Human capital,innovation capability and economic growth in Portugal, 1960-2001

In maintaining that the main flaw in empirical studies on economic growth derives from the fact that they employ Solow-style neoclassical growth models, rather than testing actual endogenous growth theory, we examine the human capital-innovation-growth nexus, thus testing new growth theory more directly. We test its insights against the economic evolution of an individual country, Portugal, using time series data from 1960 to 2001. Estimates based on vector autoregressive and cointegration analysis seem to confirm that human capital and indigenous innovation efforts were enormously important to the economic growth process in Portugal during the period of study. In particular, the indirect effect of human capital through innovation, emerges here as being critical, showing that a reasonably high stock of human capital is necessary to enable a country to reap the benefits of its indigenous innovation efforts.Received: November 2003, Accepted: November 2004, JEL Classification: C22, J24, O30, O40 Correspondence to: Aurora A.C. TeixeiraThe authors are grateful to two anonymous referees, Paulo Brito and the participants of the 2003 Portuguese Society for Economics Research (SPiE) in Lisbon, Portugal for helpful comments and suggestions. CEMPRE - Centro de Estudos Macroeconómicos e Previsão - is supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal, through the Programa Operacional Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (POCTI) of the Quadro Comunitário de Apoio III, which is financed by FEDER and Portuguese funds.     

International transatlantic trade liberalization: zooming in on regional impacts

The current study analyses the impact on a Portuguese small island regional economy of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) between the EU and the USA. A dynamic Computational General Equilibrium (CGE) model detailing six household categories, 45 sectors, and four trading partners is used. Previous studies used aggregate variables and, largely, were based on the structure of the national economy. For a small, integrated economy, foreign trade statistics comprise an underestimation, given that most of the trade occurs through national logistics centres. Taking into account the national integration effects, gross domestic value was estimated to be higher than in other studies. Using equivalent variation, the estimated welfare impact is positive for all six household categories. Value-added suffers mixed impacts depending on the sector. It is negative for fisheries, ambiguous for agriculture and positive for tourism and transportation. The contribution of the current study is to highlight the importance of looking beneath the trade block and national conclusions particularly when regional economic policy is relevant as is the case in Europe. Better knowledge of welfare, regional and sector impacts allows for improved development and mitigation policies.     

K-means clustering of item characteristic curves and item information curves via functional principal component analysis

Quality & Quantity - The assessment of students’ performances and learning skills plays a key role in the educational context. Common tools for analyzing test data are item response...     

Local rank tests in a multivariate nonparametric relationship

Consider a multivariate nonparametric model where the unknown vector of functions depends on two sets of explanatory variables. For a fixed level of one set of explanatory variables, we provide consistent statistical tests, called local rank tests, to determine whether the multivariate relationship can be explained by a smaller number of functions. We also provide estimators for the smallest number of functions, called local rank, explaining the relationship. The local rank tests and the estimators of local rank are defined in terms of the eigenvalues of a kernel-based estimator of some matrix. The asymptotics of the eigenvalues is established by using the so-called Fujikoshi expansion along with some techniques of the theory of U-statistics. We present a simulation study which examines the small sample properties of local rank tests. We also apply the local rank tests and the local rank estimators to a demand system given by a newly constructed data set. This work can be viewed as a “local” extension of the tests for a number of factors in a nonparametric relationship introduced by Stephen Donald.     

Wage reduction of Portuguese civil servants and their attitudes: the psychological contract perspective

This study is based on the psychological contract theoretical model. It provides an empirical test of the antecedents and consequences of psychological contract violation (PCV) that was caused by the wage reduction of Portuguese civil servants. Data were collected from a sample of 212 employees who worked in public organizations across different sectors. These positions entailed different functions and were subject to different levels of wage reduction. A Structural Equation Model was used to analyze the data. The results show that employees' attributions of this psychological contract breach are related to their perception of PCV. Furthermore, our findings also suggest that civil servants have two distinct psychological contracts and that the PCV of the employing organization also depends on the PCV of the public institution. Moreover, the PCV of the public institution was found to be the mechanism that explains the relationship between the meaning attached to wage reduction and the PCV of the employing organization. Finally, our findings confirm that the PCV of the employing organization mediates the relationships between the PCV of the public institution and the commitment and turnover intentions of civil servants. Therefore, such results highlight the usefulness of the psychological contract framework in explaining civil servants' reactions to wage reduction.     

Human–machine trans roles conflict in the organization: How sensitive are customers to intelligent robots replacing the human workforce?

In organizations facing digital transformation, intelligent technologies are starting to replace the human workforce. At present, managers delegate tasks to an artificial agent and rarely consider the customer reception of such decisions. This arouses tensions between the main stakeholders of the organization. This paper shows that the rash adaptation of the digital workforce may be perceived as an irresponsible innovation that brings negative consequences for companies. If a task is regarded by customers as dedicated to humans, and managers delegate it to machines, a new type of conflict – human-machine trans roles conflict (HMTRC), appears. This paper intends to show that customers are sensitive to HMTRC. This research uses quantitative methods and consists of three stages. First, people were asked to indicate which tasks in an organization should be performed by (a) humans and (b) machines. According to these results, two leaflets for customers were designed (low vs. high HMTRC). In the second stage, standard procedures were used to construct a scale measuring customer reactions to HMTRC on three dimensions: cognitive, emotional and behavioural. Ultimately, the scale and two leaflets were used to check how customers react to different intensities of HMTRC. The research results show that customers are aware when HMTRC occurs and perceive it negatively (cognitive response). Moreover, it evokes negative emotions (emotional response) and prompts customers to take action against the company in which this conflict takes place (behavioural response). The practical contribution of this research is the three-dimensional scale. It may predict customers' reactions to task delegation with different intensities of HMTRC and help build a technologically sustainable organization.