Structural Transformation and the role of Foreign Direct Investment in Portugal: a descriptive analysis for the period 1990-2005

In this paper we use a recent measure of the “income level of a country’s exports” proposed by Hausmann et al. (2007) to characterize the structure of the Portuguese export basket, its recent evolution and the role of FDI in this process. We find that between 1990 and 2005 the improvement in the income content of the Portuguese export basket was achieved through a positive “structural transformation effect” that more than offset the negative effect of having a significant share of products exposed to an increasing competition from emerging economies. We find that the weight of exports with “high” and “very high” income content increased considerably in this period, with these two classes explaining more than half of the total export growth. Analysing the presence of FDI in the different export products, we find a higher than average share of foreign affiliated firms in products with “High” and “Very High” income content. These and other pieces of evidence suggest that FDI has played a relevant role both in the growth of Portuguese exports and in the increase of their income content.International trade, Foreign Direct Investment, The Portuguese Economy, Structural transformation

ARE THE DYNAMICS OF KNOWLEDGE-BASED INDUSTRIES ANY DIFFERENT?

The concept of «knowledge-based industries» (KBIs) has been widely used both in the academy and in policy-making over the last decade, due to the increasing role those industries play – both in terms of value added and employment – in contemporary, advanced economies. In this paper we discuss the extent to which KBIs differ from other industries in what concerns some of the stylised facts and regularities of industry dynamics usually found in the literature. In particular, we analyse the patterns and the determinants of firm entry and post-entry performance (measured in terms of survival of new firms), comparing KBIs groups with the remaining industries, using data for the Portuguese economy in the second half of the 1990s. We find that KBIs and the firms within them show some signs of distinctiveness in their dynamics as compared to the general case. In particular, on average, KBIs firms have higher survival chances, and entry within the KBIs groups is less responsive to incentives.knowledge-based industries; market entry; firm survival

A crise (adiada) do neoliberalismo

O ACTUAL COLAPSO FINANCEIRO é para o fundamentalismo de mercado o que a queda do muro de Berlim foi para o socialismo real – ou seja, transmite ao mundo a mensagem de que é uma forma de organização económica insustentável. Este foi o modo encontrado pelo prémio Nobel da Economia Joseph Stiglitz para exprimir o que era na altura uma visão largamente consensual sobre crise fi - nanceira que teve início nos EUA em 2007 e se transformou na maior crise económica mundial desde a década de 1930. Tudo indicava que se estava então perante um momento de viragem histórica, que conduziria necessariamente a um novo modelo de desenvolvimento económico e social. Mais de dois anos volvidos, a leitura difi cilmente pode ser idêntica

Southern Europe in crisis : industrial policy lessons from Italy and Portugal

taly and Portugal have characteristics in common and some relevant differences, both of which provide useful inputs for a comparative analysis. Lucchese et al. (Industrial policy and technology in Italy, 2016) argue that deindustrialization in Italy stems partially from the shortcomings of industrial policy, which has been unable to promote the development of more knowledge-intensive activities. In contrast, our assessment of industrial policy in Portugal indicates that the absence of structural change towards more knowledge-intensive activities does not seem to result from the absence of adequate industrial policy measures. Even though most of the policy instruments that have been put in place in Portugal being of a ‘horizontal’ nature, support has been unevenly distributed across industries, often being concentrated in more technology-intensive industries. We conclude that despite existing room for improvements in the industrial policies, overcoming the current crisis in the Southern belt of the euro zone will require decisive changes in macroeconomic policies.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Assessment and challenges of industrial policies in Portugal

Like most developed countries, the Portuguese economy was severely hit by the international crisis of 2008-2009, with GDP at constant prices dropping 2,9% in 2009 and unemployment increasing by 2,1 percentage points (p.p.) in the same year, affecting 10,6% of the workforce. As a combined result of the decrease in tax revenues, the rise in social transfers and, to a lesser extent, the countercyclical measures adopted by the government, gross public debt increased by 12 p.p., reaching 84% of the GDP in 2009. As we have discussed in this chapter, Portugal urgently needs to enhance the competitive performance of its economy it the world markets, in order to reduce its external imbalances and improve the prospects for a sustainable improvement of living conditions. Such goal can hardly be achieved without upgrading the specialization profile of the economy, towards more sophisticated, tradable products. While some of the ‘structural reforms’ implemented under the adjustment program agreed in 2011 with the troika of international creditors (the IMF, the ECB, and European Commission) may have a role in improving the cost-competitiveness of the 17 country, this is probably insufficient – or even counter-productive – for inducing the necessary changes. Clearly put, Portugal should not dismiss the role of policies which specifically aim at enhancing productivity through structural change.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Assessment and challenges of industrial policies in Portugal

Like most developed countries, the Portuguese economy was severely hit by the international crisis of 2008-2009, with GDP at constant prices dropping 2,9% in 2009 and unemployment increasing by 2,1 percentage points (p.p.) in the same year, affecting 10,6% of the workforce. As a combined result of the decrease in tax revenues, the rise in social transfers and, to a lesser extent, the countercyclical measures adopted by the government, gross public debt increased by 12 p.p., reaching 84% of the GDP in 2009. As we have discussed in this chapter, Portugal urgently needs to enhance the competitive performance of its economy it the world markets, in order to reduce its external imbalances and improve the prospects for a sustainable improvement of living conditions. Such goal can hardly be achieved without upgrading the specialization profile of the economy, towards more sophisticated, tradable products. While some of the ‘structural reforms’ implemented under the adjustment program agreed in 2011 with the troika of international creditors (the IMF, the ECB, and European Commission) may have a role in improving the cost-competitiveness of the 17 country, this is probably insufficient – or even counter-productive – for inducing the necessary changes. Clearly put, Portugal should not dismiss the role of policies which specifically aim at enhancing productivity through structural change.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Carga horária e laboral aumenta o arrependimento com a escolha da pro"ssão de Enfermagem

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Os fatores determinantes da rotatividade externa dos enfermeiros: vínculo contratual, incentivos salariais ou reconhecimento profissional Los factores determinantes de la rotatividad externa de los enfermeros: vínculo contractual, incentivos salariales o reconocimiento profesional The main determinants of nursing turnover: contractual obligation, wage benefits or professional recognition

Nos últimos anos as organizações de saúde, a profissão e a carreira de enfermagem sofreram um conjunto de alterações estruturais, processuais e políticas. Estas alterações influenciaram a dinâmica e a estabilidade do futuro dos enfermeiros contribuindo para a ocorrência de altas taxas de rotatividade -com impactos potencialmente negativos no grupo de trabalho e na organização. O estudo pretende identificar os fatores determinantes da rotatividade externa dos enfermeiros. A investigação baseia-se num questionário aplicado a uma amostra de 772 enfermeiros a desempenhar funções no Hospital de Santa Maria. As hipóteses formuladas no estudo foram analisadas através de testes não-paramétricos. Os resultados sugerem que a necessidade de adquirir novas competências profissionais e de desenvolver um trabalho mais desafiante constituem fatores relevantes na explicação da rotatividade em enfermagem. Os fatores contratuais e remuneratórios são de extrema importância para explicar o fenómeno em causa, especialmente, para o grupo de enfermeiros contratados.En los últimos años las organizaciones de la salud, la profesión y la carrera de enfermería han sufrido un conjunto de alteraciones estructurales, políticas y en su forma de proceso. Estas alteraciones han influenciado la dinámica y la estabilidad del futuro de los enfermeros contribuyendo así al surgimiento de altas tasas de rotatividad - con impactos potencialmente negativos en el grupo de trabajo y en la organización. El estudio pretende identificar los factores determinantes de la rotatividad externa de los enfermeros. La investigación se basa en un cuestionario aplicado a una muestra de 772 enfermeros que ejercen en el Hospital de Santa María. Las hipótesis formuladas en el estudio fueron analizadas mediante tests no-paramétricos. Los resultados sugieren que la necesidad de adquirir nuevas competencias profesionales y de desarrollar un trabajo más desafiante constituyen fatores relevantes en la explicación de la rotatividad en enfermería. Los fatores contractuales y remuneratorios son de extrema importancia para explicar el fenómeno en causa, especialmente, para el grupo de enfermeros contratados.In recent years healthcare organizations in Portugal, as well as the nursing profession and career, have gone through a number of structural, procedural and political changes. These changes have influenced the dynamics and stability of nurses’ future contributing to high turnover rates. This has had a negative impact both in the work group and the organization itself. The goal of this study is to identify the main factors behind the external turnover of nurses. The research is based on a questionnaire administered to a sample of 772 nurses working at the Hospital of Santa Maria. The study hypotheses were analyzed using non-parametric tests. The results show that willingness to acquire new professional skills and to perform more challenging tasks are two relevant determinants of turnover among nurses. Contractual and salary factors are also very important in explaining this phenomenon, especially, among nurses who do not have a permanent contract

Structural transformation of Portuguese exports and the role of foreign direct investment: some descriptive analysis for the period 1990-2005

Parallel session 7. FDI, spillovers and innovationPresented at GLOBELICS 2009, 7th International Conference, 6-8 October, Dakar, Senegal.In this paper we use a recent measure of the “income level of a country’s exports” proposed by Hausmann et al. (2007) to characterize the structure of the Portuguese export basket, its recent evolution and the role of FDI in this process. We find that between 1990 and 2005 the improvement in the income content of the Portuguese export basket was achieved through a positive structural transformation effect that more than offset the negative effect of having a significant share of products which have experienced a decline in their income content. In particular, we find that the weight of exports with “high” and “very high” income content increased considerably, with these two classes explaining more than half of the export growth during the period. Analysing the presence of FDI in the different export products, we find that the share of foreign firms in 2005 was higher than average for products with “High” and “Very High” income content. Those two classes of products concentrated almost 2/3 of exports by foreign firms in Portugal in 2005. These and other pieces of evidence suggest that FDI has played a relevant role both in the growth of Portuguese exports and in the increase of their income content