Inefficient commuting in a city with spillovers

A Masters Thesis, presented as part of the requirements for the award of a Research Masters Degree in Economics from NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Are basic schools more effective than secondary schools?

The present essay focuses on the effectiveness of Portuguese public schools’ provision of 7th, 8th and 9th grades, using data from the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science for 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12. At least two school types offer these grades: Basic and Secondary. Based on previous findings, a production function is estimated for 9th grade students in the regular academic track, including a variable that indicates the specific school type attended by each student. After concluding that Basic Schools add more value, some explanations are presented as well as recommendations and possible further research.

Contratos de prestação de serviços de comunicações electrónicas

The object of this dissertation is the analysis of the legal framework applicable to contracts for provision of electronic communications services, while trying to offer solutions to some of the issues regarding this matter. The main focus of this study will be the rules concerning service’s suspension, which have been recently amended. The technological development and the establishment of these services as information transmitters and work tools were noteworthy for its growing importance at the present time. These services include cable television, telephone (landline and mobile) and internet and they are regulated by Law nr 23/96, July 26th, along with other essential public services. Said law sets a group of principles and duties, such as good faith (article 3), continuity and quality of the service (article 7) and the duty to rightfully inform the user (article 4), in order to protect the users. For the analysis of legal framework applicable to these particular contracts it is also fundamental to mention Law nr 5/2004, February 10th, known as Electronic Communications Law. The provisions regarding the service’s suspension are currently prescribed in articles 52.º and 52.º-A of the law. Given the amendments introduced by Law nr 10/2013, January 28th, consumers are subjected to a regulation different from the one applicable to the other users, established in the new article 52.º-A. From our analysis, we have concluded that the main change from past provisions has to do with the automatic termination of the contract as consequence of the consumer’s failure to pay the price or to conclude a written payment arrangement after service’s suspension.