Browsing by Author "Crespo, Nuno"
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- An integrated approach for the measurement of inequality, poverty and richnessPublication . Crespo, Nuno; Moreira, Sandrina Berthault; Simões, NádiaWe propose a new and integrated approach to the measurement of inequality in income distribution, poverty, and richness. In the context of the poverty and richness measures, we consider the three dimensions usually analysed – incidence, intensity, and severity. The proposed broad set of indicators is easy to calculate and is based on a neutral income inequality concept. The method also allows an objective interpretation of the values for each measure, a decomposition according to households’ characteristics, and an immediate comparison of the results between countries and time periods. We illustrate the application of the measures with data from Portugal.
- Composite indicators of development: the importance of dimensional weightsPublication . Moreira, Sandrina Berthault; Simões, Nádia; Crespo, NunoMeasuring and quantifying development makes increasing use of composite indicators. This raises the issue of the determination of the proper weighting of the various dimensions considered: Using a public-opinion survey conducted in Portugal, we evaluate the importance of the main dimensions of development and examine if the dimensional weights depend on the respondents' individual characteristics such as gender, age, or educational level The evidence suggests that both education and health regularly stand out as the most highly-rated factors.
- Composite indicators of development: the importance of the weightsPublication . Moreira, Sandrina Berthault; Simões, Nádia; Crespo, NunoMeasuring countries' levels of development is one of the most complex tasks in economics. The recognized multidimensionality of the phenomenon has increasingly led to the use of composite indicators in order to overcome the limitations usually identified in such measures as the income per capita (Bandura, 2008 [1]; Saisana, 2008 [2]). Using indicators such as this to assess development raises two crucial issues. On the one hand, one needs to identify the dimensions of development for each indicator as well as the content of each dimension. On the other hand, one also needs to assign weights to each dimension in order to have an aggregated indicator. This second issue has drawn little attention in the literature, and usually equal weights are attributed to all the dimensions of a given indicator. In the absence of any systematic analysis of their correspondence to the public perception regarding the importance of each dimension of development, these weights are arbitrarily fixed. This is so despite the fact that individuals are the ultimate beneficiaries of countries' development. The present paper seeks to close this gap in the literature, discussing in an explicit manner, the importance of the weights of each dimension of development.
- Determinants of Self-Employment: Evidence from PortugalPublication . Simões, Nádia; Moreira, Sandrina Berthault; Crespo, Nuno
- Development economics: from the traditional approaches to the new conceptsPublication . Moreira, Sandrina Berthault; Crespo, NunoDevelopment economics centres its analysis on the specific problems of less developed countries. Its main goal is to find answers to the following question: 'how can low-income economies in the world today be set on the track to sustained economic development for the immediate goal of reducing poverty and the long-run goal of catching up on the wealth of developed economies?' (Hayami and Godo, 2005: 2 [1]). Many answers to this fundamental question have been presented. We survey the central elements that characterize four important theoretical approaches in Development Economics, namely : (i) modernization theories; (ii) dependency theories ; (iii) world-system theory; (iv) neoclassical counter-revolution. However, the "old" notion of economic development, which considers as its main goal the reduction of inequality in terms of per capita income, seems to be insufficient to cover the amplitude and complexity of development problems. Therefore, it is not surprising that the notion of development has been expanded through the consideration of new dimensions, with the adding of many adjectives to the word "development" - "human", " local" and "sustainable" development being the most frequently mentioned. The main objective of this paper is to produce a concise survey of this range of contributions frequently analyzed separately. Together with the contributions of traditional development economics, these new development concepts - human, local and sustainable offer a theoretical wealth which, in their globality, allow a more appropriate understanding of the complex and multi-dimensional phenomenon of development.
- Economia do desenvolvimento: das abordagens tradicionais aos novos conceitos de desenvolvimentoPublication . Moreira, Sandrina Berthault; Crespo, NunoA Economia do Desenvolvimento centra a sua análise nos problemas próprios de uma vasta periferia de países menos desenvolvidos. Neste artigo procurámos produzir um survey conciso das principais abordagens que formam o corpo teórico dessa disciplina quanto aos problemas do desenvolvimento, sistematizando-as em quatro vertentes centrais: (i) teorias da modernização; (ii) teorias da dependência; (iii) teoria do sistema-mundo; (iv) contra-revolução neoclássica. Adicionalmente, debatemos os novos conceitos de desenvolvimento que têm emergido nas últimas décadas e que têm permitido alargar a amplitude associada ao conceito de desenvolvimento econômico, enquadrando-os nas agregações conceptuais de desenvolvimento sustentável, local e humano.
- Evaluating the multidimensionality of composite indicators of development: some recent index proposalsPublication . Moreira, Sandrina Berthault; Crespo, NunoDevelopment is a complex and multidimensional phenomenon. The quantification of such a phenomenon requires indicators of development and assess whether these indicators reflect the multidimensionality underlying the phenomenon they seek to measure. One of the major findings from this analysis is the limited number of development dimensions incorporated in the majority of the indices and, thus, the partial vision of the phenomenon they provide as a result. Moreover, the dimensions most commonly considered in this context are education and health. Finally, we discuss in more detail five recent indices characterized by its comprehensiveness: (i) Regional Quality of Development Index (QUARS) of Sbilanciamoci (2006). (ii) Wellbeing Index (WI) and Wellbeing/Stress Index (WSI) of Prescott-Allen (2001); (iii) Gross National Happiness (GNH) of the Centre for Bhutanese Studies; (iv) Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) of Bertelsmann Stiftung (2008); (v) World competitiveness scoreboard of IMD (2008).
- Gender differences in occupational mobility: evidence from PortugalPublication . Crespo, Nuno; Simões, Nádia; Moreira, Sandrina BerthaultIn 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 importance of some other determinant factors, especially education and initial occupation. Additionally, considering an analysis by quartiles (taking as reference a ranking based on average wages), we confirm that the determinants of occupational mobility depend on the ranking of the initial occupation. This analysis allows us to conclude that the unfavorable pattern of occupational mobility in the case of women is due, essentially, to the disadvantage they have at the bottom of the distribution. On the contrary, in the top occupations, the results suggest the existence of equality between genders.
- Individual determinants of self-employment entry: what do we really know?Publication . Simões, Nádia; Moreira, Sandrina Berthault; Crespo, NunoThe 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 theoretical arguments and the main conclusions emerging from the empirical studies. We analyze twelve critical determinant factors of the entry into self-employment grouped into seven categories: (i) basic individual characteristics (gender, age, and marital status and children); (ii) family background (parents and spouse); (iii) personality characteristics (risk attitude and other psychological traits); (iv) human capital (education and experience); (v) health condition; (vi) nationality and ethnicity; and (vii) access to financial resources. While for some of the factors solid conclusions can be found, for others additional research is still needed in order to shed further light on their influence.
- Measurement and determinants of health poverty and richness: evidence from PortugalPublication . Simões, Nádia; Crespo, Nuno; Moreira, Sandrina Berthault; Varum, Celeste A.The analysis of health inequalities is a critical topic for health policy. With data for Portugal, we propose a procedure to convert information provided by the official National Health Survey to EuroQol. Based on these data, we make two contributions. First, we extend measures and methods commonly applied in other fields of economic research in order to quantify the phenomena of health poverty, richness, and inequality. Second, using an ordered probit model, we evaluate the determinants of health inequalities in Portugal. The results show that there is a remarkable level of health inequality, with significant rates of poverty (11.64%) and richness (22.64%). The econometric study reveals that gender, age, education, region of residence, and eating habits are among the most critical determinant factors of health.