EEG Investiga

Hutton, M., & Heath, T. (2025). A Discomforting Pedagogy of Poverty: Discourses, Representations and Vulnerabilities. Sociology. https://doi.org/10.1177/00380385251380772This article proposes a “pedagogy of discomfort” for teaching about poverty, aiming to challenge normalized views and stigmatizing assumptions. The authors argue that poverty is a form of “difficult sociological knowledge” that requires students and educators to move beyond their comfort zones and critically examine how systems of meaning sustain inequality.The framework is structured around three analytical tools. First, discourses encourage students to identify and question dominant narratives that frame poverty as an individual failure, revealing embedded prejudices and emotional biases. Second, representations focus on critically analyzing media and cultural portrayals that reinforce stereotypes, prompting students to recognize their own complicity in these narratives. Third, vulnerabilities connect learners with lived experiences through real-world cases and community voices, reducing “othering” and fostering a sense of shared human vulnerability.The authors conclude that sustaining discomfort within a supportive environment promotes deeper critical reflection, challenging individualistic perspectives and enabling students to engage more meaningfully with structural inequalities.

Almeida, D. C., Afonso, P., Ferreira, L. P., & Soares, A. M. (2026). Exploring the longitudinal impact of entrepreneurial education on entrepreneurial competences and intentions: evidence of an asymmetric polarization effect. International Journal of Management Education, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2025.101291This study examines the longitudinal impact of entrepreneurship education (EE) on the development of entrepreneurial competencies (EC) and entrepreneurial intentions (EI) among university students. The research uses a quasi-experimental longitudinal design with pre- and post-tests involving 84 students from six Portuguese universities. The theoretical framework combines the Competency-Based Approach, used to assess skill development, and the Theory of Planned Behavior, which explains entrepreneurial intention as a predictor of action.Results show that the EE course had a strong and statistically significant positive effect on all competency dimensions (Cohen’s d = 0.80). Improvements were observed in creativity and opportunity recognition, personal resources such as resilience and leadership, specific knowledge including financial and digital literacy, and action-oriented skills like planning, decision-making, and teamwork. However, no overall increase in entrepreneurial intentions was detected. Instead, the study identified a positive asymmetric polarization effect, where EE strengthened existing positive intentions rather than generating new ones. The findings highlight EE’s broader value in developing transferable skills beyond startup creation.

Krüger, C., Pennabel, A. F., Paschoalotto, M. A. C., Guimarães, F. H. C. B., Medeiros Kruger, N. R., Meneguzzo, M., Passador, C. S., & Ferreira Caldana, A. C. (2024). Framework for cross-border governance: from cross-border critical factors to sustainable development. Public Management Review. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2024.2443061This article develops a framework and practical model for cross-border governance (CG) aimed at promoting sustainable development (SD) in border regions, which are often characterized by peripheral status and weaker socioeconomic indicators. Based on a systematic literature review and expert interviews, the study identifies key factors that either constrain or enable effective cross-border problem-solving. These factors are organized into four main dimensions: territorial (geo-historical, cultural, and border permeability features), resources (financial support, human capital, and infrastructure), institutional (intergovernmental relations, stakeholder participation, and stable power-sharing arrangements), and political-regulatory (strategic planning, legal instruments, and policy continuity). From this analysis, the authors propose the Critical Factors Framework for Cross-Border Governance (CFCG) and the Cross-Border Governance Model for Sustainable Development (CGSD). The CGSD model outlines three phases—preparation, construction, and implementation—structured into eight practical steps. The study contributes actionable guidance for policymakers seeking to connect governance structures with tangible social, economic, and environmental sustainability outcomes across diverse border contexts.

Coelho, A. P., & Loureiro, G. (2025). Do earnouts create the right incentives? Earnings management around earnout-based acquisitions. Journal of Financial Research. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfir.70007This article examines whether acquiring firms engage in earnings management during earnout periods in mergers and acquisitions. Using a sample of 517 U.S. acquisitions with earnout clauses between 1998 and 2017, compared with nearly 4,000 transactions without earnouts, the study finds systematic evidence of downward earnings manipulation. Acquirers reduce reported performance during the earnout period to lower contingent payments to target shareholders, decreasing payouts by an estimated US$3.5 to US$5.25 million. The manipulation occurs mainly through real activities, such as increasing discretionary expenses in R&D or sales, since these actions are harder to detect than accrual-based adjustments. However, in short earnout periods, managers rely more on accruals due to their immediate impact. Incentives for downward manipulation are stronger in cash-financed deals, while stock-based payments mitigate such behavior because target shareholders become owners and monitor performance. The retention of target managers limits real manipulation but not accrual adjustments. Overall, earnouts create agency problems requiring stronger monitoring mechanisms.

Ratten, V., Newman, A., Palacios-Marqués, D., Mckeown, T., Casais, B., Prentice, C., Nuñez-Sánchez, J. M., Liñán, F., Stanton, P., Le, H., Aseri, M. A., & Walton, S. (2026). 30th birthday celebrations: Views from the top about future management research and practice. In Journal of Management and Organization. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2025.10073This article commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Journal of Management & Organization by gathering reflections from leading scholars on the past achievements and future directions of management research. It emphasizes the societal importance of management studies in fostering organizational effectiveness, evidence-based decision-making, and sustainable development. Influential contributions highlighted include stakeholder theory, psychological safety, exploration versus exploitation, and service-dominant logic, all of which reshaped modern management thinking. The discussion underscores management as an evolving, interdisciplinary field, while warning against the “ivory tower” gap between academia and practice and advocating for more engaged scholarship. Looking ahead, the field is expected to be transformed by artificial intelligence, human–technology integration, hybrid work models, and sustainability-driven business models. Ethical governance of algorithms and the redesign of organizations to enhance human capabilities will be central concerns. The article concludes that, as AI automates technical tasks, management may experience a renaissance as an art grounded in judgment, empathy, and ethical leadership.

Ramos, F., Tavares, A. F., & da Cruz, N. F. (2026). Between promise and practice: a scoping review of the democratic outcomes of youth participation in local governance. Children and Youth Services Review, 181, 108738. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108738This article presents a scoping review of 48 empirical studies on youth participation in local governance across 24 countries, examining the gap between its democratic promise and institutional practice. The literature identifies five main rationales for youth participation: improving public policies, defending rights, fostering civic skills, strengthening democracy, and promoting youth empowerment. Using Nabatchi and Amsler’s framework, the study assesses outcomes at individual, community, and governmental levels. Positive effects are strongest at the individual level, where young participants report increased civic engagement, leadership skills, confidence, and political knowledge. At the community level, youth contribute to expanding civic space and improving access to public services. However, outcomes at the governmental level are more contradictory. While youth input can enrich policymaking, participation is often symbolic, marked by limited deliberation, weak representation, and lack of real decision-making power. The study highlights a “participation–power paradox”: youth engagement succeeds as personal development but rarely reshapes governance structures. Effective participation requires meaningful deliberation, accountability mechanisms, and genuine power-sharing.

Barbosa, N., & Faria, A. P. (2026). Science and productivity in European firms: how do regional innovation modes matter? European Planning Studies, 34(1), 84–106. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2025.2570922This article, published in European Planning Studies (2026) by Natália Barbosa and Ana Paula Faria, investigates how scientific knowledge and regional innovation modes influence firm productivity growth across Europe. Using data from 150,712 manufacturing firms located in 161 NUTS II regions in 19 European countries between 2012 and 2017, the study applies the Capello and Lenzi taxonomy to classify regions into five innovation modes, ranging from science-based to imitative innovation. The findings show that scientific knowledge significantly boosts productivity, particularly in Southern European regions and, to a lesser extent, in Eastern Europe, supporting a science-driven convergence process. However, the effects are heterogeneous: highly productive and fast-growing firms benefit most from scientific spillovers, while less productive firms can still achieve efficiency gains through imitation-based strategies. Applied smart innovation modes also emerge as key drivers of long-term productivity growth. The authors conclude that innovation policy should recognize diverse regional innovation paths and strengthen firms’ internal capabilities to absorb external knowledge.

Pinho, J. C., Fontes, A., & Santos, G. G. (2026). Balancing the double-edged sword of artificial Intelligence: Job demands, resources, and Work–Life balance. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 21, 100924. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2025.100924This study applies the Job Demands–Resources (JD–R) framework to examine the “double-edged sword” effects of artificial intelligence (AI) on employee well-being. Using survey data from 280 professionals, it shows that AI simultaneously functions as a job resource and a job demand. On the one hand, employee–AI collaboration reduces repetitive work and cognitive load, enabling employees to focus on more meaningful tasks, which increases work engagement and improves work–life balance (WLB). On the other hand, AI awareness—particularly fears of job loss and skill obsolescence—acts as a hindrance demand that lowers engagement and psychological safety. The findings reveal that work engagement mediates the positive relationship between AI collaboration and WLB and is a necessary condition for achieving high WLB. Interestingly, AI awareness positively moderates the collaboration–engagement link, suggesting that close collaboration can transform perceived threats into challenge demands. The study highlights AI as a job redesign opportunity requiring human-centered implementation and transparent communication.

Martins, A., Silva, A. P., Gomes, D., & Cruz, D. (2025). Robotic process automation: implementation in a multi-municipal water supply and sanitation company. Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting and Financial Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBAFM-09-2024-0182This study analyzes the implementation of Project Sophia, a Robotic Process Automation (RPA) initiative at Águas do Norte S.A. (AdN), a Portuguese public water and sanitation utility. The research aims to understand why a public-sector organization adopted RPA and how the process unfolded under the influence of internal and external actors. Launched in 2019, Project Sophia generated 26 subprojects between 2019 and 2024, mainly in administrative and financial areas, with 12 processes successfully automated by March 2024. Adoption was driven by institutional pressures, including coercive demands for regulatory compliance, normative influences from New Public Management principles, and mimetic pressures from successful RPA implementations elsewhere. Implementation followed an institutional work perspective, highlighting the agency of key actors such as the IT director, project manager, and external consultants. Despite challenges related to public procurement rules, budget constraints, system rigidity, and staff turnover, the project delivered significant benefits in efficiency, data accuracy, compliance, and the reallocation of employees toward higher-value analytical tasks.

Esteves, R. B., & Carballo-Cruz, F. (2025). A general framework for retailer competition under elastic demand and quantity-dependent transport costs. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104358This paper develops a general framework for spatial retailer competition by extending the classic Hotelling model to incorporate elastic demand and quantity-dependent transport costs. Unlike traditional models with fixed purchase quantities, consumers here adjust the amount bought in response to prices, while transport costs increase with both distance and quantity. A key innovation is the elasticity parameter that captures how transport costs scale with the purchased quantity, allowing the model to differentiate between bulky and lightweight goods. The analysis shows that standard results on spatial differentiation still hold: greater differentiation relaxes competition and raises prices, while more elastic demand intensifies price competition. However, quantity-dependent transport costs crucially shape market outcomes. When transport costs rise strongly with quantity, as for bulky products, consumers are less willing to travel, reducing competitive pressure and increasing local market power and profits. For lightweight goods, transport costs depend mainly on distance, intensifying competition and lowering prices. The framework offers insights for pricing strategies and highlights potential welfare concerns from localized monopolies.

Ribeiro, B. F. G., Rodrigues, M. Â., & Tejedo-Romero, F. (2026). Transparency in local government: exploring the impact of female leadership and political context. Local Government Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2025.2612054This study examines the relationship between female leadership and municipal transparency in Portugal, focusing on how political context shapes this link across the country’s 308 municipalities. Using data from the Municipal Transparency Index for 2013 and 2017, the authors draw on Social Role Theory and Representative Bureaucracy to assess whether the gender of mayors affects online information disclosure. The findings show that female leadership alone does not significantly increase transparency; in unfavorable political settings, municipalities led by women may even display lower transparency than those led by men. However, this relationship is highly conditional. When female mayors govern with an absolute majority, the negative effect is reversed and becomes positive, highlighting the importance of political stability and institutional support. Left-wing party affiliation also mitigates the negative association, though less robustly. Beyond gender, financial autonomy increases transparency, while higher unemployment reduces it. Overall, the study concludes that gender quotas are insufficient on their own: effective transparency gains require real political power, resources, and supportive institutional contexts for women leaders.

Bastos, P., Monteiro, N. P., & Straume, O. R. (2025). The division of revenues from unexpected demand shocks. Scandinavian Journal of Economics. https://doi.org/10.1111/sjoe.12589This article investigates how unexpected export demand shocks affect firm outcomes and the distribution of earnings between firms and workers in the Portuguese private sector from 2006 to 2018. Unexpected shocks are identified using forecast errors in destination-country GDP growth, aggregated at the firm level according to export exposure. The results show that positive demand surprises increase exports, sales, employment, and investment, and part of the resulting revenue gains is shared with workers through higher wages. However, this rent-sharing is highly unequal: wage gains are concentrated among workers at the top of the firm’s wage distribution and arise through both higher base wages and overtime pay. A key contribution is the role of managerial skill. Firms led by highly skilled managers are more likely to distribute gains via bonuses and performance-based pay, driving inequality within firms. Wage responses are stronger where firm-level bargaining exists and for long-tenured workers. Finally, firms react more strongly to negative than positive shocks, reflecting short-run capacity constraints and asymmetric adjustment.

Casais, B., & Boleixa, R. S. (2025). Place attachment, national identity, and country-of-origin consumption: insights from Portuguese emigrants. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 21(4), 357–369. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41254-025-00400-wThis article examines the relationship between place attachment, national identity, and the consumption of country-of-origin (COO) products among Portuguese emigrants. The findings show that Portuguese emigrants display strong place attachment and national identity, often exceeding simple feelings of national pride. Place attachment is understood as a long-term emotional bond that integrates identity and functional dependence on the home country. However, this strong emotional connection translates only weakly to moderately into actual purchasing behavior, revealing a clear attachment–consumption gap. This gap is explained primarily by market constraints rather than by a lack of emotional interest. Key barriers include the limited international availability of Portuguese products, selective distribution channels, and high prices. The study also highlights the role of acculturation: emigrants who have lived abroad longer tend to show lower attachment, as they adapt to host-country products and consumption patterns. Food products, regional specialties, and wine are most demanded, driven by nostalgia and cultural continuity. The authors conclude that effective internationalization strategies must combine emotional appeals with improved logistics, distribution, and place-based storytelling to fully leverage diaspora attachment.

Silva, R., Rodrigues, M., Oliveira, C., Bessa, R., & Franco, M. (2025). The power of digital accounting: A bibliometric literature review analysis. Journal of General Management. https://doi.org/10.1177/03063070251332038This article examines the evolution and impact of digital accounting through a bibliometric analysis and a systematic literature review. Digital accounting is defined as the use of digital technologies, software, and systems to automate accounting processes, improving efficiency, accuracy, and access to financial information. Using Web of Knowledge and Scopus databases, the study analyzes 86 articles with Bibliometrix (R) and the PRISMA method, revealing rapidly growing academic interest, especially after 2019, while highlighting the need for further empirical research.The literature is organized into three main clusters: (1) scientific mapping of digital accounting, focusing on information systems, fraud detection, and auditing; (2) digital records management, emphasizing efficiency gains alongside challenges related to data integrity, security, and long-term access; and (3) digital skills, stressing the importance of technical competencies in AI and Big Data, combined with soft skills. Overall, digital accounting enhances real-time decision-making and competitiveness but raises cybersecurity, interoperability, and organizational change challenges, reshaping accountants into strategic advisors.

Wittberg, E., Tavares, A. F., & Szmigiel-Rawska, K. (2025). Local politics and land take: Using remote sensing data to analyse land-use changes in Sweden. Journal of Environmental Management, 384. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.125387This study examines how local politics and employment structures shape land take in Sweden, using remote-sensing data from 2006 to 2018. Drawing on a political market framework, it conceptualizes local politicians as suppliers of land-use policies who balance pro-growth and pro-conservation interests. Sweden provides a distinctive context due to its stable, consensus-oriented democratic institutions. Empirically, mining emerges as the main driver of intensive land-use change, reflecting its economic importance and political salience, particularly in areas affecting Sami communities. Electoral support for the Green Party plays a key moderating role, significantly constraining land-intensive development in mining municipalities. Unlike findings for more polarized systems, greater political stability—measured by wider electoral victory margins—is associated with less intensive land take, consistent with coalition-based governance dampening extreme outcomes. Interestingly, left-wing coalitions are linked to higher land take, reflecting Social Democratic support for mining-led employment. The analysis also reveals path dependency and spatial spillovers. Overall, the findings highlight how consensus governance can balance economic and environmental pressures.

Amado, C. (2025). Outlier Robust Specification of Multiplicative Time-Varying Volatility Models. Computational Economics, 66(5), 4107–4135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10614-024-10838-4This article proposes a robust specification procedure for time-varying multiplicative volatility models that is resilient to the presence of outliers. It addresses a key problem in financial time series, namely the difficulty of distinguishing smooth changes in unconditional variance from isolated extreme observations, which often generate spurious non-stationarity and inflated volatility persistence in standard GARCH models. The study builds on the MTV-GARCH framework, which decomposes volatility into a short-run stochastic GARCH component and a smoothly evolving deterministic component. To reduce the influence of additive outliers, the author introduces bounded M-estimators for the GARCH dynamics and develops a robust Lagrange Multiplier test for detecting variance changes. Monte Carlo simulations show that the proposed procedure substantially improves size and power relative to conventional tests under outlier contamination. Applications to daily commodity returns (corn and sugar) illustrate its practical relevance, revealing cases of false variance shifts under standard methods. The approach offers important implications for risk management and portfolio allocation.

Lopes, J. V., & Casais, B. (2025). Longitudinal perceptions of gamified loyalty programs (GLPs): a mix of slot machines and entertainment toys. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 19(2), 268–286. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRIM-10-2023-0383This study examines users’ perceptions of gamified loyalty programs (GLPs) in mobile applications, focusing on Vodafone’s “Yorn Shake It” app. Using a longitudinal qualitative approach, the authors followed five Portuguese users over one month to understand how motivations evolve with repeated interaction. The findings show that initial engagement is largely driven by extrinsic motivation, such as winning physical prizes or bonus data, although some users are intrinsically motivated by fun and collecting elements. Over time, motivations shift: some users begin to value the playful mechanics and enjoyment of the game, while others become disengaged due to repetitive challenges or unattractive rewards, interacting in an automatic or indifferent manner. Rewards play a dual role, acting not only as extrinsic incentives but also as feedback that satisfies intrinsic needs for autonomy and competence. Sustained engagement depends on a balanced relationship between challenge and reward. Strong brand engagement emerges mainly when users value the hedonic experience, whereas reward-driven loyalty tends to be fragile and easily replaced by better offers.

Antonio, M., Paschoalotto, C., Lazzari, E. A., Rocha, R., Massuda, A., & Castro, M. C. (2025). Building a health system resilience framework: national, state, regional, and local perspectives. www.thelancet.comThis study proposes a Health System Resilience (HSR) framework specifically designed for the decentralized context of Brazil’s Unified Health System (SUS). Resilience is defined as the system’s ability to absorb, adapt, and transform its essential functions in order to preserve equity under acute shocks and chronic stressors. The framework was developed and validated through a three-phase qualitative process involving 48 national and international experts, resulting in nine dimensions, 18 subdimensions, and 65 indicators applicable at federal, state, regional, and municipal levels. A key contribution is the clear distinction between routine system performance and resilience capacity, emphasizing dynamic capabilities such as workforce adaptability, real-time monitoring, emergency regulation, and multilevel governance. The model is designed as a practical management tool, proposing a six-step implementation cycle that includes scoping, mapping, scoring, prioritization, planning, and continuous monitoring. Although tailored to the SUS, the framework’s logic is transferable to other decentralized health systems worldwide.

Cirulli, V., Marini, G., Marini, M. A., & Straume, O. R. (2025). Do hospital mergers reduce waiting times? Theory and evidence from the English NHS. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107196The study examines both theoretically and empirically the impact of hospital mergers on waiting times in health care markets with regulated prices, using the English National Health Service (NHS) as a case study. The theoretical model adopts a spatial framework in which patients choose hospitals based on travel distance and waiting times, while hospitals maximize a weighted objective combining profits and patient welfare. The model predicts an ambiguous overall effect of mergers, as they internalize opposing competitive forces: altruistic competition, which may increase waiting times by attracting more patients, and profit-oriented competition, which may reduce waiting times by discouraging the treatment of unprofitable patients. Cost synergies can further lower waiting times when hospitals are sufficiently profit-oriented. Empirically, using 19 years of NHS panel data and a difference-in-differences approach, the study finds that mergers increase waiting times on average by 41%. However, effects are heterogeneous: mergers involving Foundation Trusts reduce waiting times substantially, while mergers among more altruistic hospitals increase them.

Jacob, D., Casais, B., & Azevedo, A. (2025). Storytelling in Sensual Products Marketing: A Content Analysis of Archetypes and Endorsers on Instagram. Journal of Creative Communications. https://doi.org/10.1177/09732586251334853This study analyzes how Brazilian sensual product brands use storytelling on Instagram to market taboo-related products. Through a content analysis of 22 posts from the five largest brands in the sector, the research examines the prevalence of storytelling archetypes and endorser typologies. The findings show that brands mainly rely on the caregiver, jester, and, to a lesser extent, the innocent archetypes. The caregiver archetype dominates by emphasizing guidance, safety, and product education, helping consumers overcome discomfort associated with taboos. The jester archetype uses humor and playfulness to reduce shame and normalize consumption. In contrast, traditionally dominant archetypes such as the hero are largely absent. Regarding endorsers, expert figures—such as sexologists and consultants—are most frequently used, highlighting the importance of credibility and trust. Celebrity and consumer endorsers appear less often. The study also reveals a strong predominance of female endorsers. Overall, the article shows how storytelling and credible female expertise help brands mitigate stigma and facilitate consumer acceptance of taboo products.

Jalali, C., Silva, P., & Costa, E. (2025). They (don’t) really care about us: youth representation in Portuguese political parties. European Political Science, 24(4), 862–877. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41304-025-00548-2This article examines the role of youth wings within Portuguese political parties and how young party elites perceive their capacity to enhance youth representation. Based on 58 semi-structured interviews with senior young members from parties with and without autonomous youth wings, the study shows that youth wings function as a double-edged sword. While they guarantee formal representation in party organs, they often result in the informal segregation and marginalization of young members. Substantive influence over policy and candidate selection depends largely on informal networks, negotiations, and proximity to party leaders rather than on statutory rights. Youth wings are consulted in candidate selection, but their real impact is limited, with young candidates frequently placed in non-eligible positions. Although most respondents joined parties driven by policy-seeking motivations, personal career ambitions grow over time. Finally, youth wings are seen as largely ineffective in mobilizing young people, due to limited resources and weak financial autonomy.

Agnello, L., Castro, V., & Sousa, R. M. (2025). Speculative-Grade sovereign rating Cycles: Sovereign debt Defaults, restructurings and resolution. Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, 103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intfin.2025.102197The study examines how sovereign defaults, debt restructurings, and resolution strategies affect the duration of periods in which countries remain rated at speculative grade. Using a change-point Weibull duration model applied to a large panel of sovereign credit ratings from Fitch, Moody’s, and S&P, the analysis shows that certain policy choices significantly prolong low-rating spells. Governments that implement nominal debt relief during defaults, rely on multilateral-supported restructurings, or experience prolonged exclusion from international capital markets tend to remain trapped in speculative-grade status for longer periods. Although the probability of exiting speculative grade initially increases over time, this effect fades after a critical threshold of roughly 15 years. Beyond this point, macroeconomic and institutional fundamentals become decisive. Higher GDP growth, improved institutional quality, lower public debt, and stronger external balances shorten speculative episodes, while banking and debt crises lengthen them. Overall, the findings highlight the long-lasting reputational and economic consequences of sovereign debt distress.

Casais, B., & Cardoso, C. (2025). Cosmopolitan tourists in P2P accommodation: An exploratory study of online reviews on airbnb. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 25(3), 375–386. https://doi.org/10.1177/14673584231218105This article explores how cultural background shapes (or fails to shape) online reviews in peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation, focusing on 775 Airbnb reviews from guests of 32 countries staying in two properties in Lisbon and Porto. Using Hofstede’s dimensions of Individualism–Collectivism and Masculinity–Femininity, the study compares review content across 12 culturally representative countries. The findings reveal a striking homogeneity: cultural values do not significantly influence what guests write about. Across all groups, Location, Amenities, and Host interaction were the most frequently mentioned aspects. Some stylistic differences emerged—individualistic guests tended to write longer, more detailed negative comments, while collectivist guests wrote shorter and more socially cautious reviews—but overall patterns remained similar. Likewise, masculine and feminine cultures showed no meaningful divergence in content. The authors argue that the dominance of cosmopolitan tourists in P2P accommodation helps explain this uniformity, as experienced global travelers adopt a shared “Airbnb reviewing culture” that overrides national cultural norms.

da Silva, F. B., & Duarte, P. A. B. (2025). Brazil and China’s Digital Silk Road: Opportunities, Risks, and Strategic Implications. Global Policy, 16(4), 655–668. https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.70027This article examines Brazil’s engagement with China’s Digital Silk Road (DSR), arguing that it is best understood through the lens of Digitalpolitik, where digital infrastructures serve as instruments of geopolitical power. Using qualitative analysis, expert interviews, and an online survey, the study finds that the DSR strengthens Brazil’s digital ecosystem while simultaneously creating risks for its digital sovereignty.The DSR—an extension of China’s Belt and Road Initiative—focuses on advanced technology fields such as 5G, AI, big data, cloud computing, and smart-city systems. China’s digital footprint in Brazil is already substantial, including Huawei-led 5G networks, submarine cables, data centers, surveillance technologies, and deepening participation in e-commerce and fintech through firms like Alibaba and Tencent.Survey results show mixed perceptions: respondents largely view the DSR’s influence as positive, but many also identify security risks tied to dependence on Chinese digital infrastructure. The article concludes that Brazil’s growing integration into the DSR offers opportunities for digital modernization but increases vulnerability to foreign control of data, making it essential for Brazil to diversify partners and safeguard digital sovereignty.

Heath, T., Gallage, S., Chatzidakis, A., & Hutton, M. (2025). Dilemmas of Care (Re) Allocation: Care and Consumption in Pandemic Times. Journal of Business Ethics, 199(3), 507–527. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-024-05829-2This article examines how the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped everyday consumption through the lens of care ethics. Drawing on twenty-eight in-depth interviews, it shows that the crisis exposed human vulnerability and intensified pressures on unpaid care work, revealing and deepening existing social inequalities. The disruption of daily routines blurred boundaries between home, work, and social spaces, forcing consumers—often women—to reorganize provisioning within compressed spatiotemporal constraints. This highlighted gendered expectations of care but also encouraged broader solidarities toward neighbors and local communities.The study distinguishes between ethical dilemmas, where individuals prioritized caring for close dependents even when their actions conflicted with broader moral concerns, and ideological dilemmas, where participants questioned dominant norms such as anthropocentrism, individualism, and patriarchal care arrangements. Overall, the findings challenge narrow views of “ethical consumption,” arguing instead for a more expansive political theory of care that recognizes consumption decisions as central to social justice and everyday citizenship.

Silva, L., Freire, F., Azevedo, A., & Matos, R. (2025). Hiking tourism and rural development: The case of the Mondego Walkways, Portugal. PASOS Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural, 23(3), 831–841. https://doi.org/10.25145/j.pasos.2025.23.052The article examines how hiking tourism contributes to rural development through a case study of the Pasarelas do Mondego in Portugal’s Serra da Estrela region. The study combines a survey of 299 visitors with 16 interviews conducted with local residents and stakeholders. Visitors were mostly Portuguese, relatively young, and highly educated; about half did not stay overnight, and for many the walkways were the main reason for their trip.Findings indicate notable positive economic impacts, including increased tourist attractiveness, growth in local restaurants and accommodation, and new investments in rural lodging. Municipal data also show a rise in guest numbers and overnight stays after the walkway’s opening. However, several negative effects emerged, such as increased litter, higher prices, and growing dependence on tourism.Perceptions diverged regarding depopulation: visitors tended to believe the walkways could help counter rural decline, while residents largely disagreed, seeing demographic trends as irreversible. The study also highlights seasonal limitations for visiting and emphasizes the need for strategies that enhance benefits while mitigating adverse impacts.

Novais, A. F., & Tavares, A. F. (2025). Governance models and performance in municipal solid waste management: Evidence from local authorities. Journal of Environmental Management, 386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.125829This article examines how different governance models used by Portuguese municipalities influence performance in municipal solid waste (MSW) management, focusing on selective collection and recycling. Using data from 278 mainland municipalities in 2020, the study identifies four key governance models: direct management, inter-municipal cooperation, municipal or inter-municipal corporations, and private contracting. Direct management dominates, used by 84% of municipalities. Governance choices are shaped mainly by financial autonomy, scale, population density, and institutional capacity. Larger or financially stronger municipalities tend to adopt corporate structures, while low-density areas prefer inter-municipal cooperation. Municipalities with greater administrative capacity favor direct management.Performance analysis shows that Portugal struggles to meet national recycling targets. Inter-municipal cooperation performs worst, largely due to rural dispersion and financial constraints. Direct management achieves comparatively better selective collection and recycling outcomes, while corporate models show no significant advantage. Financial autonomy strongly supports environmental performance. Overall, the study concludes that no governance model is inherently superior; effectiveness depends on local context and resource capacity.

Tavares, T. (2025). The role of international reserves in sovereign debt restructuring under fiscal adjustment. Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, 174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jedc.2025.105080This article examines why highly indebted developing economies simultaneously hold large stocks of international reserves, despite the financial cost of doing so. The puzzle arises because reserves earn a low return while external debt carries a higher interest rate, making the coexistence of both positions seemingly inefficient. Nonetheless, many emerging economies maintain reserves exceeding 20% of GDP while holding external debt above 50% of GDP. The study argues that the benefits of reserves outweigh their costs through two main channels: insurance against sudden stops—allowing governments to smooth consumption and avoid default—and improved bargaining power in debt renegotiation, which raises recovery rates and reduces sovereign spreads. Empirical evidence shows that a 10-point increase in reserves relative to GDP reduces spreads by 48 basis points and decreases expected haircuts by 12–15 points. A sovereign default model calibrated to Mexico reproduces realistic reserve and debt levels, highlighting the roles of fiscal distortions and renegotiation. Overall, reserves function as a costly but valuable safety buffer that enhances creditworthiness.

Silva, J., & Abreu, F. (2025). Authenticity or opportunism: consumers’ perception of brand activism practices and the mediating role of consumer-brand identification. Journal of Brand Management. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-025-00417-9This article examines how consumers’ perceptions of authenticity shape their reactions to brand activism, emphasizing the mediating role of consumer–brand identification (CBI). Using an experimental design with a fictional fashion brand (n = 372), the study contrasts authentic versus inauthentic activism by manipulating reliability, commitment, congruence, and benevolence. Results show a strong asymmetry: while authentic activism generates positive consumer responses, inauthentic activism triggers much stronger negative reactions, including lower identification, reduced purchase intentions, weaker willingness to pay a premium, and less favorable word-of-mouth. Perceived authenticity significantly enhances CBI, which partially mediates its effects on purchase intention and word-of-mouth. However, CBI does not mediate willingness to pay a premium, suggesting that identification alone cannot offset price sensitivity. Managerially, the findings highlight that authentic, consistent, and transparently communicated activism is essential, whereas perceived opportunism can seriously damage brand trust. Overall, consumers reward authenticity but punish inauthenticity far more intensely.

Raimundo, A., Ferreira-Pereira, L. C., & Jokela, J. (2025). Small European states and Brexit: comparing the coping strategies of Portugal and Finland. International Politics, 62(3), 634–652. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-024-00608-2This article compares how Portugal and Finland, two small and peripheral yet core EU member states, strategically responded to Brexit. Both countries relied on EU sheltering—aligning with EU institutions and key member states—to mitigate external shocks. However, they also pursued hedging strategies in domains where Brexit created specific vulnerabilities. For Portugal, hedging was strongest in foreign and security policy, as it sought to counterbalance a potentially less Atlantic-oriented EU by strengthening bilateral ties with the UK and the transatlantic alliance beyond the EU framework. In contrast, Finland’s hedging was most visible in the political economy domain, where the loss of the UK as a liberal ally pushed Finland to form new coalitions, such as the New Hanseatic League, to safeguard economic interests. Ultimately, the study shows that coping strategies depend on each state’s exposure to Brexit, the institutional context of the policy area, and their commitment to EU integration.

Rocha, A. B., Figueiredo, H., Sá, C., & Portela, M. (2025). Mismatch matters: education and productivity in laggard and frontier firms. Journal of Productivity Analysis. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11123-025-00772-4This article examines the impact of educational mismatch—both overeducation and undereducation—on firm-level labor productivity in Portugal between 2010 and 2019, using matched employer-employee data. Results show that undereducation consistently harms productivity, while overeducation contributes positively but modestly. The productivity benefits of overeducation rise along the productivity distribution: from 0.7% at the bottom decile (P10) to 2.2% at the top 1% (P99), suggesting that frontier firms are better equipped to utilize excess qualifications. Conversely, undereducation exerts a negative and stable effect across all productivity levels. Frontier firms display higher education levels and less undereducation, whereas laggard firms suffer from rising mismatch rates over time. Fixed-effects estimates reveal that fully aligning workers’ education with job requirements could increase firm productivity by 1.4%, primarily through reducing undereducation (≈1%), while reassigning overeducated workers would add ≈0.4%. The findings emphasize that matching education to job needs is key to enhancing firm performance.

Ferreira, S., Pereira, O., & Simões, C. (2025). Determinants of consumers’ intention to visit green hotels: Combining psychological and contextual factors. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 31(3), 535–548. https://doi.org/10.1177/13567667231217755This article investigates consumers’ intention to visit green hotels by integrating psychological and contextual factors within an extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model that includes biospheric value and green trust. Based on a quantitative survey of Portuguese consumers, the study finds high intentions to visit green hotels. The results show that attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control significantly and positively affect behavioral intention, explaining 42.6% of its variance. Among these, attitude is the strongest predictor, followed by perceived control and biospheric value. While green trust does not directly influence intention, it indirectly affects it through positive impacts on the three TPB variables. Managerial implications highlight the need for hotel managers to strengthen positive attitudes via clear communication of green initiatives, enhance perceived control by reducing barriers such as cost or comfort concerns, and build credibility to avoid greenwashing, ensuring authentic and transparent sustainability efforts.

Camões, P., Ó. Erlingsson, G., & Tavares, A. (2025). Crowding in local lists: local branches of national parties and the supply and success of local lists. Comparative European Politics. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41295-025-00428-5This article examines whether the uneven presence of national party branches influences the emergence and success of local lists (genuinely local candidates) in Portuguese municipal elections between 2001 and 2021. Rooted in the “localist turn” observed in many democracies, the study argues that declining performance of national parties creates local political opportunities exploited by local lists — a crowding-in effect on the supply side. Using logistic and Poisson regressions, the results support two hypotheses: (1) local lists are more likely to emerge where national parties (PS and PSD) are electorally weaker, and (2) their vote shares rise as support for these parties declines. Moreover, higher voter turnout correlates positively with local list performance, suggesting their role in mobilizing dissatisfied citizens. However, the rise of the far-right CHEGA party in 2021 reduced local list votes, indicating competition for disillusioned voters. Overall, the study highlights local lists as substitutes and mobilizers within Portugal’s evolving party system.

Jana, R. K., Ghosh, I., Jawadi, F., Uddin, G. S., & Sousa, R. M. (2025). COVID-19 news and the US equity market interactions: An inspection through econometric and machine learning lens. Annals of Operations Research, 345(2), 575–596. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-022-04744-xThis article investigates the interactions between COVID-19-related news and the U.S. equity market during the first pandemic wave (January–March 2020), using econometric and machine learning techniques. It examines how global and local COVID-19 fears, measured through daily infection data, influenced 20 U.S. sectoral stock indices. The study divides the sample into two periods: TH-I (January), when infections were mostly global, and TH-II (February–March), when local infections surged. Using Johansen co-integration, DCCA, and nonlinear Granger causality, alongside Gradient Boosting and Random Forest models, the authors find that COVID-19 fears affected sectors differently across time. In TH-I, global fears had limited and mixed effects, while in TH-II, both global and local fears negatively influenced all sectors—particularly automotive, retail, and technology. Predictive accuracy improved in TH-II, reflecting stronger market sensitivity. Overall, the study concludes that local fears became dominant drivers of market volatility as the pandemic escalated.

Guezgouz, N., Ghrieb, L., Ghanem, M., Pinho, J., de Marco, A., & Moustafa, A. A. (2025). Assessment of groundwater vulnerability to point and non-point sources of pollution and mitigation measures for boreholes in the Guelma Plain, Northeastern Algeria. International Journal of Energy and Water Resources. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42108-025-00406-3This article assesses groundwater vulnerability to both point and non-point pollution sources in the Guelma Plain, northeastern Algeria, and proposes protection perimeters for five water extraction boreholes. Groundwater in this region faces severe degradation due to industrial discharges, intensive agriculture, and urban expansion. Despite Algeria’s Water Law No. 05-12 mandating protective zones, enforcement remains inconsistent. Using a GIS-based methodology, the study delineates two types of zones: Close Protection Zones (CPP) and Remote Protection Zones (RPP). Hydrodynamic methods—Sichardt, Kusakin, and Cylinder—were applied for CPPs, with Kusakin yielding the most conservative and realistic estimates (radii from 33.0 m to 428.1 m). For RPPs, Infiltration and 3A2E methods produced consistent results (radii from 818.1 m to 1293.5 m). The findings align with GOD vulnerability mapping, confirming the robustness of the approach. Recommended mitigation measures include strict bans on hazardous activities, controlled agricultural practices, and protection of recharge areas, ensuring long-term groundwater sustainability.

Rodrigues, M., Meza, O., & Navarro, C. (2025). Gerrymandering to survive: an explanation of the political conditions that shaped mayors’ decisions over an amalgamation process in Portugal. Local Government Studies, 51(5), 993–1015. https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2024.2404104This article examines how Portuguese mayors strategically used gerrymandering during the 2013 territorial reform to secure their political positions. The reform, imposed by the central government under the troika’s austerity measures, required the merger of sub-municipal units (SMUs) but allowed mayors discretion in determining specific boundaries. Acting as rational political agents, mayors manipulated the process to reduce political vulnerability, employing tactics such as packing (concentrating opposition SMUs) and diluting (merging opposition areas with supportive ones). A decision matrix identified four political scenarios, with the “Appealing” one—mayoral majority in the municipal assembly but minority among SMUs—showing the strongest incentive for gerrymandering. Empirical evidence from multinomial logistic regression confirmed that politically vulnerable mayors were up to nine times more likely to favor SMUs aligned with them. The study concludes that the amalgamation process was politically instrumentalized, illustrating how local reforms can serve electoral survival rather than broader public goals.

Campos-Martins, S., & Amado, C. (2025). Modelling dynamic interdependence in nonstationary variances with an application to carbon markets. Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, 173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jedc.2025.105062This paper introduces a new multivariate conditional correlation GARCH model, the Multiplicative Time-Varying Extended Conditional Correlation GARCH (MTV-ECC-GARCH), designed to capture dynamic interdependence among assets or markets under nonstationary variance. The model extends traditional CC-GARCH frameworks by incorporating two key features: a nonstationary long-term component that captures structural shifts in unconditional volatility, and a short-term dynamic component allowing cross-market volatility interactions. Ignoring nonstationarity, the study notes, can lead to spurious volatility transmission. Parameter estimation is conducted using a maximization by parts algorithm, which simplifies the computation by estimating each variance equation separately. A Lagrange Multiplier (LM) test is proposed to detect volatility interactions under nonstationary conditions. Applying the model to carbon futures (CEF) and a media-based climate concern index (CCM), results show significant dynamic interdependence—particularly from climate-related media concerns to carbon market volatility—when nonstationarity is properly modeled, highlighting the model’s robustness and practical relevance for financial volatility analysis.

Omran, W., Casais, B., & Ramos, R. F. (2025). Attributes of Virtual and Augmented Reality Tourism Mobile Applications Predicting Tourist Behavioral Engagement. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2025.2470293This article investigates how attributes of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) tourism mobile applications influence Tourist Behavioral Engagement (TBE), mediated by app satisfaction. Using a multimethod quantitative design, the study analyzed 6,998 online reviews from Google Play through text mining and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The conceptual model integrated the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT) to explain tourists’ motivations and acceptance. Results confirmed all hypotheses, identifying four key app attributes that enhance satisfaction: utilitarian gratification (adventure and exploration), perceived usefulness (learning and educational value), ease of use (simplicity and usability), and immersive features (context awareness and telepresence). Satisfaction—both emotional and cognitive—was found to be a crucial mediator between app attributes and TBE, explaining 45% of its variance. The study contributes theoretically by extending TAM and UGT and practically by guiding developers to enhance usability, immersion, and functionality to strengthen tourist engagement.

Tsaturyan, M., & Duarte, P. A. B. (2025). Armenia’s Foreign Policy Options Within China’s Belt and Road Initiative: A Small State Perspective. Journal of Eurasian Studies. https://doi.org/10.1177/18793665251362864This article analyzes Armenia’s complex engagement with China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) through the lens of small state theory. Armenia, constrained by limited territory, population, and economy, traditionally pursued a multi-vector foreign policy balancing relations with Russia, the EU, and the US. However, after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war and declining trust in Russia, Armenia began reassessing this approach. Despite joining the BRI in 2015, it remains excluded from main corridors and has attracted minimal Chinese investment compared to neighbors like Georgia and Azerbaijan. Economic ties with China are growing but imbalanced, constrained by geography, regional instability, and tense relations with Türkiye. Armenia now seeks strategic relevance through initiatives such as the Crossroads of Peace, the North-South Road Corridor, and the Persian Gulf–Black Sea route. The article highlights Armenia’s dilemma between security and economic goals, showing how small states cautiously navigate great-power initiatives while defending sovereignty.

ElBelehy, C., & Crispim, J. (2025). Social sustainability in Egypt hospitality and tourism supply chains. Business and Society Review, 130(S1), 222–262. https://doi.org/10.1111/basr.12337This article examines social sustainability (SS) practices in Egypt’s Hospitality and Tourism (H&T) supply chains (SCs), an area still underdeveloped in many developing countries. Drawing on Institutional Theory (IT) and Stakeholder Theory (ST), the study identifies existing SS practices, key influencing factors, and differences among SC members. Using a mixed-method approach—interviews with managers from major hotels (Hilton Heliopolis and Radisson Blu) and a survey of 187 industry practitioners—the research found that SS implementation is mostly limited to compliance and brand policies, lacking a strategic approach. Among eight categories, only “Health and Safety” was widely applied, while “Fair Labor,” “Equal Opportunity,” and “Human Rights” showed weak adoption. Institutional pressures (mimetic, normative, and coercive) were key enablers, whereas barriers included low awareness, limited cooperation, and insufficient government support. The study recommends stronger regulatory enforcement and education programs to enhance fair labor practices and employee participation across the Egyptian H&T sector.

Casais, B., Sarmento, M., & Fernandes, J. (2025). Relationship Marketing in Airbnb: A Qualitative Study on the Perspectives of Professional and nonprofessional Hosts. Journal of Relationship Marketing, 24(2), 120–147. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332667.2024.2405305This article explores how professional (B2C) and nonprofessional (C2C) hosts develop relationship marketing strategies on Airbnb. Based on 30 semi-structured interviews with hosts from northern Portugal, the study identifies trust-building, personalization, and digital communication as central to enhancing guest satisfaction and loyalty. Initial online contact and guest reviews are essential for establishing credibility, while in-person interactions and customized services strengthen emotional bonds. Nonprofessional hosts tend to create more informal and personal relationships driven by genuine hospitality, whereas professional hosts adopt a more structured, business-oriented approach focused on efficiency and systematic feedback collection. Personalized gestures—such as small gifts, tailored services, and local recommendations—enhance value co-creation and guest experience. The article concludes that Airbnb should provide digital marketing training to nonprofessional hosts, enabling them to improve relationship management skills while preserving the authenticity and warmth that define peer-to-peer accommodation experiences.

Silva, L. F., Carballo-Cruz, F., & Ribeiro, J. C. (2025). Moral Norms in Action: Understanding the Interplay of Visitors’ Motivations, Pro-Environmental Personal Norms, and Satisfaction in a Protected Area Context. International Journal of Tourism Research, 27(3). https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.70066This paper, titled “Moral Norms in Action: Understanding the Interplay of Visitors’ Motivations, Pro-Environmental Personal Norms, and Satisfaction in a Protected Area Context”, explores how nature-related motivations, pro-environmental personal norms (PEPN), and overall satisfaction interact within Protected Areas (PAs). Conducted in Portugal’s Alvão Natural Park with 316 visitors, the study employed Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Results revealed that motivations to connect with nature, relax, and escape daily stress positively influence PEPN, which in turn significantly enhances visitor satisfaction. Furthermore, PEPN mediates the relationship between motivations and satisfaction, indicating that moral alignment strengthens the experiential outcome. Among sociodemographic variables, only education positively affected PEPN. The study contributes theoretically by establishing PEPN as a key psychological bridge between motivation and satisfaction. Practically, it suggests that PA managers should promote educational and communicative strategies that frame pro-environmental actions as morally meaningful, fostering responsible behavior and higher satisfaction.

Eslami, M., & Fernandes, S. (2025). A bibliometric analysis of the research on ‘Depleted Uranium Munitions’: from health and environment to international security. In Frontiers in Political Science (Vol. 7). Frontiers Media SA. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2025.1573738This paper presents a bibliometric analysis of research on Depleted Uranium (DU) munitions from 1983 to 2024, aiming to map the evolution of this multidisciplinary field. Based on 129 publications indexed in Scopus and analyzed using Biblioshiny and VOSviewer, the study identifies major trends, research networks, and disciplinary focuses. Most publications are peer-reviewed scientific articles, with Environmental Science (67 papers) and Medical Science (53) leading the field. Research themes center on health and exposure risks—particularly cancer, radiation, and environmental contamination—often in the context of war (e.g., Gulf and Balkan conflicts). Findings reveal significant debate: while some studies link DU exposure to severe health effects, others argue risks are overstated. The United States and the United Kingdom dominate research output. Importantly, there is a striking lack of studies in International Relations and Security Studies. The paper calls for broader interdisciplinary research to assess DU’s humanitarian and geopolitical implications.

Martins, J., Augusto, C., Silva, M. J., Duarte, A., Martins, S. P., Antunes, H., Novais, P., Pereira, B., Veiga, P., & Rosário, R. (2025). Effectiveness of a health promotion program on overweight in vulnerable children from primary schools (BeE-school): A cluster-randomized controlled trial: Pediatrics. International Journal of Obesity, 49(2), 332–339. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-024-01672-7This paper evaluates the effectiveness of a school-based health promotion program (BeE-school) aimed at reducing overweight in socially vulnerable children in Northern Portugal. Conducted as a cluster-randomized controlled trial, it included 735 primary school children (mean age 7.7 years) from 10 schools located in disadvantaged areas. The 16-week intervention focused on teacher training, classroom implementation, and family engagement through biweekly challenges inspired by the Fogg behavior model. Results showed significant short-term reductions in BMI z-scores, waist-to-height ratio, and waist-to-weight ratio among children in the intervention group compared to controls, with stronger effects in those initially overweight. One year later, the reduction in BMIz remained significant, though other measures lost statistical significance. The study concludes that schools and teachers play a crucial role in promoting healthy habits and preventing obesity in vulnerable populations. It is the first Portuguese trial to demonstrate BMIz reduction through a school-based intervention.

Muneer, S., Leal, C. C., & Oliveira, B. (2025). Analyzing Volatility Patterns of Bitcoin Using the GARCH Family Models. Operations Research Forum, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43069-025-00482-5This paper analyzes and forecasts Bitcoin volatility using the GARCH family of models. Bitcoin, known for its speculative nature and high volatility compared to gold, exhibits volatility persistence and long memory, justifying the use of GARCH models. The study employs daily closing prices from July 18, 2015, to September 4, 2023, totaling 2,970 observations. Six AR(1)-GARCH-type models were tested under a Gaussian distribution, with data divided into in-sample and out-of-sample periods. The AR(1)-ACGARCH(1,1) model provided the best fit according to log-likelihood, AIC, SIC, and HQ criteria, highlighting significant volatility persistence and a negative leverage effect. For volatility forecasting, the AR(1)-PGARCH(1,1) model achieved the best predictive performance, minimizing MAE, Theil, and MAPE errors. Results suggest that asymmetric models capture Bitcoin’s volatility dynamics more accurately. The findings emphasize Bitcoin’s relevance for portfolio and risk management and recommend future research using non-Gaussian distributions, such as the t-distribution, to enhance predictive accuracy.

Paschoalotto, M. A. C., Lazzari, E. A., Castro, M. C., Rocha, R., & Massuda, A. (2025). Advances, challenges, and prospects for the Unified Health System (SUS) resilience. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, 30(6). https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232025306.22072024enThis qualitative and exploratory study analyzes the resilience of Brazil’s Unified Health System (SUS), defined as the ability to prepare for, respond to, manage, and learn from shocks, including political, economic, climatic, and public health crises. Based on 30 interviews with academics and practitioners, the study evaluates five key dimensions: governance, financing, resources, service delivery, and context. It identifies 32 advances, 40 challenges, and 32 perspectives. Governance advances include constitutional protection, strong local leadership, and independent regulatory agencies, though instability and weak regulation remain obstacles. Financing is undermined by chronic underfunding and spending freezes, despite some progress through earmarked resources and emergency COVID-19 funds. Resource strengths include workforce expansion, robust infrastructure, and vaccine production capacity, but inequalities and import dependency persist. Service delivery highlights a globally recognized primary care system, though coverage stagnated after 2016. Social determinants worsened after 2015, reversing poverty reduction gains. The study concludes that SUS resilience, while tested, remains vital but requires daily reinforcement through stronger governance, funding, and equity.

Brekke, K. R., Dalen, D. M., & Straume, O. R. (2025). Taking the competitor’s pill: When combination therapies enter pharmaceutical markets. Journal of Health Economics, 101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2025.102976This paper analyzes the competitive effects of introducing combination therapies in pharmaceutical markets. Combination therapies, which use multiple drugs—often from different firms—can improve treatment efficacy, reduce side effects, or prevent resistance. Using a duopoly model, the study examines how these therapies influence drug pricing, healthcare spending, and efficiency. The impact depends on the therapy’s additional therapeutic value (Δ) and its substitutability with monotherapy. Two opposing forces emerge: market expansion, which raises prices by attracting new patients, and margin competition, which lowers prices by increasing price sensitivity. Under uniform pricing, higher Δ and substitutability can push prices upward, sometimes reducing overall healthcare surplus despite health gains, while access remains suboptimal. Indication-based pricing can improve efficiency by lowering combination therapy costs relative to monotherapies, but it also raises healthcare spending. Price coordination has contrasting effects: under uniform pricing it increases costs, while with indication-based pricing it lowers prices and improves efficiency.

Morsi, N., Sá, E., & Silva, J. (2025). Walking away: Investigating the adverse impact of FOMO appeals on FOMO-prone consumers. Business Horizons, 68(2), 197–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2024.11.001This study examines the negative effects of FOMO-based marketing strategies on consumers highly prone to the “fear of missing out.” Drawing on interviews with 57 Egyptian consumers and using the Critical Incident Technique, the research highlights how promotional triggers such as discounts and “buy one, get one free” offers (52.9%) are the most common causes of FOMO-driven purchases, followed by trends (26.4%) and scarcity appeals (20.7%). These stimuli often lead to irrational purchase decisions (95.4%), including impulsive, compulsive, and conformity-based buying. Post-purchase, consumers reported predominantly negative outcomes: cognitive dissatisfaction (75.9%), doubts about judgment, financial stress, and emotional distress, especially guilt, shame, and regret (66.4%). Despite this, half of respondents still intended to repurchase or recommend, showing high vulnerability. The study develops a typology of dissatisfied FOMO consumers—Butterflies, Devotees, Endorsers, and Shopaholics—based on their repurchase and recommendation behavior. Findings stress that while FOMO marketing boosts short-term sales, it risks harming long-term consumer well-being and brand reputation, supporting calls for ethical “well-being marketing.”

Ribeiro, B. F. G., Rodrigues, M. Â., & Tejedo-Romero, F. (2025). A step forward to gender equality: Breaking the political glass ceiling at local level. Governance, 38(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12902This paper examines the factors that enable women to overcome the “glass ceiling” in local politics in Portugal. Despite the introduction of gender quotas in 2006 (33%) and their update in 2019 (40%), female representation at the municipal level often stabilizes around the legal threshold, especially in executive bodies. The study analyzes data from the 2009–2021 local elections across 308 municipalities, using panel data regressions to measure the probability of electing women beyond quota requirements. Findings highlight three main drivers. First, left-wing parties with voluntary quotas before the legal reform (such as PS and BE) are more likely to elect women, demonstrating historical institutionalism effects. Second, municipalities with prior experience electing female mayors show higher chances of surpassing thresholds, reducing voter bias. Third, competitive electoral environments push parties to diversify candidate lists, increasing female representation. Notably, the interaction of competitiveness and prior female leadership further amplifies women’s election prospects.

Pereira, F., & Aguiar-Conraria, L. (2025). Eurozone Inflation Convergence: Deceptive Appearances. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, 74, 343–352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.strueco.2025.03.018This paper investigates inflation convergence across the twelve founding Eurozone countries between 2001 and 2023, focusing on whether inflation cycles align sufficiently for the European Central Bank (ECB) to implement a unified monetary policy. Using wavelet-based methods, including the Wavelet Power Spectrum, cross-wavelet coherency, and distance matrices, the study examines Consumer Price Index inflation rates and Eurozone energy costs. Initial results indicate growing synchronization of inflation cycles after 2012, with country pairs such as Austria-Germany and France-Italy showing notable alignment. However, further analysis reveals that this convergence is largely driven by external energy shocks, particularly those following the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, which sharply increased oil, gas, and electricity prices across all countries. Once energy effects are controlled for, most of the observed convergence disappears, suggesting that synchronization is temporary and exogenous rather than structural. The study concludes that inflation cycles remain heterogeneous, and genuine convergence within the Eurozone remains unproven.