This paper tests the convergence hypothesis across the EU NUTS II regions between 1990 and 2001. It does that using the test of dispersion and estimating “Barro-type” regressions that relate economic growth to the initial income and other variables. It identifies the causes that can explain...

In Portugal, as in most other European Union (EU) countries, the challenge of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) has worked as a mechanism for economic stabilisation. However, the political consensus on the participation in EMU did not develop with respect to the need for implementing structural...

In Portugal, as in most other European Union (EU) countries, the challenge of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) has worked as a mechanism for economic stabilisation. However, the political consensus on the participation in EMU did not develop with respect to the need for implementing structural...

The increasing openness to international trade during the second half of the XXth century is an inescapable feature in the development of the Portuguese economy. Despite having been hit by several crises in its Balance of Payments over the century, Portugal did not suffer, apparently, from...

This paper examines the growth of Portuguese industry throughout the XXth century, focusing on the dynamics of its productivity, measured by the ratio of value added to labor force. The analysis consists of: (i) construction of productivity indices for the Portuguese industrial sector and...

We examine the extent to which education is a main determinant of affluence in Brazil. We focus on workers in the top 1% of the labor earnings distribution. We use university courses data from the Sample Questionnaire of the 2010 Census. Our main conclusion is that while education may be...

This paper analyzes the Brazilian case, the transient conditions of employment levels and income distribution in the country, using micro data from the Monthly Employment Survey (PME) produced by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) to assess the effects of macroeconomic...

This paper presents an international literature review on qualified labor shortage and summarizes recent evidence on this topic in the context of Brazilian labor markets. An interpretation is provided on the extent of this problem in Brazil in the 2000s. It does not seem to be the case that a...

This paper provides an analysis of the labor market for individuals with tertiary education in Brazil using data from the 2010 Census. Labor earnings inequality is remarkable among Brazilian workers with a bachelor's degree. Evidence indicates that heterogeneous returns across fields of study...