THE IMPACT OF TRAINING PROGRAMMES ON WAGES IN FRANCE: AN EVALUATION OF THE “QUALIFYING CONTRACT” USING PROPENSITY SCORES.

This paper evaluates the impact of a widely-used French training programme for youth on earnings. This programme is designed to increase labour market experience and education, validated by a formal diploma. It is not sure, however, whether this diploma and a similar diploma acquired through initial training have the same effect on post-training wages. To answer this question, we contrast the 2003 net wages of a group of participants enrolled in 1998 (the “treatment” group) to the 2003 net wages of a control group. The controls are individuals who completed their initial training in 1998 with diplomas similar to those obtained by the treated at the end of the programme. Using propensity score matching, we find a significantly positive effect of the treatment on the treated: participants in the programme benefit, five years after participation, from a positive wage premium. This suggests that firms do not simply value education: they value it more if it is coupled with some degree of labour market experience.active labour market policies; training programmes for youth; propensity score matching.

How to increase customer loyalty in the newspaper industry in Portugal : the Global Media Group case

The Global Media Group (GMG) is one of the major media groups in Portugal, being the owner of several brands in the Press, Radio and Internet sectors, namely Diário de Notícias, Jornal de Notícias and TSF, among others. In an industry that is now characterized by the increase in online formats as sources of information, in detriment of traditional media formats such as print newspapers, it is essential to understand how to still increase and maintain customer loyalty in this area. Therefore, this dissertation tackles concepts such as loyalty, perceived value and brand trust, and uses both primary and secondary research methods to answer the problem statement. Through a set of in-depth interviews with group management employees, a focus group among consumers, and a public survey, as well as information from the market and the company, this dissertation provides conclusions on what factors influence buying choice, perceived value and brand trust, how consumers can be characterized, and ultimately how to increase customer loyalty for the GMG and the industry in general. Moreover, the dissertation includes recommendations on specific initiatives the group can use to increase the mentioned variable. Finally, the dissertation includes a chapter with notes for using this dissertation for teaching purposes, with suggestions of questions to be made for students.O Global Media Group é um dos maiores grupos de media em Portugal, detendo marcas nos sectores de Imprensa, Rádio e Internet, nomeadamente o Diário de Notícias, Jornal de Notícias e TSF, entre outras. Numa indústria onde o formato online se impõe cada vez mais como fonte de informação, em detrimento de formatos tradicionais como jornais impressos, é essencial perceber como continuar a aumentar e manter a fidelização dos consumidores nesta área. Como tal, esta dissertação aborda conceitos como lealdade do consumidor, valor percecionado e confiança na marca, e usa métodos de investigação tanto primários como secundários para responder ao problema apresentado. Através de entrevistas estruturadas a dirigentes do Grupo, um focus group a consumidores e um questionário público, bem como informação do mercado e da empresa, esta dissertação apresenta conclusões que ajudam a identificar que fatores influenciam a decisão de compra, o valor percecionado e a confiança na marca, como se podem caracterizar os consumidores, e como, em conclusão, se pode aumentar a lealdade dos consumidores do Global Media Group, e na indústria da imprensa como um todo. Para além disso, a presente dissertação inclui recomendações sobre iniciativas concretas que o grupo pode usar para aumentar a variável mencionada. Finalmente, o documento inclui um capítulo com notas de apoio a lecionar, com sugestões de perguntas que podem ser feitas a alunos

Reemployment and substitution effects from increased activation: Evidence from times of crisis

Although activation services such as monitoring, training, or job subsidies have been shown to increase exits from unemployment, there is little comprehensive evidence about the effects of activation during recessions. Here we evaluate a large activation programme introduced in Portugal in 2012, a time of very high unemployment. This programme required specific unemployment benefit recipients to meet jobcentre caseworkers and then participate in active labour market policies. Our analysis draws on rich longitudinal data, the programme’s focus on those unemployed for at least six months, and fuzzy regression discontinuity methods. We find that, despite the weak labour market, the programme is very successful as it doubles the monthly reemployment probability. The results are robust to a number of checks, including a falsification exercise based on pre-programme data and an analysis of non-employment and income effects. Moreover, in a novel IV approach using information on all unemployed, we find no evidence of substitution effects such as decreased transitions to employment amongst non-eligible individuals.N/

An Illustration of the Returns to Training Programmes: The Evaluation of the "Qualifying Contract" in France

We evaluate the labour market outcomes of a French training programme for youth, using a non-experimental sample of individuals who completed their studies (or dropped out) in 1998 and were observed until 2003. We use propensity score matching to estimate the impact of participation on three outcome variables: the net monthly wage, the monthly income and the probability of employment. We find a positive impact of participation on all three outcome variables. Non parametric robustness checks confirmed our results. We explain these results, which contrast with those of previous French studies, by the very strong training content of the programme

Affective auditory stimuli: Adaptation of the International Affective Digitized Sounds (IADS-2) for European Portuguese

In this study, we present the normative values of the adaptation of the International Affective Digitized Sounds (IADS-2; Bradley & Lang, 2007a) for European Portuguese (EP). The IADS-2 is a standardized database of 167 naturally occurring sounds that is widely used in the study of emotions. The sounds were rated by 300 college students who were native speakers of EP, in the three affective dimensions of valence, arousal, and dominance, by using the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM). The aims of this adaptation were threefold: (1) to provide researchers with standardized and normatively rated affective sounds to be used with an EP population; (2) to investigate sex and cultural differences in the ratings of affective dimensions of auditory stimuli between EP and the American (Bradley & Lang, 2007a) and Spanish (Fernandez-Abascal et al., Psicothema 20: 104-113 2008; Redondo, Fraga, Padron, & Pineiro, Behavior Research Methods 40: 784790 2008) standardizations; and (3) to promote research on auditory affective processing in Portugal. Our results indicated that the IADS-2 is a valid and useful database of digitized sounds for the study of emotions in a Portuguese context, allowing for comparisons of its results with those of other international studies that have used the same database for stimulus selection. The normative values of the EP adaptation of the IADS-2 database can be downloaded along with the online version of this article.This work is part of the research project “Procura Palavras (P-Pal): A Software Program for Deriving Objective and Subjective Psycholinguistic Indices for European Portuguese Words” (PTDC/PSI-PCO/104679/2008), funded by FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia), and FEDER (Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional), through the European programs QREN (Quadro de Referência Estratégico Nacional), and COMPETE (Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade)

Delayed colorectal cancer care during covid-19 pandemic (decor-19). Global perspective from an international survey

Background The widespread nature of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been unprecedented. We sought to analyze its global impact with a survey on colorectal cancer (CRC) care during the pandemic. Methods The impact of COVID-19 on preoperative assessment, elective surgery, and postoperative management of CRC patients was explored by a 35-item survey, which was distributed worldwide to members of surgical societies with an interest in CRC care. Respondents were divided into two comparator groups: 1) ‘delay’ group: CRC care affected by the pandemic; 2) ‘no delay’ group: unaltered CRC practice. Results A total of 1,051 respondents from 84 countries completed the survey. No substantial differences in demographics were found between the ‘delay’ (745, 70.9%) and ‘no delay’ (306, 29.1%) groups. Suspension of multidisciplinary team meetings, staff members quarantined or relocated to COVID-19 units, units fully dedicated to COVID-19 care, personal protective equipment not readily available were factors significantly associated to delays in endoscopy, radiology, surgery, histopathology and prolonged chemoradiation therapy-to-surgery intervals. In the ‘delay’ group, 48.9% of respondents reported a change in the initial surgical plan and 26.3% reported a shift from elective to urgent operations. Recovery of CRC care was associated with the status of the outbreak. Practicing in COVID-free units, no change in operative slots and staff members not relocated to COVID-19 units were statistically associated with unaltered CRC care in the ‘no delay’ group, while the geographical distribution was not. Conclusions Global changes in diagnostic and therapeutic CRC practices were evident. Changes were associated with differences in health-care delivery systems, hospital’s preparedness, resources availability, and local COVID-19 prevalence rather than geographical factors. Strategic planning is required to optimize CRC care