NECE - Research Center for Business Sciences
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NECE Research Unit in Business Sciences for a Department of Management and Economics research centre at the University of Beira Interior (UBI). The NECE mission is to catalyze and drive pioneering research in the business sciences integrating knowledge and methods from across the fields of business science. NECE aims to achieve this high level of scientific merit, of international benchmark standard, by promoting quality in research and developing new collaborative networks to enhance the R&D unit’s profile in the international research panorama.
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- Motivations driving renewable energy in European countries: A panel data approachPublication . Marques, António Cardoso; Fuinhas, José Alberto; Manso, JoseDespite the increasing amount of literature available on renewable energy, the empirical analysis about drivers promoting renewables remains scarce. We have analyzed those drivers for European Countries. Over an extended period of time (1990-2006) we used panel data techniques, namely the fixed effects vector decomposition. The results suggest that both the lobby of the traditional energy sources (oil, coal, and natural gas) and CO2 emissions restrain renewable deployment. The objective of reducing energy dependency appears to stimulate renewable energy use. Our results robustly support the EU decision to create a directive promoting the use of renewable sources (Directive 2001/77/EC). We also offer suggestions with regards to the design of appropriate policies towards renewable energy deployment.
- The role of marketing in the promotion of breastfeedingPublication . Paço, Arminda; Rodrigues, Ricardo; Duarte, Paulo; Pinheiro, Paulo; Oliveira, José António Martinez Souto de; Soares, MartaIn recent years, researchers and health-care professionals have shown a growing interest in the health benefits associated with breastfeeding and the dangers associated with bottle feeding. At the same time, there has been a growing number of medical and academic studies showing that breastfeeding is beneficial and necessary. However, despite its being a socially important theme, little research has been undertaken in the marketing of breastfeeding. The purpose of this article is to review the use of social marketing as a tool for enhancing health promotion programmes, specifically those seeking to encourage the adoption of breastfeeding and to increase its prevalence. The implementation of the first phase of such a programme is described in the article. Based on a sample of women, this study illustrates mothers' knowledge of breastfeeding, showing that social marketing programmes are needed to improve their level of access to information and increase the prevalence of breastfeeding.
- A Quantile Approach to Identify Factors Promoting Renewable Energy in European CountriesPublication . Marques, António Cardoso; Fuinhas, José Alberto; Manso, JoseThis paper analyses the impact of several factors on the use of renewable energy sources in a set of European Union countries, by applying a quantile regression approach.We find that different factors are effective for different levels of renewable energy commitment and the magnitudes of some effects evolve in accordance with the level of renewable energy sources used. Consequently, some policies that do not take into account the different stages could carry different effects. The results suggest that the lobbying effect of the established industries hampers the development of renewable sources, and that this effect is greater for lower initial level of renewable energy use. The results reveal that environmental concerns have not yet achieved enough pressure to stimulate major developments on renewables. We include two new drivers, geographic area and European Union Directive 2001/77/EC. That Directive was effective in signaling the commitment to renewables, namely for countries with lower renewables use.
- Drivers promoting renewable energy: a dynamic panel approachPublication . Marques, António Cardoso; Fuinhas, José AlbertoWe study the commitment to renewable energy sources, focusing on a set of 24 European countries, and applying panel dynamic estimators. Europe is a leading player in the fight against climate change, and the estimators we use reveal themselves to be appropriate in handling the persistency effect on renewables. The level of renewable energy use in the previous period has a positive and highly significant effect on the current level of use. Traditional energy sources restrain the impetus towards renewables. Social awareness of sustainability, climate change mitigation and CO2 reduction targets are not enough to motivate the switch from traditional to renewables energy sources. Income and prices of fossil-based fuels were not significant for the development of renewables in the period from 1990 to 2006, suggesting that it was not the market that encouraged renewables.
- Energy Consumption Effects on an Economy with Structural Breaks: evidence from Portugal (1965-2008)Publication . Fuinhas, José Alberto; Marques, António CardosoThe paper examines the nexus between growth and primary energy consumption in Portugal, using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds test approach with annual time series data from 1965 to 2008. Portugal is a medium-sized economy which has experienced several episodes of economic expansion and stagnation that make it of particular interest. Portugal is constrained by external energy dependency and is faced with the policies of energy preservation due to international commitments and initiatives, such as the Kyoto Protocol and Directives of European Union, that potentially may have deep implications for its economic growth. Empirical results suggest that energy causes growth in the long run and short run, but growth only causes energy consumption in the short run. Therefore, an energy policy to promote consumption constraints on energy will reduce GDP growth in Portugal.
- Do energy efficiency measures promote the use of renewable sources?Publication . Marques, António Cardoso; Fuinhas, José AlbertoThis paper analyses the factors behind the deployment of renewable energy, focusing particularly on the effect of energy efficiency policies and measures. The impact of these factors is appraised within the context of several phases of the use of renewable sources.We therefore apply the quantile regression technique to a set of 21 European Countries in two time spans: from 1990 to 1998, and from 1999 to 2006. We control variables of policy, environment, socioeconomic characteristics, and electricity generation. For the second period, energy efficiency policies and measures concerning renewable sources effectively promote renewables, namely in the take-off phase. We shed light on the lobbying effect of traditional energy industries, showing that it depends both on the period under analysis, and on the kind of traditional energy source.
- Different measures of volatility: the hypothesis of output composition in PortugalPublication . Fuinhas, José Alberto; Marques, António Cardoso1This paper focuses on analyzing the impact of the consequences of monetary union on GDP volatility in Portugal. Using quarterly data from 1978:01 to 2009:04, we test the output composition effect and the correlation effect through three alternative approaches of volatility: year on year, quarter on quarter and the value of output gap. Results support the presence of the composition effect. Overall, the average covariance has played a relevant role in lowering volatility. Evidence also indicates that there is a regime shift near the years 1992-3, while both European Union membership and participation in the euro area contribute towards smoothing the economy. The decreasing path of volatility was slightly reversed after the country became a euro area member.
- Análise das Metodologias de Avaliação da Empregabilidade dos Graduados em Desporto de PortugalPublication . Miragaia, D. A. M.; Carvalho, Pedro Guedes deO objectivo deste artigo consiste na análise de metodologias utilizadas para monitorar e avaliar a empregabilidade dos graduados em Portugal na área de Desporto. A metodologia constou de uma consulta de literatura nacional e internacional para se clarificar o conceito de empregabilidade e suas implicações no desenho metodológico da avaliação da empregabilidade. Foram consultados inquéritos aplicados por entidades oficiais e analisada a coerência entre as dimensões/variáveis contempladas e o conceito de empregabilidade. Da análise realizada identificaram-se problemas de validade, fiabilidade, discriminação e comparabilidade entre estudos. Estes resultados indicam que é necessário encontrar uma nova forma de avaliar a empregabilidade. Sugere-se que essa avaliação seja realizada através da metodologia de triangulação (dados e investigadores) que consubstancie um projecto de investigação inter-institucional no futuro próximo.
- Dieselization and Road Transport CO2 EmissionsPublication . Marques, António Cardoso; Fuinhas, José Alberto; Gonçalves, Bruno MiguelRoad transport carbon dioxide emissions were analyzed, by focusing on a panel of 14 European countries for the time span 1995-2007. We deal with the existence of contemporaneous correlation by using the Panel Corrected Standard Errors estimator. We extend the empirical literature by controlling the effect of new diesel passenger car registrations and the average power of those vehicles. The price of gasoline and income reduce road transport carbon dioxide emis-sions, while population density and average power of new diesel passenger cars raises those emissions. We deepen the debate about dieselization, concluding that saving emissions by using diesel tend to be surpassed by the increased kilo-meters driven.
- Is renewable energy effective in promoting growth?Publication . Marques, António Cardoso; Fuinhas, José AlbertoThis paper applies panel data techniques to analyze the role of the various energy sources in economic growth, for a set of 24 European countries (1990-2007), controlling for energy consumption and energy dependency. The results suggest that the negative effect of the use of renewables supplants the positive effect of creating income by exploiting a natural resource locally, and thus growth does not appear to improve with the change towards renewables. The high costs of promoting renewables are probably being placed excessively upon the economy, namely by increasing the costs of electricity tariffs, thus inducing a deceleration in economic activity. Fossil fuels lead to dissimilar effects on growth while natural gas does not appear to be relevant in explaining growth. Coal hampers the capacity for growth, whereas the use of oil stimulates that growth. This is in line with productive structures that are deeply grounded in fossil fuels, particularly oil.