for well-built contour barriers. The combination of the two measures has a high performance in most scenarios, thus recommending its wide application across the region. These results point out the importance of adequately designed post-fire measures, adapted to the regional diversity of potential erosion conditions, in order to mitigate impacts and accelerate recovery of NE Portugal burnt areas.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A população portuguesa e a percepção de risco

Dissertação de mestrado, Psicologia Social e das Organizações, Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais, Universidade do Algarve, 2012A percepção de risco é um fenómeno que tem vindo a ser muito estudado por vários investigadores de diversas áreas do conhecimento científico pois este assume um papel crucial na prevenção, gestão e intervenção de riscos. O fenómeno referido consiste numa avaliação subjectiva do risco (nível da probabilidade de ocorrência, gravidade pessoal e impacto social) que é associada a um determindao ambiente (Plapp, 2001). Esta avaliação resulta de factores cognitivos, de personalidade, situacionais e contextuais e têm implicações no comportamento a adaptar pelo indivíduo. A presente investigação pretende compreender de que forma a população portuguesa percepciona um conjunto alargado de 145 riscos, de várias tipologias (acidentes/laborais, ambientais, saúde, sociais). Foram realizados dois estudos: o primeiro para descrever como são percepcionados os riscos em estudo e de que modo o género sexual dos participantes influencia a sua resposta, e o segundo estudo de carácter exploratório que pretende ser um ponto de partida para a criação de uma escala. O primeiro estudo foi dividido em quatro momentos de acordo com as tipologias de risco e contou com a participação de um total de 442 participantes. O segundo estudo baseouse numa amostra artificial criada através dos dados recolhidos no primeiro estudo. Os resultados obtidos no primeiro estudo permitiram perceber alguns padrões ao nível da percepção de risco nomeadamente ao nível do género sexual, sendo as mulheres mais pessimistas que os homens na generalidade das tipologias de risco. O segundo estudo aponta para a existência de 11 componentes no conjunto dos 145 riscos