Network relationships and the internationalisation of the tourism economy: The case of Portuguese overseas investment in the hotel sector

O presente trabalho de investigação analisa a importância das redes formais e informais na internacionalização da economia do turismo, em particular do sector hoteleiro. Para tal baseia-se numa extensa revisão bibliográfica sobre as teorias que explicam o investimento directo no estrangeiro, assim como a abordagem das redes aplicada à internacionalização e o seu enquadramento no sector do turismo. Com base na revisão de literatura, uma série de hipóteses são sugeridas, as quais são testadas na parte empírica da tese através de uma análise às empresas Portuguesas com investimentos no estrangeiro na área da hotelaria até ao final de 2007 ou com projectos em curso. Esta análise baseia-se principalmente em dados obtidos através de entrevistas-questionário realizadas aos responsáveis das empresas. O inquérito obteve 40% de taxa de resposta, contendo dados relativos às características das empresas e de cada um dos projectos realizados no estrangeiro. Com base nestes resultados são sugeridas uma série de implicações, assim como algumas recomendações para investigações futuras. Adicionalmente, e de forma a investigar mercados com diferentes realidades sócio-culturais, políticas e cultura de negócios, foi analisado o caso de Goa, através de trabalho de campo que envolveu entrevistas informais e semiestruturadas a entidades-chave ligadas ao sector do turismo e aos hoteleiros de unidades de qualidade média-alta. Foi identificado um conjunto de oportunidades e desafios para as empresas Portuguesas. Ao usar uma abordagem qualitativa e quantitativa, esta tese contribui para a compreensão da natureza, determinantes e dimensões do processo de internacionalização do sector do turismo.

Retention rates, re-investment and depreciation in European office markets

The retention rate of a company has an impact on its earnings and dividend growth. Lease structures and performance measurement practice force real estate investment managers to adopt full distribution policies. Does this lead to lower income growth in real estate? This paper examines several European office markets across which the effective retention rates vary. It then compares depreciation rates across these markets. It is concluded that there is evidence of a relationship between retention and depreciation. Those markets with particularly inflexible lease structures exhibit low retention rates and higher levels of rental value depreciation. This poses interesting questions concerning the appropriate way to measure property performance across markets exhibiting significantly different retention rates and also raises important issues for global investors.

Asymmetric oligopoly and foreign direct investment: implications for host-country tax-setting

We present a duopoly model with heterogeneous firms that vary in cost-efficiency, each of which can choose to serve a foreign market by either exporting or local production. We do so to analyse the effects of a host-country corporate profit tax on both the scale and composition of FDI, and find that: strategic interaction between oligopolistic firms provides for a pattern of FDI that favours cost-inefficiency to the detriment of host-country welfare; and the host-country tax rate can be optimally used to avoid such patterns of FDI and instead promote direct investment by a relatively cost-efficient firm.

Fixing the currency: analysing the implications for property investment performance

This paper analyses the historic effects of exchange rate movements on returns, risk and diversification of office markets within the Euro zone in order to gain insights into the investment consequences of conversion to a fixed rate currency regime. The data used in the study represents annual office rental growth rates for 22 European cities from nine European Union countries between 1985 and 1996. Relative performance is reported in terms of domestic currency and in terms of deutsche marks. The evidence presented suggests that Euro zone property investors in ‘southern’ countries are now protected from short term jump risk associated with flexible peg currency arrangements and medium/long-term currency volatility. Historically exchange rate movements have produced decreases in returns and increases in volatility. For northern ‘bloc’ cities, the effects of fixing the exchange rate are minimal. For these cities, national exchange rate fluctuations against the deutsche mark have been minor and the resultant implications for property risk and return to non-domestic SCA investors have been negligible. Moreover, although previous research would suggest that the effect of currency volatility is to decrease market correlation, this cannot be observed within the Euro zone.

The impact of cross-border real estate investment on commercial real estate capitalisation rates

This study examines the impact of foreign real estate investment on the US office market capitalization rates. The geographic unit of analysis is MSA and the time period is 2001-2013. Drawing upon a database of commercial real estate transactions provided by Real Capital Analytics, we model the determinants of market capitalization rates with a particular focus on the significance of the proportion of market transactions involving foreign investors. We have employed several econometric techniques to explore the data, potential estimation biases, and test robustness of the results. The results suggest statistically significant effects of foreign investment across 38 US metro areas. It is estimated that, all else equal, a 100 basis points increase in foreign share of total investment in a US metropolitan office market causes about an 8 basis points decrease in the market cap rate.

Does foreign investment affect US office real estate prices?

his article examines the impact of foreign real estate investment on U.S. office market capitalization rates. The geographic unit of analysis is MSA and the time period is 2001–2013. Drawing upon a database of commercial real estate transactions, the authors model the determinants of market capitalization rates with a particular focus on the significance of the proportion of market transactions involving foreign investors. Employing several econometric techniques to analyze the data, the results suggest statistically significant effects of foreign investment across 38 U.S. metro areas. It is estimated that, all else equal, a 100 basis point increase in foreign share of total investment in a U.S. metropolitan office market causes about an 8 basis point decrease in the market cap rate.

Debt composition and exchange rate balance sheet effects in Brazil: A firm level analysis

In this paper we study the interaction between macroeconomic environment and firms’ balance sheet effects in Brazil during the 1990’s. We start by assessing the influence of macroeconomic conditions on firms’ debt composition in Brazil. We found that larger firms tend to change debt currency composition more in response to a change in the exchange rate risk than small firms. We then proceed to investigate if and how exchange rate balance sheet effects affected the firms’ investment decisions. We test directly the exchange rate balance sheet effect on investment. Contrary to earlier findings (Bleakley and Cowan, 2002), we found that firms more indebted in foreign currency tend to invest less when there is an exchange rate devaluation. We tried different controls for the competitiveness effect. First, we control directly for the effect of the exchange rate on exports and imported inputs. We then pursue an alternative investigation strategy, inspired by the credit channel literature. According to this perspective, Tobin’s q can provide an adequate control for the competitiveness effect on investment. Our results provide supporting evidence for imperfect capital markets, and for a negative exchange rate balance sheet effect in Brazil. The results concerning the exchange rate balance sheet effect on investment are statistically significant and robust across the different specifications. We tested the results across different periods, classified according to the macroeconomic environment. Our findings suggest that the negative exchange rate balance sheet effect we found in the whole sample is due to the floating exchange rate period. We also found that exchange rate devaluations have important negative impact on both cash flows and sales of indebted firms. Furthermore, the impact of exchange rate variations is asymmetric, and the significant effect detected when no asymmetry is imposed is engendered by exchange rate devaluations.

Investment and economic reform in Latin America

Includes bibliography

Savings, investment and growth in the global age: analytical and policy issues

Includes bibliography

The impact of exchange-rate and trade policy on export performance in the 1980s

Includes bibliography

Equity, foreign investment and international competitiveness

Includes bibliography

An econometric analysis of private-sector investment in Brazil

Includes bibliography

Exchange rate regimes and macroeconomic performance in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico

Includes bibliography

Stylized features of the investment-growth connection in Latin America, 1980-2012

Estimates of investment and its components in Latin America over the past 30 years are used to review stylized facts relating to investment and explore factors that explain its connection with economic growth. In particular, the low level of investment, the reduction in public spending in the 1980s and its partial recovery along with private investment between 2003 and 2010 are explored. It is found that the increase in national income —on the back of rising terms of trade— made it possible to increase national saving and its contribution to financing investment between 2004 and 2008. The analysis of causality between the investment ratio and growth in gross domestic product (gdp) suggest that —for a considerable number of Latin American countries— changes in the growth rate have preceded changes in the investment ration in the period under study.

Feeding, body condition and reproductive investment of Astyanax intermedius (Characiformes, Characidae) in relation to rainfall and temperature in a Brazilian Atlantic Forest stream

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)