Use and limits in project finance of the capital asset pricing model: overview of highway projects

The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) has become the standard and most popular tool in corporate finance for assessing t he risk and return in a shareholder´s equity. It is widely used in project finance, particularly in transportation projects. Yet in highly leveraged projects, the CAPM can produce misleading results. In this paper, we show that the values that the CAPM provides for projects that use debt to finance more than 80% of their total investment are unrealistic. This finding is mainly the result of a high leverage value in the CAPM formula. We examine 20 highway projects in Portugal launched between 1999 and 2010. We argue that in transport projects with high debt levels, investors must rely on the weighted average cost of capital. We find that larger and more complex projects tend to have higher equity and capital costs. Further, the financial crisis has a significant effect on increasing the cost of these projects

Public-Private Partnerships:Risk Allocation and Value for Money

This paper reviews the literature on the allocation and valuation of public-private partnerships (PPPs). First, the paper discusses why governments pursue PPPs and how value for money (VfM) is achieved. Second, the paper reviews the principles of risk allocation and valuation from an academic and public sector perspective. Both the private and public sector consider risk allocation to be a critical issue with respect to PPPs and VfM generation, although governments adopt a less complex approach to risk measurement. This paper analyses papers, case-studies, and reports concerning VfM from PPPs and concludes that, from an academic perspective, the majority of PPPs do not create VfM (government reports usually reach the opposite conclusion)

Measuring highway efficiency:A DEA approach and the Malquist index

A growing concern exists regarding the efficiency of public resources spent in transport infrastructures. In this paper, we measure the efficiency of seven highway projects in Portugal over the past decade by means of a data envelopment analysis and the Malmquist productivity and efficiency indices. We distinguish between technical and technological efficiency and find that most highways face a reduction over time in both types of efficiency. This reduction is mainly due to an increase in operating and maintenance costs, follow-up investments, and a decline in traffic. Some highways only experience a reduction in technological efficiency after a decrease in traffic. They compensate with cost controls and stable investments. While controlling for scale efficiencies, we find a lack of pure technical efficiency in highways that are not subject to a competitive environment, which produces a lack of incentives for better management. Not only does evidence exist of poor management due to a lack of competition, but the increased use of outsourcing also increases inefficiencies. The introduction of tolls and the outburst of the economic crisis in Portugal have substantially reduced traffic that further contributes to inefficiency. The local context, such as highways in low-income areas and rural regions with a lower traffic density, also affects highway performance

Drivers of the tax effort : evidence from a large panel

This paper extends previous literature by assessing the drivers of tax effort in a large panel of 122 countries over the period 1980 to 2017 and refining the analysis to regions, periods, income group, and economic development level. Our focus is on five blocks of determinants, namely: economic, fiscal, openness, structural, and political. We find that tax effort is influenced by all blocks, although results differ per income group. Tax effort in advanced economies is driven by all blocks of drivers, except political variables, while openness, structural, and political blocks prevail in developing economies. There is no consistency regarding the determinants across the four regions (Latin America, Africa, Europe and Asia). We also find that during the first two decades under analysis, tax effort is mainly associated with both higher levels of countries’ tax revenues and the role of the agricultural sector in the economy, while from 1999 onwards the determinants are mainly driven by left-wing ruling governments and the economic and fiscal blocks of variables. Our results are robust for a battery of sensitivity and robustness tests. Taken all together, our findings suggest the existence of heterogeneous impacts, which implies that policies resulting in improvements in the level of tax effort can affect countries in different ways.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Aftermath of the sovereign debt crisis, the new challenges to competitiveness in Portugal

This paper focuses on the interconnections between sovereign debt and the competitiveness of nations in the aftermath of the recent sovereign debt crises in the Eurozone. Further, it identifies new challenges to improving competitiveness. Based on a deductive approach, we analyse secondary data regarding sovereign debt and competitiveness in 28 EU countries for the period from 2006 to 2017. We also look at the recent theoretical developments in the competitiveness of companies, nations, and regions with the goal of identifying the new challenges to Portuguese competitiveness. In the period under analysis, Greece, Ireland, and Portugal had considerable losses in competitiveness and increases in their sovereign debt ratio. Despite benefiting directly from Porter’s insights into improving the country’s competitiveness, the Portuguese sovereign debt ratio has increased steeply. A previous analysis identified a path; however, there are new challenges such as those associated with EU competitiveness, shared value, and smart connected products. These need to be considered to support the creation of new strategies and policies for a small and open economy. Based on our analysis, we argue that competitiveness-oriented policies must more explicitly consider the negative implications of sovereign debt, and must recognize the new challenges to competitiveness.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Physical-chemical characteristics and antioxidant potential of seed and pulp of Ximenia americana L. from the semiarid region of Brazil

Ximenia americana popularly known as wild plum grow wildly in Brazilian semiarid region and its fruit were harvested in two maturity stages and evaluated for quality. The experimental design was completely randomized with three treatments (immature, mature pulp and seeds), and treatment effect was evaluated for pulp fraction (composed of both mesocarp and exocarp or peel) in maturation stages: immature (largest size with green colored peel), mature (largest size with yellow colored peel) and seeds of mature fruits, from eight repetitions of 25 fruits each, totaling 200 fruits per treatment. Fruit were separated and evaluated for physical and physicochemical variables, mineral composition, bioactive compounds content and total antioxidant activity (TAA). The X. americana grown in Brazilian semiarid region presents a great potential to further commercial exploitation. The pulp, aside its maturation stage contains high levels of lipids, proteins, sugars, starch, titratable acidity, vitamin C, yellow flavonoids, polyphenols and antioxidant activity. The seed also presents high levels of lipid, protein, starch, total extractable polyphenols and antioxidant activity. Imature pulp stands out for acidity, polyphenol, flavonoid and anthcyanin levels, while mature fruit pulp has higher yield, sugar and vitamin C levels. Seeds have higher starch, protein and lipi levels. The antioxidant activity found for wild plum pulp could be attributed to polyphenol and vitamin C contents; meanwhile, the antioxidant activity of seeds was dependent only on polyphenolic content. Pulp had higher Na, K, Mg, Ca and Fe levels, however, both seed and pulp fractions have substantial contents of P, K, Cu and Mn.Key words: Development, bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity, minerals, quality

Experiências de vida e sabedoria na pessoa idosa

Considerado o pináculo do desenvolvimento humano, a sabedoria diz respeito a diferentes qualidades positivas do indivíduo como uma personalidade integrada, competências de julgamento superior em situações de conflito e capacidade de resiliência face às vicissitudes da vida. Parece existir uma relação positiva entre a sabedoria e o bem-estar emocional nos indivíduos idosos, o que pode permitir identificar vias para um desenvolvimento positivo nesta fase mais tardia da vida. O presente estudo tem como objetivo central conhecer de que modo as experiências de vida podem fomentar a sabedoria na população idosa. Como objetivos específicos pretende-se conhecer estas experiências de vida, a forma como a pessoa idosa lidou com elas, e que aprendizagens recolheu e integrou na sua vida. O estudo foi realizado através da recolha de relatos autobiográficos de uma amostra constituída por um grupo de dez pessoas idosas, com idades entre os 69 e os 95 anos (M=80.6). Os resultados permitiram concluir que as experiências de vida marcantes podem ser promotoras de sabedoria. As pessoas idosas deste estudo demonstraram ter integrado as suas experiências e codesenvolvido recursos em sabedoria como a abertura à experiência, a atitude reflexiva, a regulação emocional e empatia, os aspetos afetivos, como a consciência social, o sentido de mestria e estratégias de coping para lidar com as adversidades, entre outros. Mostraram também, nesta fase tardia da vida, o valor da transcendência de si, através da espiritualidade, que assume um papel importante nas suas vidas, como valor adaptativo e fonte de resiliência para ultrapassar as adversidades. Foi possível também constatar que a generalidade dos participantes apresentava um envelhecimento bem-sucedido, envolvendo-se ativamente com a vida e partilhando vivências com outros significativos, sentindo realização no seu percurso de vida.Considered the pinnacle of human development, wisdom relates to different positive qualities such as an integrated personality, skills of superior judgment in situations of conflict and resilience to face life's vicissitudes. There seems to be a positive relationship between wisdom and emotional well-being in older people, which may help identify pathways to a positive development in this later stage of life. The present study has as its central objective to know how life experiences can foster wisdom in the elderly population. Specific objectives are intended to meet life experiences, how the elderly deal with this experiences and knowledge gathered and integrated into their life. The study was conducted by collecting autobiographical reports of a sample consisting of a group of ten older people, aged between 69 and 95 years (M = 80.6). The results showed that the remarkable life experiences can be promoters of wisdom. The elderly in this study demonstrated to have integrated their experience and co-developed wisdom resources such as openness to experience, reflective attitude, emotion regulation and empathy, affective aspects such as social awareness, sense of mastery and coping strategies to deal with adversity. Also shown, at this late stage of life, is transcendence of self through spirituality, which plays both an important adaptive role and is a source of resilience value to overcome adversity. It was also possible to observe that the majority of participants had a successful aging by actively engaging with life and sharing life experiences with significant others, feeling fulfillment in their life journey

End-Stage Renal Disease in Familial Amyloidosis ATTR Val30Met: A

Transplant Proc. 2003 May;35(3):1116-20. End-stage renal disease in familial amyloidosis ATTR Val30Met: a definitive indication to combined liver-kidney transplantation. Lobato L, Ventura A, Beirão I, Miranda HP, Seca R, Henriques AC, Teixeira M, Sarmento AM, Pereira MC. Department of Nephrology, and Liver Transplantation Program, Hospital Geral de Santo António, Largo Professor Abel Salazar, 4050, Porto, Portugal. [email protected] PMID: 12947881 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE