Is public investment in construction and in R&D, growth enhancing? A PVAR Approach

We study the impacts of public investment, notably in construction and in R&D on economic growth and of crowding-out effects on private investment. For this purpose, we use Panel Vector Autoregression (PVAR) models and the Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) approach for 40 advanced and emerging countries from 1995 to 2019. Our findings are as follows: i) innovations in public investment have more positive effects on GDP growth and private investment in emerging economies; ii) the positive impulse of public investment on private sector is pronounced and significant in emerging economies; iii) government construction investment has a more positive effect on economic growth in emerging economies; iv) innovations in public construction crowd-out private investment spending in advanced countries; v) emerging economies benefit from public R&D investment; vi) the public investment multiplier of the full sample is 1.67, while it is 0.87 for advanced economies and 2.29 for emerging economies.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Consumption patterns of indebted households : unravelling the relevance of fiscal policy

We have investigated the influence of fiscal instruments, notably taxes on income and government spending, on household consumption in two different samples and two measures of household debt to provide a comprehensive analysis of the topic. We used dynamic panel models and the GMM approach for 32 advanced and emerging countries from 1995 to 2019. Our findings suggest that fiscal impulses increase private consumption, but when households are highly indebted, patterns change, and increased government spending or reduced taxes, in the presence of high indebtedness, actually discourage household consumption compared to the baseline (lower debt) group.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Corruption and economic growth : does the size of the government matter?

Corruption is often a source of contentious debate, covering different areas of knowledge, such as philosophy and sociology. In this paper we assess the effects of corruption on economic activity and highlight the relevance of the size of the government. We use dynamic models and the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) approach for a panel of 48 countries, from 2012 to 2019. We find an adverse effect of corruption on the level and growth of GDP per capita, but that large governments benefit less from reducing corruption. Furthermore, developing economies, regardless of government size, benefit less from reducing corruption, while government size is not sufficient to explain the influence of corruption on economic activity, although the level of effectiveness of public services is crucial. Finally, our findings suggest that private investment is a potential transmission channel for corruption.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

PROT-OVT: Plano Regional de Ordenamento do Territorio do Oeste e Vale do Tejo

Os princípios, objectivos e orientações consagrados no Programa Nacional da Política de Ordenamento do Território (PNPOT), aprovado pela Lei n.º 58/2007, de 4 de Setembro, são desenvolvidos nos vários planos regionais de ordenamento do território (PROT) que, por sua vez, constituem um quadro de referência estratégico para os planos directores municipais (PDM). No processo de elaboração e revisão articulada destes três pilares fundamentais do sistema de gestão territorial, em que assenta a política de ordenamento do território e do urbanismo, cabe aos PROT uma posição de charneira fundamental. O significado e as potencialidades dos PROT são ainda significativamente ampliados pela articulação com a revisão dos PDM. Face a uma nova geração de PDM, que se pretendem mais estratégicos, os PROT fornecem um quadro de referência estratégica de longo prazo que permite aos municípios estabelecerem as suas opções de desenvolvimento e definirem regras de gestão territorial compatíveis com o modelo consagrado para a região. Os PROT, além de um pilar da política de desenvolvimento territorial, são documentos fundamentais para a definição dos programas de acção das intervenções co-financiadas pelos Fundos Estruturais e de Coesão da União Europeia. Os PROT são instrumentos de desenvolvimento territorial e de natureza estratégica. Em matéria de conteúdo, estabelecem a estrutura regional do sistema urbano, das redes de infra‑estruturas e dos equipamentos de interesse regional e definem os objectivos e princípios quanto à localização das actividades e os grandes investimentos públicos; as suas normas fixam o quadro estratégico, as orientações de carácter genérico e as directrizes para o ordenamento do território regional. O PROT do Oeste e Vale do Tejo (PROT OVT) visa, neste contexto, a espacialização de estratégias de desenvolvimento territorial nos territórios das NUTS III do Oeste, Médio Tejo e Lezíria do Tejo. Por isso, ocupa, entre o nível nacional e o nível municipal, uma posição chave para a definição das estratégias e das opções de desenvolvimento e de ordenamento regional. O PROT OVT é pois um instrumento privilegiado para promover a reflexão estratégica do desenvolvimento do Oeste e do Vale do Tejo e acolher a tomada de decisão quanto às opções de desenvolvimento territorial [...]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL : A data set of terrestrial, volant, and marine mammal occurrences in P ortugal

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with 26% of all species being includedin the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associatedwith habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mam-mals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion formarine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems func-tionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is cru-cial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS INPORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublishedgeoreferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mam-mals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira thatincludes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occur-ring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live obser-vations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%),bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent lessthan 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrowsjsoil moundsjtunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animaljhairjskullsjjaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8),observation in shelters, (9) photo trappingjvideo, (10) predators dietjpelletsjpine cones/nuts, (11) scatjtrackjditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalizationjecholocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and100 m (76%). Rodentia (n=31,573) has the highest number of records followedby Chiroptera (n=18,857), Carnivora (n=18,594), Lagomorpha (n=17,496),Cetartiodactyla (n=11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n=7008). The data setincludes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened(e.g.,Oryctolagus cuniculus[n=12,159],Monachus monachus[n=1,512],andLynx pardinus[n=197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate thepublication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contrib-ute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting onthe development of more accurate and tailored conservation managementstrategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite thisdata paper when the data are used in publications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mammals in Portugal: a data set of terrestrial, volant, and marine mammal occurrences in Portugal

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with ~26% of all species being included in the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associated with habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mammals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion for marine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems functionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is crucial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublished georeferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mammals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira that includes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occurring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live observations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%), bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent less than 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrows | soil mounds | tunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animal | hair | skulls | jaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8), observation in shelters, (9) photo trapping | video, (10) predators diet | pellets | pine cones/nuts, (11) scat | track | ditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalization | echolocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and 100 m (76%). Rodentia (n =31,573) has the highest number of records followed by Chiroptera (n = 18,857), Carnivora (n = 18,594), Lagomorpha (n = 17,496), Cetartiodactyla (n = 11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n = 7008). The data set includes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened (e.g., Oryctolagus cuniculus [n = 12,159], Monachus monachus [n = 1,512], and Lynx pardinus [n = 197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate the publication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contribute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting on the development of more accurate and tailored conservation management strategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications

Uncommon Solid Pancreatic Neoplasm: The Role of New Modalities of Ultrasound Endoscopy

Undifferentiated carcinoma with osteoclast-like cells is a rare pancreatic neoplasm with unique ultrasound endoscopic features. A 59-year-old female presented with a 3-month history of weight loss. Abdominal computed tomography and endoscopic ultrasound showed a large pancreatic tumor with a heterogeneous echotexture and liver metastasis. Endoscopic ultrasound fine needle aspiration was used to establish the diagnosis. In this case report, we review the endoscopic, clinical, and pathological features of this type of tumor and describe for the first time the endoscopic features of real-time elastography and contrast enhancement. Real-time elastography revealed a heterogeneous predominantly blue pattern suggestive of pancreatic malignancy, and the contrast-enhanced endosonography showed a hypervascular mass and distinctive vascular (solid) and avascular (liquid/necrotic) components of the lesion, guiding the fine needle aspiration