Understanding how structural change drives long-run growth requires jointly considering the dynamics of productive and scientific specialisations, and science-industry alignment. This paper develops and tests a unified framework that integrates evolutionary, structuralist, complexity, and innovation-systems perspectives to assess how productive and scientific specialisations, science-industry alignment, diversification, and global value chain integration shape economic performance. To operationalize this framework, we construct new indicators, including a Science-Industry Matching (SIM) index, measures of dynamic entry and relatedness density, and specialisation-based diversity indices, and apply them to a panel of up to 142 countries over 2000-2018/2023. Estimation relies on country fixed effects with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors to address heteroskedasticity, autocorrelation, and cross-sectional dependence. The results reveal that persistent specialisation in high- and medium-high-tech industries fosters growth, while low-tech dependence constrains it. Scientific specialisation in enabling fields such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, and energy/environmental sciences supports growth, but excessive concentration risks lock-in. Science-industry alignment enhances growth in advanced economies with strong absorptive capacity but penalises weaker systems. Industrial diversification often dilutes resources, whereas scientific diversification consistently promotes growth by broadening the knowledge base for recombination. Finally, integration into global value chains is growth-enhancing in developing economies, while advanced economies can sustain higher domestic value added without significant penalties.

This study provides a comprehensive quantitative review of the determinants of aggregate productivity growth using bibliometric and network-based methods. Drawing on 523 peer-reviewed articles published between 1973 and 2024 in Scopus and Web of Science, the study systematically maps the intellectual foundations, research fronts, and conceptual evolution of the field. Results show that research has remained overwhelmingly macro-focused, with 85%-90% of studies addressing aggregate-level determinants. Innovation, institutions, and technology diffusion dominate the literature, while firm-level (microeconomic) explanations, though increasing since the mid-2000s, remain secondary, largely addressing resource allocation. Competition, firm-level innovation, and organizational capabilities are underexplored despite their relevance for aggregate outcomes. By combining co-citation, bibliographic coupling, and keyword co-occurrence analyses, the study reveals the multilevel structure of productivity research, illustrating how macro theories, meso-level sectoral mechanisms, and micro-level firm dynamics interact. These findings highlight the limits of macro-centric explanations of productivity slowdowns and underscore the need to explore cross-level mechanisms, firm heterogeneity, and institutional interactions. This study offers a novel methodological benchmark and a structured agenda for research and policy, aiming to enhance productivity growth.

This paper examines how monetary policy influences foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows across countries at various stages of economic development. Using annual data for up to 132 economies from 1970 to 2023, we assess the effects of policy rates, lending and deposit rates, money supply, exchange rate regimes, and inflation targeting on FDI. Fixed-effects models with Driscoll–Kraay corrections and two-step system GMM are employed to control for cross-sectional dependence, serial correlation, and endogeneity. Results reveal pronounced asymmetries: in high-income economies, tighter monetary policy, signaled by higher central bank interest rates, tends to attract FDI by enhancing perceptions of macroeconomic stability and policy credibility. In contrast, similar tightening discourages FDI in lower-income countries, where monetary signals are less credible. Inflation targeting boosts FDI only in economies with established monetary institutions. Robustness checks using alternative proxies for infrastructure, institutional quality, and central bank independence confirm the consistency of these results. These findings suggest that monetary policy influences cross-border investment not merely through price and liquidity channels, but also via credibility and institutional quality. Policy implications are discussed for economies seeking to enhance monetary transmission and attract stable foreign investment.

Public funding is a cornerstone of innovation policy, but its effectiveness remains contested, particularly in moderate innovator contexts, where firms face structural constraints, limited absorptive capacity, and institutional inertia. This paper provides counterfactual evidence on how distinct forms of public support shape firm-level innovation performance in Portugal. Drawing on microdata from 13,701 firms in the 2018 Community Innovation Survey (CIS 2016-2018) and using Propensity Score Matching (PSM) to estimate Average Treatment Effects on the Treated (ATET), we compare the impacts of innovation-targeted versus general (non-innovation) subsidies. Robustness checks using alternative matching algorithms (kernel, radius, and nearest-neighbor) confirm result stability. Findings show that innovation-targeted subsidies significantly enhance technological, product, process, and radical innovation, while general subsidies primarily foster incremental innovation and strengthen absorptive capacity, highlighting complementary policy instruments. These findings provide causal evidence of targeted effectiveness and show that subsidy impacts vary across innovation types and institutional context.

Since its founding in 2003, the Journal of Academic Ethics (JAET) has established itself as a central venue for scholarship on the ethical dimensions of higher education, research, and academic governance. Despite its prominence, no systematic analysis has charted the evolution of its intellectual profile over time. This study offers a comprehensive bibliometric overview of JAET’s publications from 2003 to 2025, mapping patterns of authorship, citation, and thematic development. The dataset comprises records retrieved from Scopus for the period 2005–2025 and from JAET’s own archives for 2003–2004. Using bibliometric indicators and network visualizations generated with VOSviewer, the analysis identifies key shifts in the journal’s conceptual orientation, from early emphases on misconduct and plagiarism toward broader engagements with institutional integrity, governance, diversity, and the ethics of digital transformation. A narrative comparison with related journals situates JAET’s distinctive integrative role in linking philosophical reflection with empirical inquiry and policy discourse. The findings reveal increasing interdisciplinarity, international collaboration, and methodological diversification, marking the maturation of academic ethics as a field. Looking forward, emerging challenges such as artificial intelligence, open science, and global research governance underscore JAET’s continuing function as both a barometer and catalyst of ethical thought in academia.

This study conducts the first comprehensive quantitative meta-analysis of the human capital–economic growth nexus, combining 740 effect-size estimates from 51 empirical studies published between 1991 and 2023. The aggregate evidence indicates a positive but modest relationship: on average, a 1

PurposeRefugee entrepreneurship is increasingly viewed as a "silver bullet" being able to promote host countries' economic performance and enable the successful integration of refugees. This study aims to identify the main determinants of entrepreneurial intentions of refugees in Portugal based on the underdog theory.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, the authors scrutinize the entrepreneurial intentions of refugees living in Portugal, an overlooked context, using a purpose-built inquiry responded to by 41 refugees and resorting to fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis, complemented with partial least squares path modeling.FindingsSome important results are worth highlighting: the entrepreneurial intentions of the respondent sample of refugees living in Portugal are high; the theoretical arguments underlying the underdog or challenge-based entrepreneurship theory are validated in the context of the respondent sample; and psychological related factors associated with the more standard explanations of entrepreneurial intentions constitute necessary conditions for high refugee entrepreneurial intentions.Originality/valueEntrepreneurial intentions to launch a business have been discussed in the entrepreneurship literature vastly, but it has not yet received much attention when focusing on refugees, often identified as underdogs (potential) entrepreneurs. This study contributes to the literature by testing the challenge-based entrepreneurship theory to identify the primary factors influencing refugee entrepreneurial intentions.

The literature on the impact of research output (RO) on economic growth (EG) has been rapidly expanding. However, the single growth processes of technological laggard countries and the mediating roles of human capital (HC) and structural change have been overlooked. Based on cointegration analyses and Granger causality tests over 40 years (1980–2019) for Portugal, five results are worth highlighting: (1) in the short run, RO is critical to promote EG; (2) the long run relation between RO and EG is more complex, being positive and significant in the case of global and research fields that resemble capital goods (Life, Physical, Engineering & Technology, and Social Sciences), and negative in the case of research fields that resemble final goods (Clinical & Pre-Clinical Health, and Arts & Humanities); (3) existence of important short run mismatches between HC and scientific production, with the former mitigating the positive impact of the latter on EG; (4) in the long run, such mismatches are only apparent for ‘general’ HC (years of schooling of the population 25 + years), with the positive association between RO and EG being enhanced by increases in ‘specialized’ HC (number of R&D researchers); (5) structural change processes favouring industry amplify the positive (long-run) association and (short-run) impact of RO on EG. Such results robustly suggest that even in technologically laggard contexts, scientific production is critical for economic growth, especially when aligned with changes in sectoral composition that favour industry.

PurposeThis study aims to estimate the impact of refugee inflows on host countries' entrepreneurial rates. The refugee crisis led to an increased scientific and public policy interest in the impact of refugee inflows on host countries. One important perspective of such an impact, which is still underexplored, is the impact of refugee inflows on host countries entrepreneurial rates. Given the high number of refugees that flow to some countries, it would be valuable to assess the extent to which such countries are likely to reap the benefits from increasing refugee inflows in terms of (native and non-native) entrepreneurial talent enhancement. Design/methodology/approachResorting to dynamic (two-step system generalized method of moments) panel data estimations, based on 186 countries over the period between 2000 and 2019, this study estimates the impact of refugee inflows on host countries' entrepreneurial rates, measured by the total early-stage entrepreneurial activity (TEA) rate and the self-employment rate. FindingsIn general, higher refugee inflows are associated with lower host countries' TEA rates. However, refugee inflows significantly foster self-employment rates of "medium-high" and "high" income host countries and host countries located in Africa. These results suggest that refugee inflows tend to enhance "necessity" related new ventures and/ or new ventures (from native and non-native population) operating in low value-added, low profit sectors. Originality/valueThis study constitutes a novel empirical contribution by providing a macroeconomic, quantitative assessment of the impact of refugee from distinct nationalities on a diverse set of host countries' entrepreneurship rates in the past two decades resorting to dynamic panel data models, which enable to address the heterogeneity of the countries and deal with the endogeneity of the variables of the model.

The literature on the economics of location regarding creative activities is relatively scarce. Estimations, based on 369 newly created firms operating in creative industries in Portugal, which incorporate spatial effects of neighbouring regions in the location choices, yield the following results: (i) the concentration of creative and knowledge-based activities play an important role in location decisions of new creative establishments; (ii) creative firms tend to favour a diversified industrial tissue and related variety, in order to enjoy from inter-sectorial synergies; (iii) high education at a regional level has a highly significant, positive effect on location decisions, while lower educational levels of human capital negatively affect those decisions; (iv) tolerant/open environments attract creative activities; (v) creative firms tend to favour municipalities where the stock of knowledge and conditions for innovative activity are higher; (vi) municipality's attributes are more important in terms of firms' location decisions than the characteristics of nearby regions.

Micro-Pattern Gaseous Detectors (MPGDs) with resistive anode planes provide intrinsic discharge robustness while maintaining good spatial and time resolutions. Typically read out with 1D strips or pad structures, here the characterisation results of resistive anode plane MPGDs with 2D strip readout are presented. A uRWELL prototype is investigated in view of its use as a reference tracking detector in a future gaseous beam telescope. A MicroMegas prototype with a fine-pitch mesh (730 line-pairs-per-inch) is investigated, both for comparison and to profit from the better field uniformity and thus the ability to operate the detector more stable at high gains. Furthermore, the measurements are another application of the RD51 VMM3a/SRS electronics.

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the evolution, roots and influence of the rural entrepreneurship literature.Design/methodology/approachUsing a bibliometric exercise, the analysis starts with investigation of studies on entrepreneurship and gathering all (772) articles on rural entrepreneurship (from 1981 to 2020) found in both Scopus and Web of Science up to 15 August 2020. Citation analysis of the references/citations of 755 articles are listed in the abstract database, generating a citation database involving 46,432 references/citations. This paper considers 635 (out of the 772) articles on rural entrepreneurship (i.e. articles cited in one or more studies), generating a database of 10,767 studies influenced by the rural entrepreneurship literature.Findings This study discovers that the relative importance of rural entrepreneurship within the entrepreneurship literature has increased in the last few years, but rural entrepreneurship remains a European concern; the most frequently addressed topics include growth and development, institutional frameworks and governance and rurality, with theory building being rather understudied. Most of the studies on rural entrepreneurship are empirical, involving mainly qualitative analyses and targeting high income countries; rural entrepreneurship is rooted in the fields of economics and entrepreneurship and is relatively self-referential.Originality/value This study provides a comprehensive and updated investigation of evolution of the rural entrepreneurship literature. The assessment of the literature's scientific roots of rural entrepreneurship had not yet been tackled before. To the best of the author's knowledge this study can be considered as the first effort for identifying the scientific influence of the rural entrepreneurship literature.

A growing body of empirical literature has considered very long-time horizons when studying the sources of a country's economic growth. Nevertheless, the growth experiences of emerging economies (EEs) have been overlooked. This study examines to what extent human capital, structural change, and institutional quality contribute to the economic growth of one of the largest EEs in the world, Brazil, between 1822 and 2019. Resorting to the ARDL cointegration technique, the results suggest that years of schooling (human capital) have a positive and long-lasting impact on Brazil's economic growth. Moreover, there is solid evidence that sectoral changes toward more advanced and sophisticated manufacturing basis is growth-enhancing in the country. Finally, institutional quality does not constitute over the very long-run, a significant booster of Brazilian economic growth.

An upgrade of the near detector of the T2K long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment is currently being conducted. This upgrade will include two new Time Projection Chambers, each equipped with 16 charge readout resistive Micromegas modules. A procedure to validate the performance of the detectors at different stages of production has been developed and implemented to ensure a proper and reliable operation of the detectors once installed. A dedicated X-ray test bench is used to characterize the detectors by scanning each pad individually and to precisely measure the uniformity of the gain and the deposited energy resolution over the pad plane. An energy resolution of about 10% is obtained. A detailed physical model has been developed to describe the charge dispersion phenomena in the resistive Micromegas anode. The detailed physical description includes initial ionization, electron drift, diffusion effects and the readout electronics effects. The model provides an excellent characterization of the charge spreading of the experimental measurements and allowed the simultaneous extraction of gain and charge spreading information of the modules.

AbstractThis paper assesses Brazil's real convergence (1822–2019) through unit root tests and Markov Regime-Switching (MS) models in three different scenarios: towards (i) other six Latin American countries (LA6); (ii) Portugal; and (iii) the technological frontier country, the US. The extended unit root test results favour Brazil's very long-run real convergence towards LA6 and Portugal, but not the US. The estimated MS models, involving two different regimes, real convergence and real non-convergence/divergence, capture institutional quality's positive effect in promoting Brazil's real convergence.

The factors required to achieve sustainable economic growth in a country are debated for decades, and empirical research in this regard continues to grow. Given the relevance of the topic and the absence of a comprehensive, systematic literature review, we used bibliometric techniques to examine and document several aspects in the empirical literature related to growth, from 1991 to 2020. Five main results are worth highlighting: (a) the share of empirical articles on economic growth show a clear upward trend; (b) among all the groups of countries considered, the emerging economies (EEs) have received the most scientific attention; (c) the economic growth processes of the Latin American and Caribbean EEs have observed negligible scientific attention; (d) the very long-run studies comprise a residual share among the empirical literature on growth; (e) the extant empirical studies on economic growth have addressed mainly the impact of “macroeconomic conditions.” Our findings suggest there is a need to redirect the empirical growth agenda, so as to encourage more scientific attention devoted to the analysis of key determinants of economic growth in the very long run. There should also be increased scrutiny of the processes of economic growth in Latin American and Caribbean EEs

ABSTRACT The reconstruction of the economic history of Brazil since independence from Portugal (1822) may lead to a new understanding of its economic growth. The deep-rooted idea that Brazil could have done better means there is a need to delve into each phase of its development. In this paper, we provide a very long-run perspective (1822-2019) of Brazil’s economic growth and process of real convergence. On the one hand, this review indicates that structural changes observed in the middle of the 20th century were crucial in promoting the country’s growth and real convergence with technologically advanced countries. On the other hand, poor institutional conditions and deficient human capital formation have emerged since colonial times as critical factors underlying Brazil’s inability to establish robust and sustainable economic growth.

The relevance of international research collaboration (IRC) in bolstering intellectual capital, in-creasing embeddedness in networks, and promoting innovation has been acknowledged by sci-entists and policymakers. However, large-scale studies involving different scientific domains and periods aimed at exploring the factors that influence IRC are missing, which could deepen our understanding of the factors affecting IRC. Based on a novel dataset of 193 countries over three periods, 1990-1999, 2000-2009 and 2010-2018, we have examined the impact of geographical, socioeconomic, political, cultural, intellectual, and excellence distances on the propensity to engage in IRC at the global level, by scientific domain and over time. In general, all the distances considered obstruct IRC, with geographical and cultural distance emerging as the barriers with the highest impact. Two exceptions are worthwhile noting: excel-lence distance fosters IRC in the Medical & Health Sciences (MHS) and intellectual distance fosters IRC in the Agricultural Sciences (AS). At the global level, the negative impact of socioeconomic, political, and intellectual distances on IRC has increased over time, whereas the negative impact of geographical and cultural dis-tances has decreased.

The scant literature that addresses issues related to the Technology Balance of Payments (TBP) often refers that a surplus balance may correspond to a high degree of technological autonomy, a low level of technology imports, or an inability to assimilate foreign technologies. It is not clear, however, from this literature whether, and to what extent, the balance of the TBP is related to countries’ international competitiveness. The purpose of this paper is to detail the evolution of the TBP for Southern European countries and to assess the extent to which it influences these countries’ international competitiveness. Using static and dynamic panel data techniques on data for four Southern European countries (Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain) between 2000 and 2017, our results highlight that a positive TBP significantly contributes to foster countries’ international competitiveness.