The analysis of the decision to enter into self-employment is a hot topic in economic literature. Among the elements that most directly influence this decision, individual factors are central. This study produces a comprehensive survey of the impact of these factors, covering both the...

In this paper we evaluate if gender influences the pattern of upward and downward occupational mobility. With data for Portugal in the period 1998-2009, we find that women have a lower probability of upward mobility and a higher probability of downward mobility. The results also reveal the...

Proximity to the markets is a key determinant of the location of firms because distance still matters, as recently reported in the literature. In this paper, based on an adapted version of the most standard centrality index we propose a decomposition method which allows isolating the influence...

Proximity to the markets is a key determinant of the location of firms because distance still matters, as recently reported in the literature. Based on an adapted version of the most standard centrality index we propose a decomposition method that allows isolating the influence of: (i) internal...

The traditional approach to evaluate trade competition considers the competition between two countries in a given destination market and quantifies it through a measure of structural similarity such as the Krugman index. We explore this topic further through the discussion of six distinct...

With data for Portugal we propose an index of housing comfort based on the Household Budget Survey. This index covers housing and durable goods grouped in two dimensions: basic comfort and complementary comfort. Taking this index as starting point we make two contributions. First we quantify the...

In this paper we evaluate if gender influences the pattern of upward and downward occupational mobility. With data for Portugal in the period 1998-2009, we find that women have a lower probability of upward mobility and a higher probability of downward mobility. The results also reveal the...

A vast theoretical and empirical literature has focused on the effects of unemployment insurance benefits on the decisions of the recipients and how these decisions influence their labor market outcomes. Three strands of literature are discussed in this paper: (i) the impact of unemployment...

Production and trade processes in the textile industry have been undergoing tremendous changes in structure due to both changes in technology (i.e. increased mechanization and automation processes) and in the institutional environment (i.e. the assignment of the WTO treaty in 1994). This paper...

We investigate the development of economic structures of Western European countries over the last three decades using employment data. We test for structural convergence on the aggregate level as well as specifically for manufacturing and service industries. For this we implement both...