Hedonic methods are a prominent approach in the construction of quality-adjusted price indexes. This paper shows that the process of computing such indexes is substantially simplified if arithmetic (geometric) price indexes are computed based on exponential (log-linear) hedonic functions...

The aim of this paper is to analyze the equilibrium default risk in a two-stage duopoly model, where firms decide their financial structure in the first stage of the game and take their output market decisions in the second stage of the game. Using the framework of Brander and Lewis (1986) we...

We relate technological adoption (of different technologies) with income inequality. We discovered that some technologies such as aviation, cell phones, electric production, internet, telephone, and TV are skill-complementary in raising inequality. We constructed standardized indexes of...

In this paper we suggest simple moment-based estimators to deal with unobserved heterogeneity in a special class of nonlinear regression models that includes as main particular cases exponential models for nonnegative responses and logit and complementary loglog models for fractional responses....

The present crisis in the Euro is one of the most serious crises reported in history. The fact that different countries that adopted the Euro have different conditions to support asymmetric shocks in their economies could explain some of the consequences currently affecting the Eurozone. In this...

Endogenous resources, economic profile and socio-economic issues are the criteria that define the level of development and identifying features of a territorial unit. The territorial units that organize the country, in political and administrative terms – parishes and counties –, have a...

We use a spatial Probit model to study the effect of contagion between banking systems of different countries. Applied to the late 90’s banking crisis in Asia we show that the phenomena of contagion is better seized using a spatial than a traditional Probit model. Unlike the latter, the...

The amount of implicit debt is quantified in relation to the contributive regime that supports the old age pension scheme of the Portuguese Social Security and the notional defined contribution accounts system concept as a solution of financial sustainability of that regime is presented, without...

This paper evaluates the optimal bail-out and bail-in mix in the case of bankruptcy of Banco Espírito Santo (BES), SA, the second largest Portuguese private bank. The solution after the crisis of the BES, was to partition the bank into a good bank (Novo Banco (New Bank)) and keep the toxic...

We estimate the long-term impact of social security and social protection spending in a set of twelve EU countries. We estimate country-specific VARs relating GDP, unemployment, savings, and social spending. We find that social spending has a negative effect in most countries while the effects...