A Regional Human Development Index for Portugal

In a report from 2008 the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development came to the conclusion that Portugal is still a country very much marked by regional asymmetries and in need of better regional governance mechanisms and policies. In the face of these conclusions it becomes important to address the issue of constructing an index of regional development for Portuguese regions to better assess the evolution of the differential between regions. We propose a regional human development index for Portugal at the NUTS III level, based on the methodology of the Human Development Index (HDI) from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Results show us a country that has most of the highest ranked NUTS III positioned in the coastline, although some interior NUTS III regions improve their relative positions in the ranking between 2004 and 2008. Additionally to the traditional dimensions of the HDI, we also added two dimensions, that we choose to include, given the main criticisms pointed in the literature to the HDI - governance and environment. Results show some significative differences when we add the environment dimension, but in terms of governance they don't change significantly.Human Development Index, Regional Asymmetries, Portugal.

A Benchmarking of the Undergraduate Economics Major in Europe and the United States

We compare the undergraduate Economics majors and their underlying structure in the top-ranked Economics departments of Europe and the USA, identifying the fundamental courses included in an Economics major in top-ranked universities. We further distinguish between those courses that are required and those that are usually offered as electives, finding striking differences between Europe and the USA, especially regarding the nature of the main electives offered. The insights from this comparative study may be useful for the ongoing restructuring of undergraduate Economics majors in European countries caused by the Bologna Process.

Business Cycles, Core and Periphery in Monetary Unions: Comparing Europe and North America

We compare Europe with the USA and Canada as regards business cycle synchronization and core-periphery patterns. A long sample (1950-2005) makes it possible to study how these aspects have evolved over time. Results support the economic viability of EMU. Average cyclical correlations among European countries have risen significantly, reaching levels close to, or even higher than, those of North American regions. Applying fuzzy clustering to the analysis of core-periphery issues, we find Europe to actually outperform North America: the core-periphery divide is milder, and peripheral status seems generally less protracted.European Union, Canada, United States, Monetary Unions, Business Cycles, Fuzzy Clustering.

On the Welfare Properties of the Lucas and Romer Endogenous Growth Models

We present results from quantitative exercises using the Lucas and Romer endogenous growth models, from which we calculate welfare losses from the distortions presented in the Romer model. Moreover, comparing the models to data, we show that an economy governed by the Romer model would attain a higher welfare than one governed by the Lucas model, contrary to what can be interpreted from some previous theoretical contributions.Endogenous Growth, Human Capital, R&D, Welfare.

Essays on Macroeconomic Policy

Doutoramento em EconomiaDoutoramento em EconomiaNeste trabalho discute-se a política macroeconómica da União Europeia. Construiu-se um modelo estocástico dinâmico de equilíbrio geral com rigidez de preços. Introduziu-se uma nova regra de política monetária para o Banco Central Europeu. O modelo permite quantificar o Bem-Estar Social, relativamente à melhor escolha de regime monetário para os consumidores; ter um Banco Central autónomo ou pertencer à Zona Euro. O modelo foi calibrado para seis países que ainda não aderiram ao Euro, nomeadamente, Dinamarca, Hungria, Polónia, República Checa, Reino Unido e Suécia. Embora dois deles tenham uma cláusula de opt-out, as restantes economias terão que no futuro aderir ao Euro. Os resultados são conclusivos, e robustos a variações em parâmetros: todas as economias preferem manter a autonomia da política monetária. Analisam-se também outras uniões monetárias, tais como Alemanha, Canadá, Suíça e E.U.A., tirando-se inferências para a construção Europeia. São analisadas as correlações regionais de ciclos económicos, e testada a existência de regiões periféricas. As diferenças entre estas economias e a União Europeia são pouco significativas; a construção Europeia em termos das variáveis analisadas parece ser tão viável como a construção das referidas economias. Assim, a perda da autonomia da política monetária, não será um custo tão elevado a suportar.In this work we discuss the European Union macroeconomic policy. We build a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model with sticky prices. We introduce a new policy rule for the European Central Bank. The model allows us to quantify the welfare value, regarding the best choice of monetary regime for consumers; having an autonomous Central Bank or belonging to the Eurozone. The model was calibrated for six countries currently outside the Eurozone: Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Although two of them have an opt-clause, the remaining economies will have to join the euro in the future. Results are clear and robust to parameter changes; all economies prefer to keep monetary policy autonomy. We analyze other monetary unions, such as Canada, Germany, Switzerland, and the United States and infer some results for the European Union. We analyze regional business cycles correlations and test the existence of periphery regions. The differences between these economies and the European Union aren't very significant. The European construc¬tion process, at least in terms of the analyzed variables, seems to be as viable as the referred economies. Hence, the loss of the monetary policy autonomy will not be such a heavy burden

Os ciclos económicos nos países pertencentes à União Europeia: breve comparação do comportamento cíclico dos Estados Membros

Apresentam-se e discutem-se os resultados de ciclos económicos dos países da União Europeia, nomeadamente volatilidade, persistência e correlação entre os ciclos. As estatísticas são construídas com dados trimestrais, utilizando o filtro HP para remover a tendência e o procedimento X11-ARIMA para tratamento de sazonalidade. Inicialmente são apresentados os resultados de outros estudos para as estatísticas de ciclos económicos. Estes resultados corroboram os principais factos estilizados que diversos autores encontraram e demonstram que a maioria das economias pertencentes à União Europeia apresenta um grau elevado de correlação, embora a volatilidade das variáveis seja bastante heterogénea, sugerindo impactos diferentes dos choques nas economias. Um estudo mais detalhado da correlação do produto entre os países, revela também que o ciclo do produto é coincidente na Alemanha, França, Itália, Bélgica, Holanda, Portugal e Espanha, mas não é coincidente para a Áustria, Finlândia, Suécia, Dinamarca e Reino Unido.ciclos económicos UE

The Costs of EMU for Transition Countries

Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland will have to join the European and Monetary Union. Surprisingly, there is very little work on the welfare consequences of the loss of monetary policy flexibility for these countries. This paper fills this void by providing a framework to evaluate quantitatively the economic costs of joining the EMU. Using a two country dynamic general equilibrium model with sticky prices we investigate the economic implications of the loss of monetary policy flexibility associated with EMU for each country. The main contribution of our general equilibrium approach is that we can evaluate the effects of monetary policy in terms of welfare. Our findings suggest that these economies may experience sizable welfare losses as a result of joining the EMU. Results show that the cost associated with the loss of the monetary policy flexibility is bigger in the presence of persistence technological shocks, weak correlation of monetary shocks, strong risk aversion and a small trade share with the EMUMonetary Policy, Eastern and Central Europe Countries, Euro, Open Economy Macroeconomics, General Equilibrium

Business Cycles, Core and Periphery in Monetary Unions: comparing Europe and North America

We compare Europe with the USA and Canada as regards business cycle synchronization and core-periphery patterns. A long sample (1950-2005) makes it possible to study how these aspects have evolved over time. Results support the economic viability of EMU. Average cyclical correlations among European countries have risen significantly, reaching levels close to, or even higher than, those of North American regions. Applying fuzzy clustering to the analysis of core-periphery issues, we find Europe to actually outperform North America: the core-periphery divide is milder, and peripheral status seems generally less protracted

On the Effect of Technological Progress on Pollution: a New Distortion in an Endogenous Growth Model

We derive a model of endogenous growth with physical capital, human capital and technological progress through quality-ladders. We introduce welfare-decreasing pollution in the model, which can be reduced through the development of cleaner technologies. From the quantitative analysis of the model we show clear evidence that the new externality from technological progress to pollution considered in this model is sufficiently strong to induce underinvestment in R&D as an outcome of the decentralized equilibrium. An important policy implication of the main result of this article is a justification to subsidize the research in cleaner technologies.Environmental Pollution, R&D, Social Capital, Human Capital, Economic Growth

The Portuguese Study Plan's Flexibility as an Implication of the Bologna Process in Economics Undergraduate Degrees: a comparison with Europe

In this article we perform a comparative analysis of the study plans of Economics undergraduate degrees between Portugal and the best European institutions, for the school year 2004-2005. The analysis indicates a lower flexibility of Portuguese undergraduate courses, with a greater proportion of required disciplines and less electives offered. The study provides significant evidence on the essential courses to include in the study plans of future undergraduate Economics degrees in Portugal, with a reduced length of three years and about their required or optional nature.Economics Education; Bologna Process; Study Plans' Flexibility; Portugal; Europe