http://hdl.handle.net/10071/437 Sat, 18 Apr 2026 03:54:58 GMT 2026-04-18T03:54:58Z http://hdl.handle.net/10071/36643 Título próprio: Artificial Intelligence and the economy Autoria: Mamede, Ricardo Paes Resumo: This paper examines the economic implications of recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI), focusing on the mechanisms through which AI affects firms, markets and macroeconomic outcomes. Building on the view that modern AI primarily reduces the cost of prediction and pattern recognition, the paper analyses how lower prediction costs reshape organisational decisions within firms, including task allocation, business processes, human resource management, strategic decision-making and innovation activities. It then considers how these firm-level transformations influence market structure, highlighting the emergence of a vertically organised AI stack – from semiconductors and cloud infrastructure to foundation models and applications – and the economic forces that may lead to concentration and new forms of market power. The analysis subsequently examines the material and systemic foundations of AI, including semiconductors, energy systems, data centres and critical minerals, and discusses how these inputs interact with geopolitical competition and industrial policy. The paper also reviews the uncertain macroeconomic consequences of AI, assessing its potential effects on productivity, employment and income distribution, while emphasizing the importance of organisational complements, adoption patterns and institutional frameworks in shaping aggregate outcomes. Finally, it explores governance challenges, outlining the roles of competition policy, corporate accountability, industrial strategy and labour market institutions in shaping how AI-driven transformations affect economic efficiency, resilience and equity. The paper concludes by identifying key areas where further empirical research and policy experimentation are needed to better understand and manage the economic transition associated with AI. Sun, 01 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10071/36643 2026-03-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10071/36642 Título próprio: Mapping capabilities for Smart Specialisation: an LLM-based approach Autoria: Mamede, Ricardo P.; Andrade, Matias; Pinheiro, Cristina; Alves, Tiago; Martins, Tomás; Mendes, Beatriz; Paiva-Silva, João Resumo: Smart Specialisation Strategies have become a cornerstone of EU Cohesion Policy, yet prioritising investment areas remains a challenge. This paper introduces a methodology for capability mapping to support strategic priority setting, integrating data from patents, scientific publications, and R&D projects, classified using Large Language Models (LLMs). Unlike approaches that focus narrowly on technologies or industries, the method maps the intersection of technological domains and fields of application, as envisaged in the foundational literature on Smart Specialisation. This intersectional perspective aims to support a more precise and policy-relevant identification of areas with transformative potential. An empirical application to the Portuguese case illustrates the potential of the methodology to inform decision-making. The method grounds the analysis in local capabilities and contexts, supporting the exploration of place-based, distinctive pathways for structural transformation. Sun, 01 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10071/36642 2026-03-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10071/36521 Título próprio: Financialisation of workers and the erosion of trade union density in the European Union Autoria: Barradas, Ricardo Resumo: The erosion of trade union density has been a stylised fact for the last five decades all over the world, which has been contributing to a strong deterioration of labour conditions, a dizzying loss of labour rights, a proliferation of exploitative labour practices and a persistence of high levels of income inequality. Our argument to explain this puzzling paradox of worsening labour conditions yet strong de-unionisation or non-unionisation emphasises that this is due to the financialisation of workers. On the one hand, workers’ financial wealth stimulates de-unionisation or non-unionisation because they are more financially secure, more aligned with the interests of capital, perceive less benefits from unionisation, adopt an owner-like mindset, occupy well-paid managerial positions and experience a greater alignment of interests with employers. On the other hand, workers’ financial indebtedness encourages de-unionisation or non-unionisation because they are more financially vulnerable and risk-averse, focus on job and income stability, concerned with avoiding the social stigma from financial default and are more inclined to individualism and self-interest rather than collective solidarity. This paper aims to address the relationship between the financialisation of workers and trade union density by employing a panel data econometric analysis focused on all the countries of the European Union from 1995 to 2023. We find that the financialisation of workers negatively impacts trade union density, especially via financial assets due to their being more widespread among workers than are financial liabilities, and more pronounced in those countries of the European Union with the highest levels of financialisation of workers. We also confirm that the financialisation of workers has indeed been one of the main factors behind the erosion of trade union density in the European Union in the last three decades. Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10071/36521 2025-12-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10071/34983 Título próprio: Financialisation and the (de-)unionisation of workers in Portugal Autoria: Barradas, Ricardo Resumo: Over the last five decades, the degree of unionisation of workers has been decreasing and, therefore, by inadvertently accepting the deterioration of labour relations, the loss of labour rights, and the increase in the exploitation of labour all over the world, workers have not genuinely contested the neoliberal agenda and the deregulation and flexibilisation of the labour market. Our argument to explain this puzzling paradox of worsening labour conditions yet a lesser degree of unionisation finds that this is due to the financialisation of workers. On the one hand, workers with financial assets tend to reduce their unionisation due to their more financially solid position, pro-capital predisposition, perceived disconnection from union priorities, access to attractive remuneration benefits, a (psychological) sense of being owners (employers) and an alignment with capital’s (employers’) interests. On the other hand, workers with financial liabilities tend to reduce their unionisation due to their more financially fragile position, fears of job and income loss and concerns about default, reluctance to incur the immediate costs of monthly union dues, worries about the social stigma linked to potential default and a tendency to prioritise individual interests over collective action. This paper aims to study the relation between the financialisation of workers and their unionisation by performing a time series econometric analysis centred on Portugal over the period from 1980 to 2023. Our results confirm that the financialisation of workers exerts a negative effect on the degree of unionisation in Portugal. The financialisation of workers has indeed been one of the main factors behind the deunionisation in Portugal since the 1980s. Tue, 01 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10071/34983 2025-07-01T00:00:00Z