In the first part of this paper the effects of trade cycles on economic growth are discussed to test the hypothesis of autocatalytic trade cycles, which indicates that more innovation is produced in countries that are a part of these cycles. Using United Nations data, a trade network is...

The phenomenon of population ageing and its influence on the economic growth of countries has long been the focus of major concern for both governments and the scientific community. Considering the scientific contributions that have been published on the matter in recent years, it seems timely...

Institutions, crucial for the analysis of how agents deal with uncertainty, have been gaining increasing relevance on the Economic research agenda. In this paper, we analyze the institutional literature that provides insights into different research fields, aiming to explain why this perspective...

Although a myriad of important theoretical and empirical contributions on ageing populations exist, these contributions are diffuse and lack an integrated vision of the distinct mechanisms through which ageing populations impact on economic growth. As such, in this paper we survey the literature...

The construction of formal models that deal with space observed a huge increase since the late 1980s. As Fujita et al. (1999) stress, the field of regional economics experienced a revival with the emergence of new analytical tools such as the diffusion of imperfect competition models, networks...

Extensive literature on the contribution of knowledge spillovers to growth and development at the regional level exists but these studies mainly features regions characterised by a high level of economic development. This paper assesses the importance of knowledge spillovers for firms located in...

New Technology-Based Firms (NTBFs) have gained increasing economic relevance, supported by the recognition that they play an important role in national economies in the appearance of both new, high technology products and of new and emerging industries. Despite their economic importance, a...

In what form should the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) be treated in an endogenous growth model? What are the effects of introducing IPR into a North-South endogenous growth model? In this paper, we develop a general equilibrium endogenous growth model that emphasizes the IPR enforcement...

After a period of convergence where many perceived the country as a success case, Portugal’s economic performance proved to be disappointing in the last decade. In this study we focus on the relationship between technology and economic catching-up in order to answer to two major questions: (i)...

The relation between growth and unemployment is being studied throughout a diverse set of contributions over the last years. Taking into account the current economic situation, this topic is regaining attention amongst economists essentially due to the importance of this relationship as a way to...