May 10 : Prof. João Carlos Lopes (Homepage: https://aquila1.iseg.utl.pt/aquila/homepage/f224 )

Title : High Employment Generating Sectors in Portugal: an Interindustry Approach

Abstrac t: An increase in the unemployment rate is one of the most serious consequences of macroeconomic crises. In Portugal, the impact of the recent recession has been particularly strong. In this paper, after quantifying this macroeconomic problem, an interindustry approach is used in order to identify the high employment generating (or destructing) sectors. This approach is particularly interesting because it considers not only the direct flows of job creation and destruction, but also the employment changes attributable to the indirect and induced effects of interindustry connections (the flows of intermediate inputs supply and demand). Using the so-called hypothetical extraction (or "shut-down of industry") method and the employment and interindustry data of the Portuguese economy, the key sectors in terms of multipliers, elasticities and the creation of jobs are identified. Than, a time series analysis of the output and employment behavior of these sectors is made, quantifying its relative sensitivity to the ups and downs of the business cycle. The empirical results of this paper can be useful in improving the policy responses to the crisis and carrying out the most appropriate measures to stimulate the economy

May 12 : Prof. Elsa Fontainha (Homepage: http://www.iseg.utl.pt/~elmano/ )

Title : Children's and parents' time use: empirical evidence on investment in human capital in France, Germany and Italy

Abstract: We model time allocation choices by youngsters into activities related to

the acquisition of human capital: study time, but also socialization, which can enhance personal interaction skills. Using multi-member household time use micro data, we run fractional regression and double hurdle models, providing new empirical evidence for France, Germany and Italy on the link between time allocation by parents and by youngsters, a channel disregarded in the literature on parental investment in children. Our results on the association between parents' and children's time use are consistent with different mechanisms: parental role model, intergenerational transmission of preferences, or network effects

May 17 : Prof. Isabel Mendes (Homepage: https://aquila1.iseg.utl.pt/aquila/homepage/f219 )

Title : Estimating the Recreation Value of Ecosystems by using a Travel Cost Method Approach

Abstrac t : Outdoor Recreation is one of the services that individuals can beneficiate from the simple existence of a well conserved natural ecosystem. The utilitarian approach allows recreation value to arise when the individuals use the ecosystem, a natural capital stock, as an input to produce flows of recreation services. Recreation is one of the ecosystem's secondary values, associated with the direct use individuals make of these natural assets. We believe that the estimation of the recreation value of ecosystems is an important economic conservation instrument that contributes to promote local sustainable development. Firstly as a support for political and judicial decision-making in a context of accruing environmental degradation compounded by increasing social demand for environmental recreation services in particular and among others, and sate budget constraints; and secondly as a tool to educate and involve local populations and stakeholders in conservation. In this paper we use the Travel Cost Method to estimate the recreation value of an ecosystem, defined as the discounted aggregate individual WTP/WTA money measures associated with the flow of recreation services provided by that ecosystem all along a certain period. The discounted recreation value is calculated in three steps. In the first step, we estimate the individual welfare measures WTP/WTA, through the calculation of the recreation demand consumer surplus associated with the individual marshallian demand for the ecosystem, to outdoor recreation purposes. To get this particular consumer surplus, we will use data gathered from a sample of individual recreationists collected in situ through direct questionnaire technique. With these data, we further estimate a recreation demand function and a recreation demand curve for the representative visitor of the ecosystem by using Poisson estimators, which allowed us to plot the estimations to the total population. In the second step we aggregate the individual stated welfare measure over the relevant population for the moment t, which is the moment of the questionnaire. In the third step we discount the aggregated individual welfare measure associated with the flow of the recreation services provided by the ecosystem all along a certain period, to finally get the recreation value of the ecosystem. Several controversial questions arise when trying to compute the ecosystem's values by using utilitarianism, the capital asset analogy, and the Travel Costs Method due to the ecosystem's own natural specifics, the characteristics of outdoor recreation demand and the limitations of the theoretical economic framework itself. These controversial questions are enumerated, analysed while assessing the most common practitioner practices applied in overcoming these theoretical and technical difficulties.