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- A weighted multidimensional index of child well-being which incorporates children’s individual perceptionsPublication . Fernandes, Liliana; Mendes, Américo; Teixeira, AuroraIt has been a decade since a landmark piece of work on child well-being measurement based on a summary index was developed in the United States, the Index of Child and Youth Well-Being. Several research studies, both in the U.S. and Europe, followed on from this work. Despite these studies' valuable contribution, scope exists for further improvements at the methodological level. In the present paper we draw the methodological basis for a new, micro-based summary child well-being index in which children's views on their own well-being assume a central role and distinct weights (based on the children's perceptions) to each component that is included in the index are used. Based on 914 pairs of responses of Portuguese children and their carers, the newly proposed index was tested vis-A -vis other methodologies. The econometric estimations show that the significance of all potential well-being determinants (e.g., age, school cycle, mother's and father's level of education) remains the same across the distinct methods of calculation of child well-being indexes. However, the consideration of subjective components (degrees of importance and weights) allowed to evidence that the most relevant determinants of child well-being are the set of variables related to the child's parents, namely education and professional status. In particular, when compared to their counterparts, children whose fathers have higher education degrees reveal an increased overall well-being by around 25 %, whereas children whose fathers are unemployed present a decreased well-being by around 11 %.
- Forest Owners' Organizations in North and Central Portugal - assessment of successPublication . Feliciano, Diana; Mendes, Américo M. S. CarvalhoBackground and purpose: The emergence of forest owners’ organizations (FOOs) in Portugal occurred in the 1990s. Fifteen years later there were 173 FOOs providing services to the private forest owners and also to the whole of society. This study aims to evaluate the success of FOOs in increasing their membership and the quantity of services provided. Material and methods: Eight FOOs from the North and Central Portugal were chosen as case studies. Quantitative data on membership numbers and number of services provided by the eight case studies were collected from the archives of FORESTIS or directly at the FOOs headquarters. Qualitative data from newsletters, annual reports, local newspapers and letters were also collected to be further analysed. Secondary data collected cover a period of substitute 10 years by 11 years (1994-2005). In addition, eight interviews to members of staff or FOOs directors were conducted in 2005. It was hypothesised that the number of members and the quantity of services provided may be interrelated and that the turnover of staff and their productivity influence the success of FOOs in increasing their membership and providing technical advice services. Results and conclusion: The study showed that although most FOOs were successful in making their membership grow, there were big differences in the number of members, in the forest area covered by them and in the quantity of services provided. It was concluded that human capital, financial capital and path dependence were the factors that most constrained the success FOOs in North and Central Portugal.
- Assessing child well-being through a new multidimensional child-based weighting scheme index: an empirical estimation for PortugalPublication . Fernandes, Liliana; Mendes, Américo; Teixeira, AuroraAssessing child well-being through composite summary indexes is one of the most recent developments regarding child well-being measurement. Using a new index that takes into account the children's own perspectives, this paper presents empirical evidence on the main determinants of overall child wellbeing. Econometric estimations, based on a sample of 1246 children enrolled in the 3rd-6th grades of schools located in the Northern region of Portugal, convey two main results: (1) the parents' educational background and professional status, in particular, an unemployed father, are the most important factors affecting child well-being and (2) children from households with double or foreign nationality are worse off than those with Portuguese nationality. These results support the positive role of policies targeting the qualifications and employment opportunities for parents, as well as the need for inclusive policies for immigrant households as a way to improve their children's well-being.
- Economia, globalização e conceito cristão de JustiçaPublication . Mendes, Américo M. S. Carvalho
- Diagnóstico das ONG em PortugalPublication . Esteves, Alexandra; Mendes, Américo M. S. Carvalho; Lourenço, Ana; Chau, Fernando; Pinto, Filipe; Guedes De Oliveira, Francisca; Cunha, Manuel Antunes da; Tavares, Marisa Fernanda Figueiredo; Franco, Raquel Campos; Gonçalves, Ricardo; Garrido, Sara de Azevedo; Silva, Sofia; Ramus, Tommaso; Franco, Raquel Campos
- PortugalPublication . Feliciano, Diana; Mendes, AméricoThe evidence provided in this report shows that the Portuguese forest sector has been responsive to demands for its products, not only timber, but also cork and some other non wood forest goods and services. The area of forests almost tripled since the mid of the 1990s and the main cause of this has been that response to market conditions. Given the very high salience of private ownership, private forest owners played a major role in that response, even when there were no supported public policies, which was the case until the 1980s. Private forest owners obviously have not been alone in making up these adjustments to demand. Forest industries have been the essential connecting link between the forests and the final consumers, either in the domestic markets, or abroad. The first jump in expanding the forest resource base was the installation of the cork oak stands in the southern regions, mostly from the mid of the XIXth century until the mid of the XXth century. This was and still remains an export oriented business. It has successfully resisted the arrival of plastics, and is now facing new forms of competition from this material. Again this competition is meeting an active response from the industry and the forest owners, but a lot is still undecided about the end of this game. Pulp and paper is another story of creation of a new forest resource base and a new industry oriented essentially towards exports. Like in the case of cork, the quality of the product has been generally good, but here also new threats are arising. The resource base of the industry is under increasing risk of forest fires and the fundamentals of the Portuguese economy, in recent years, are not favouring exporting business. The wood based panel industry is another case where the forest resources built up by private forestry during the last one hundred years were able to trigger and sustain industrial conglomerates of large international scope. Nowadays the leading group in the world in this industry is Portuguese. The tree species at the base of this industry is maritime pine. This is the species which has been suffering most with forest fires and this is not good news for the industry. However, entrepreneurs here have been able to evolve towards other products and other markets. The rest of the forest industries (sawmilling, carpentry and furniture) are essentially made of small, even very small enterprises relying almost entirely on the domestic market. Rising real incomes and lower real interest rates, until the turn of the century helped these activities. These favourable conditions stopped to hold at the same time as the exposure to foreign competition became more intense. The strong dependence of these industries on the macroeconomic situation of the country is now pushing them towards improvements in labour productivity, at lower levels of employment.