Taxes and labor supply: Portugal, Europe, and the United States

I relate hours worked with taxes on consumption and labor for Portugal, France, Spain, United Kingdom and United States. From 1986 to 2001, hours per worker in Portugal decreased from 35.1 to 32.6. With the parameters for Portugal, the model predicts hours worked in 2001 with an error of only 12 minutes from the actual hours. Across countries, most predictions differ from the data by one hour or less. The model is not sensible to special assumptions on the parameters. I calculate the long run effects of taxes on consumption, hours, capital and welfare for Portugal. I extend the model to discuss implications for Social Security. I discuss the steady state and the transition from a pay-as-you-go to a fully funded system.

Positive self-image in tournaments

This paper analyzes the implications of worker overestimation of productivity for firms in which incentives take the form of tournaments. Each worker overestimates his productivity but is aware of the bias in his opponent’s self-assessment. The manager of the firm, on the other hand, correctly assesses workers’ productivities and self-beliefs when setting tournament prizes. The paper shows that, under a variety of circumstances, firms make higher profits when workers have positive self-image than if workers do not. By contrast, workers’ welfare declines due to their own misguided choices.

Satisfação profissional dos médicos dentistas na utilização do cheque-dentista : um estudo exploratório no concelho de Lisboa

RESUMO - A satisfação profissional é um fenómeno amplamente estudado e esse interesse decorre da influência que a mesma pode exercer sobre o trabalhador, afetando a sua saúde, atitudes, comportamento profissional e social, com repercussões tanto para a sua vida privada como para as organizações. Considerando a tendência mundial de se aproximarem os perfis da profissão para um perfil único e de que a investigação sobre a satisfação profissional dos médicos dentistas em vários países estar presentemente a ser divulgada, seria importante avaliar a situação em Portugal para fins comparativos. O presente estudo teve como objetivo investigar o grau de satisfação profissional dos médicos dentistas na utilização do cheque-dentista no concelho de Lisboa, procurando estabelecer relações entre as diferentes dimensões da satisfação profissional e variáveis socioprofissionais. Um questionário de autopreenchimento foi enviado por e-mail para as clínicas onde os médicos dentistas trabalham, num total de 99 obtendo-se uma taxa de resposta de 24,2%. Verificou-se que em relação à satisfação profissional em geral nas várias dimensões questionadas, é a relação profissional/paciente que os médicos dentistas consideram como mais importante logo seguida da realização pessoal e profissional. Como menos importante os médicos dentistas referiram o status/prestígio e a segurança profissional. Já no campo da satisfação profissional no âmbito do cheque-dentista concluiu-se que mais próximo do grau de satisfeito se encontra a relação estabelecida com o paciente assim como a relação de trabalho com a equipa. No grau de satisfação mais baixo, de total insatisfação encontra-se o número de tratamentos que são permitidos efetuar em cada cheque-dentista e um último lugar encontrase o valor remuneratório do cheque-dentista. Comparando a satisfação profissional com o cheque-dentista entre géneros, verificou-se que apenas na dimensão do valor remuneratório do cheque-dentista existem diferenças estatisticamente significativas (p=0,026), sendo que o género feminino demonstra maior satisfação que o género masculino. O número de participantes não foi suficiente para que se possa generalizar os resultados para a população. É necessária a realização de mais estudos neste âmbito com um maior número de profissionais de forma a que os resultados sejam estatisticamente significativos.

Serosurvey of hantavirus infection in humans in the border region between Brazil and Argentina

INTRODUCTION: According to reports by the Ministry of Health, in the far western region of the State of Santa Catarina, there have been no reports of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a zoonotic disease transmitted by feces of infected rodents. A seroepidemiological study of residents of this region, was conducted, with the aim of determining the presence of hantavirus infections. A total of 340 volunteers of both genus, from the towns of Belmonte and Paraíso, were studied. METHODS: The serum of these patients was collected and used to detect IgG antibodies against recombinant N protein of Araraquara hantavirus, by ELISA assay. The positive samples were then titrated and confirmed by immunofluorescence assay. RESULTS: This study demonstrated the presence of IgG antibodies against hantavirus N protein in 3.5% of the population. The most frequent occupation was farm worker, 81% had direct and indirect contact with rodents, 91.7% of positive cases were farm workers, indicating that the probable cause of infection occurred during barn cleaning. These antibodies are noteworthy, given that the levels of antibodies were verified in individuals whose contact with hantavirus may have occurred many years ago. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows the circulation of hantavirus in the region, a fact that until now, had not reported. All the serum reagents had contact with the pathogen, but did not develop pulmonary and cardiovascular syndrome. It is important to remain alert, because hantavirus is a serious and emerging disease of some relevance.

Definição de um modelo de incentivo de profissionais de saúde em contexto de integração vertical e financiamento capitativo de cuidados de saúde

RESUMO - Contexto Os indivíduos, tal como as instituições, não são imunes a incentivos. No entanto, enquanto os modelos de incentivos das instituições têm sido alvo de diferentes evoluções, o mesmo não se verificou ao nível dos profissionais. Esta situação não se figura compatível com a complexidade de gestão de recursos humanos, devendo ser obviada para potenciar o alinhamento entre os interesses institucionais e os dos próprios profissionais. Objectivos Estudar a atribuição de incentivos a profissionais de saúde no contexto de organizações com integração vertical de cuidados. Metodologia A metodologia adoptada compreendeu três fases. Numa primeira procedeu-se à revisão sistemática de literatura relativa à: (1) construção de modelos de incentivo a profissionais em diferentes sistemas de saúde e tipo de prestadores; e (2) identificação de medidas de custo-efectividade comprovada. Tendo por base esta evidência, a par de documentação oficial ao nível do modelo de financiamento das ULS, procedeu-se, numa segunda fase, à construção de um modelo de incentivo base com recurso à ferramenta Microsoft Excel. Por último, numa terceira etapa, procedeu-se à adaptação do modelo base construído na etapa transacta tendo por base informação obtida mediante a realização de um estudo retrospectivo in loco na ULS do Baixo Alentejo (ULSBA). Em adição, procedeu-se à estimativa do impacto na perspectiva da ULS e dos profissionais para o cenário base e diversas análises de sensibilidade. Resultados No que respeita à estrutura, o modelo base de incentivos a profissionais apresenta 44 indicadores, distribuídos por cinco dimensões de análise, sendo que 28 indicadores (63,6%) são de processo e 14 (31,8%) de resultado. Relativamente às dimensões em análise, verifica-se uma predominância de indicadores ao nível da dimensão eficiência e qualidade assistencial, totalizando 35 (i.e. 79,5% dos 44 indicadores). No que respeita ao destinatário, 14 indicadores (31,8%) apresentam uma visão holística da ULS, 17 (38,6%) encontram-se adstritos unicamente aos cuidados primários e os remanescentes 13 (29,5%) aos cuidados hospitalares. Cerca de 85% dos actuais incentivos da ULSBA decorre da unidade de pagamento salarial secundada pelo pagamento de suplementos (12%). Não obstante, o estudo retrospectivo da ULSBA confirmou o cenário expectável de ausência de um modelo de incentivo homogéneos e transversal à ULS, transparecendo importantes assimetrias entre diferentes unidades prestadoras e/ou profissionais de saúde. De forma relevante importa apontar a insuficiência de incentivos capitacionais (ao contrário do que sucede com o modelo de incentivo da própria ULSBA) ou adstritos a índices de desempenho. Tendo em consideração o modelo de incentivo concebido e adaptado à realidade da ULSBA, a par do plano de implementação, estima-se que o modelo de incentivos gere: (1) poupanças na perspectiva da ULS (entre 2,5% a 3,5% do orçamento global da ULSBA); e (2) um incremento de remuneração ao nível dos profissionais (entre 5% a 15% do salario base). O supracitado – aparentemente contraditório - decorre da aposta em medidas de custo-efectividade contrastada e um alinhamento entre o modelo proposto e o vigente para o próprio financiamento da unidade, apostando numa clara estratégia de ganhos mútuos. As análises de sensibilidade realizadas permitem conferir a solidez e robustez do modelo a significativas variações em parâmetros chave.

Spinoffs and other entrants: Evidence from Portugal

This thesis studies the prevalence and survival of spinoff entrants in Portugal from 1987 to 2008. Information on worker flows is used to identify them at a population level, providing evidence on other operations such as mergers and acquisitions. We show that the number of spinoffs has been increasing at a higher rate than other entrants of comparable size. Studying the determinants of their exit suggests that the most important predictor is whether the spinoff was motivated by the failure of the parent firm. The effect of industry specific knowledge and previous experience of the founders from working together in the parent firm is seemingly negligible, with only weak evidence supporting the latter.

What hides behind the fixed-term contracts wage gap?

In Portugal, about 20% of full-time workers are employed under a fixed-term contract. Using a rich longitudinal matched employer-employee dataset for Portugal, with more than 20 million observations and covering the 2002-2012 period, we confirm the common idea that fixed-term contracts are not desirable when compared to permanent ones, by estimating a conditional wage gap of -1.7 log points. Then, we evaluate the sources of that wage penalty by combining a three way high-dimensional fixed effects model with the decomposition of Gelbach (2014), in which the three dimensions considered are the worker’s unobserved ability, the firm’s compensation wage policy and the job title effect. It is shown that the average worker with a fixed-term contract is less productive than his/her permanent counterparts, explaining -3.92 log points of the FTC wage penalty. Additionally, the sorting of workers into lower-paid job titles is also responsible for -0.59 log points of the wage gap. Surprisingly, we found that the allocation of workers among firms mitigates the existing wage penalty (in 4.23 log points), as fixed-term workers are concentrated into firms with a more generous compensation policy. Finally, following Figueiredo et al. (2014), we further control for the worker-firm match characteristics and reach the conclusion that fixed-term employment relationships have an overrepresentation of low quality worker-firm matches, explaining 0.65 log points of the FTC wage penalty.

Corporate performance and the pay gap

Increasing disparity between executive compensation and that of the average worker (the pay gap) has generated a fierce debate about its causes and effects. This paper studies the determinants and performance effects of the pay gap through the prism of Tournament Incentives and the Equity Fairness Theory. Results show that the size of the pay gap is caused primarily by the size of the firm and by the standards of its industry and also by the unionization rate and whether the Chairman is also the CEO. The paper Concludes by showins that the pay gap has a positive effect on firm performance in the United States Keywords:

Portuguese stagnation in the 2001-2012 period

The 2001-2012 period has been one of very low growth for Portugal. This work project tries to find reasons for this slowdown. Growth in real GDP will be explained by several variables ranging from education, capital, government and world markets. Compensation of employees, capital per worker and the exports of competitors seem to explain a significant part of the slowdown. The ratio of non-tradables to tradables is also included but not significant, maybe due to a poor sample size. Stagnation then seems to be caused both by low growth in input accumulation and productivity as predicted by Amador and Coimbra in 2007.

The role of individual ability and structural embeddedness on entrepreneurial success

In the present thesis I analyse the roles of individual ability and structural embeddedness on entrepreneurial success. The results retrieved from a matched employer-employee longitudinal data set show prior worker productivities and environmental embeddedness to have a persistent positive impact on the size and growth rates of new firms. What is more, embeddedness facilitates the impact of ability on start-up performance with outsiders of comparable abilities starting smaller and slower growing firms. Those in higher ability categories are more likely to transfer and also, albeit to a lesser extent, close their ventures, an effect attributed to the higher opportunity costs associated with the group. Firms managed by embedded agents enjoy longer longevities and have better chances of finding a new owner after the departure of the previous one. Finally, higher ability types show evidence of specialisation in serial entrepreneurship.

Stress relacionado com o trabalho e motivação para a cessação tabágica: um obstáculo?: Estudo exploratório de uma amostra de vendedores fumadores

RESUMO - O tabagismo surge como a primeira causa evitável de doença, incapacidade e morte prematura em países desenvolvidos. Dentre os fatores influenciadores do comportamento face ao consumo de tabaco, a influência dos fatores de stress no local de trabalho foi alvo de diversos estudos com resultados mistos, revelando uma evidência empírica inconclusiva. Foi feito um estudo exploratório, transversal, que visou verificar a existência de associação entre algum dos fatores de stress no trabalho, nomeadamente 1) requisitos no trabalho, 2) autoridade decisória, 3) discriminação de tarefas, 4) condições de emprego, 5) apoio dos chefes e colegas, 6) número de horas de trabalho e 7) satisfação com o trabalho; com a motivação para a cessação tabágica. A amostra contou com 95 vendedores de bens de consumo alimentar, fumadores. Foi aplicado um questionário com variáveis sociodemográficas, variáveis de caracterização do comportamento face ao consumo de tabaco, o Teste de Richmond, variáveis de caracterização profissional e o Questionário Sobre Stress no Local de Trabalho. O Questionário Sobre o Stress no Local de Trabalho revelou uma validade insuficiente para a caracterização da maioria dos fatores de stress em estudo, manifestada por α de Cronbach muito baixos, pelo que a análise de associação apenas foi realizada entre os fatores de stress 1) apoio dos chefes e colegas, 2) número de horas de trabalho e 3) satisfação com o trabalho; e a motivação para a cessação tabágica. Para níveis de significância de 10%, o número de horas de trabalho apresentou uma associação positiva estatisticamente significativa com a motivação para a cessação tabágica, duplicando a probabilidade da sua ocorrência [OR = 2,429 (IC95%: 0,945 – 6,240)]. Em toda a análise de dados realizada foi prevalente a baixa motivação para a cessação tabágica dos vendedores, independentemente da variação dos fatores de stress relacionados com o trabalho.

O estatuto laboral do trabalhador estrangeiro em Portugal

After reading about the current legal regime regarding the foreign workers we realize the high relevance this area has, nevertheless the research about these issues has been lying somewhat stagnant in Portugal, particularly as it refers to non-EU citizens. At a time when we witness a progressive increase of the migratory movements we propose ourselves, in this study, to understand more clearly the current legal system in the matter of foreign worker rights, and, from a pragmatic point of view, to question some choices of the legislator in order to understand if these serves to the best protection of the rights and duties of the foreign workers and the new situations arising from this phenomenon, considering any system weaknesses. However, we realize that much remains to be done in this field, both in terms of true equal rights between nationals and foreigners, and either as what regards to an effort to harmonize these issues by the States, which tend to favor national sovereignty and its economic interests rather than protecting the fundamental rights of workers.

Bias in returns to tenure when firm wages and employment comove: A quantitative assessment and solution

It is well known that, unless worker-firm match quality is controlled for, returns to firm tenure (RTT) estimated directly via reduced form wage (Mincer) equations will be biased. In this paper we show that even if match quality is properly controlled for there is a further pervasive source of bias, namely the co-movement of firm employment and firm wages. In a simple mechanical model where human capital is absent and separation is exogenous we show that positively covarying shocks (either aggregate or firm level) to firms employment and wages cause downward bias in OLS regression estimates of RTT. We show that the long established procedures for dealing with "traditional" RTT bias do not circumvent the additional problem we have identified. We argue that if a reduced form estimation of RTT is undertaken, firm-year fixed effects must be added in order to eliminate this bias. Estimates from two large panel datasets from Portugal and Germany show that the bias is empirically important. Adding firm-year fixed effects to the regression increases estimates of RTT in the two respective countries by between 3.5% and 4.5% of wages at 20 years of tenure over 80% (50%) of the estimated RTT level itself. The results extend to tenure correlates used in macroeconomics such as the minimum unemployment rate since joining the firm. Adding firm-year fixed effects changes estimates of these effects also.

A videovigilância no local de trabalho

The emergence of new technologies has introduced significant changes in the citizens life’s. There is a constant evolution of technological means and profound impact of their use in the habits of life of the human being. These new technological media are important tools in labor relations. The working and businesses worlds are increasingly turning to these new technologies, so that the use of video surveillance in the workplace is nowadays common. New technologies in general and the use of video surveillance in workplace in particular are providing ways to allow control of the work performance that are desired by most employers. However, the collection of images in the workplace often collides with the fundamental rights and freedoms of workers, in particular, with the right to privacy. The subject concerns the question of investigating is whether the images collected in workplace can be used as evidence in disciplinary proceedings. In fact, this issue is controversial. Doctrine and jurisprudence defend, at least, two responses for the same question. Those who understand that the evidence may be admitted for not violate any right of the worker, and others who argue that the evidence should not be admitted in disciplinary office. In the Portuguese legal system, there is, even, a new intermediate theory that begins to be defended, that only on certain occasions the evidence may be admitted. The solution to this problem involves the study of employment law and data video surveillance processing. Analysis of workers fundamental rights is fundamental to come to a grounded conclusion.

Workplace ergonomics in lean production environments: A literature review

BACKGROUND: Lean Production Systems (LPS) have become very popular among manufacturing industries, services and large commercial areas. A LPS must develop and consider a set of work features to bring compatibility with workplace ergonomics, namely at a muscular, cognitive and emotional demands level. OBJECTIVE: Identify the most relevant impacts of the adoption of LPS from the ergonomics point of view and summarizes some possible drawbacks for workplace ergonomics due to a flawed application of the LPS. The impacts identified are focused in four dimensions: work pace, intensity and load; worker motivation, satisfaction and stress; autonomy and participation; and health outcome. This paper also discusses the influence that the work organization model has on workplace ergonomics and on the waste elimination previewed by LPS. METHODS: Literature review focused LPS and its impact on occupational ergonomics conditions, as well as on the Health and Safety of workers. The main focus of this research is on LPS implementations in industrial environments and mainly in manufacturing industry workplaces. This is followed by a discussion including the authors’ experience (and previous research). RESULTS: From the reviewed literature it seems that there is no consensus on how Lean principles affect the workplace ergonomics since most authors found positive (advantages) and negative (disadvantages) impacts. CONCLUSIONS: The negative impacts or disadvantages of LPS implementations reviewed may result from the misunderstanding of the Lean principles. Possibly, they also happen due to partial Lean implementations (when only one or two tools were implemented) that may be effective in a specific work context but not suitable to all possible situations as the principles of LPS should not lead, by definition, to any of the reported drawbacks in terms of workplace ergonomics.