Mara Madaleno

University of Aveiro | UA · GOVCOPP and DEGEIT

As global sustainable policies continue to evolve, understanding the nuanced association between energy transition and natural resource policies has led to policy debate between industrial stakeholders and policymakers. Within this view, we employ mineral resource costs, energy transition, green technological innovation, and resource extraction dem...

This article looks to investigate whether it is possible to create a strategy on which the investor selects individual stocks that can outperform the average returns of the Standard and Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) stock index. 311 non-financial companies listed on the Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon, and Paris stock exchanges were analyzed in the period betwe...

This study investigates the determinants of adopting a zero-leverage (ZL) policy by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and analyses whether those have different effects according to firms' age. In addition, it considers the shareholder loans as a potential determinant of a debt-free capital structure for older SMEs and examines whether the T...

Sustainability is a growing theme in society, and associated with it is the concept of circular economy (CE) that tries to reuse products for greater durability, thus contributing to reducing waste and pollution. A very important agent in this topic is eco-innovation (EI), which can be developed to promote the growth of this new economic concept. T...

Purpose:This paper aims to contribute to the biodiversity literature by examining the biodiversity reporting practices of the top 100 manufacturing companies in the European Union.Methodology:This study uses content analysis to explore and investigate disclosure themes in sustainability reports (and equivalents) for 2019–2021.Findings:Descriptive s...

Purpose Evidence shows that African countries are confronted with high levels of income inequality. Therefore, it is relevant to approach and analyze the factors contributing to these severe inequality cases. This paper addresses the issue by focusing on the role of financial regulation and military spending. Design/methodology/approach We used a...

This study sheds some light on the function of CG and adds to the continuing discussion over the impact of CG attributes on business performance. Analyzing other CG dimensions, as well as understanding if the effects of CG on firm performance are linear or not can be beneficial to firms, society, and CG institutions.

The objective of this work is analyzing the impact that the investment from companies has on a number of Euronext stock returns. For the analysis, we used the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) to collect a sample of companies from the stock exchanges in Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, and Lisbon, between 2017 and 2022. The results indicate that the i...

This research aims to analyse the financial performance of companies using one of the most used profitability indicators, the return on investment (ROI), which measures the company’s performance in terms of the profit generated over time. To this end, several different methods are used to calculate the ROI indicator, considering the different calcu...

Entrepreneurship has been assumed as a major contribution to the economic development of countries, through the creation of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises that produce goods and services for domestic consumption and export, generating jobs and public revenues. For this reason, entrepreneurship has attracted the attention of many research...

The current study aims to test the usage of econometric and machine learning approaches to study the relationship between methane (CH4), a hydrocarbon component of natural gas, as a proxy of carbon emission, GDP as economic growth, financial development (FIN), and medium and high technologies as a proxy of information technology (ICT) and human dev...

Recent and ongoing regulatory efforts of the European Commission have made sustainable investments a relevant topic for the broader public. Likewise, the economy itself and the financial markets within the European Union are in transition to support the overall goal of climate neutrality by 2050. Scientific research mostly focused on professional o...

O principal objetivo deste manual, agora na sua 2ª edição, é o de clarificar conceitos e mecanismos relevantes no âmbito da avaliação de empresas, questão muitas vezes fundamental para a tomada de decisão. Desta forma, a exposição apresenta os conceitos numa linguagem simples e acessível, acompanhada de exemplos e complementada por um conjunto de c...

An efficient and effective portfolio provides maximum return potential with minimum risk by choosing an optimal balance among assets. Therefore, the objective of this study is to analyze the performance of optimized portfolios in minimizing risk and achieving maximum returns in the dynamics of Timor-Leste’s equity portfolio in the international cap...

This study intends to analyze a potential connection between the number of Google searches and Euronext stock returns, considering also the impact that investor sentiment has on stock returns. For this purpose, we analyzed Euronext companies’data from 2017 to 2021, using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) methodology.

Financial inclusion is a topic of growing interest to researchers and policymakers, while creating a sustainable, just, and inclusive world where no one is left behind is a top priority in current times. The aim of this study is to provide a systematic review of the literature on the effect of financial inclusion on sustainable development goals, s...

The main aim of this paper is to investigate the micro and macro predictors of Portuguese willingness to pay (WTP) more taxes to bolster funds channelled to the National Health Service (NHS). An online questionnaire was used to collect data from 584 Portuguese citizens. The statistical analysis was performed through the application of logistic regr...

Purpose This study aims to examine the role of financial inclusion and institutional factors such as corruption and the rule of law (RL) on the credit risk and stability of banks. Design/methodology/approach The study considers a sample of 61 developing countries and uses very robust estimation techniques that allow controlling for endogeneity, he...

Recently, European regulation on sustainability preferences has made green finance a mainstream topic for retail investors. On the contrary, green innovation is largely discussed as bearing risks, and renewable energy projects are sometimes referred to as related to high risk. Our article aimed to shed light on retail investors' risk exposure in gr...

This work aims to analyze the impact that companies’ investment has on some Euronext stock returns. To this end, a sample of companies was collected from the Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, and Lisbon stock exchanges between the years 2017 and 2022, using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM). The results demonstrate that the investment has a positiv...

This study aims to provide some suggestions for future research on the relationship between capital structure and corporate social responsibility (CSR). To do so, we need to assess the current state of research, know the most recent advancements in this field of research, identify the research gaps, and suggest prospects for future studies. Consequ...

This chapter intends to contribute to the analysis of microfinance effects on entrepreneurship and poverty alleviation through a bibliometric review of the existent literature, to understand the current state of microfinance research, as well as to contribute to the analysis of the influence of microfinance on entrepreneurship, financial developmen...

This study examines the impact of oil price fluctuations (OP) on Timor-Leste's macroeconomic variables, i.e., the consumer price index (CPI), the exchange rate (ER), gross domestic product (GDP), the interest rate (IR), and money supply (M2). We used monthly data from 2003 to 2019 and the vector autoregressive (VAR) model. This study confirms that...

The present study applies time-series volatility models to study oil price volatility and the effect of macroeconomic variables, such as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Consumer Price Index (CPI), interest rate, exchange rates, and money supply on the economic growth of Timor-Leste during 2003M01-2019M12, as well as the reverse effect of GDP grow...

This study intends to explore the impact of tourism on air pollution at a regional level in Italy, and also to investigate the evidence of a tourism-induced Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) for Italian regions, including variables as an economic indicator (GDP), the energy consumption, and the number of nights spent at tourist accommodation establ...

Timor-Leste is a new country still in the process of economic development and does not yet have a capital market for stock and bond investments. These two asset classes have been invested in international capital markets such as the US, the UK, Japan, and Europe. We examine the performance of the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) and the Fama–Fren...

Renewable energy is an essential driver of the energy transition towards a more sustainable world. However, sustainability requires the coordination of the economic, environmental, and social dimensions, turning it into a complex objective. The aim of this study is to review the state of the art of the articles that analyze economic, environmental,...

In recent years, the escalating trade activities (imports and exports) have spurred a growing body of research on their linkages with economic progress and sustainability. However, the impacts of imports and export diversification on sustainable economic growth have been rarely explored. This paper aims to fill this gap by exploring the role of imp...

We analyze the existent literature relating to gender diversity and sustainability reporting (SR) practices. The SCOPUS bibliographic database was used, and 49 documents were included in the analysis. The first document was published in 2011 and the most recent in 2023. Using the search criteria and analysis, policy implications have been highlight...

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) seeks to optimize the benefit to an enterprise’s shareholders and stakeholders while intending to prevent or dampen the potential adverse effects of its activities. Considering that CSR covers a broad spectrum of issues, the concerned consumer will be, nowadays, aware of the need to demand from firms a responsi...

The perceived poor performance of publicly traded companies on their sustainability commitments and the quality of sustainability reporting has prompted stakeholders to consider the economic, environmental, and social impacts of corporate activities. Economic activities have led to various threats in the form of climate change, pollution, greenhous...

In recent decades, the wage gap between higher- and lower-skilled workers has steadily widened around the world, and this gap is widening. There are several approaches in the literature to understand the causes of this steady increase, with Skill-Biased Technological Change (SBTC) being the most used and the results more consistent. This paper aims...

The purpose of this study is to examine the ability of financial literacy, financial innovation, and financial inclusion to mitigate the adverse effect of corruption on banks’ credit risk, profitability, and financial stability, with this joint inclusion being the novelty explored. Furthermore, we aim to compare the results across four different gr...

Maximum entropy in the estimation of parameters in stochastic production frontier models could be an attractive procedure in economic efficiency analysis. In this work, the generalized maximum entropy and the generalized cross entropy estimators are reviewed and their implementation in the stochastic frontier analysis is discussed. An application t...

This chapter intends to define Stochastic Frontier Models (SFA) and their applications for Eco-Efficiency (EE) assessment within environmental and economic fields. We start by presenting the methodology of efficiency assessment, discussing its advantages and disadvantages as compared to the more traditional Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). A litera...

Air pollution is one of the most challenging environmental issues influencing the lifestyles of the world’s population. Every year millions of respiratory diseases and premature deaths are directly attributed to it. Therefore, people who suffer from respiratory diseases are more vulnerable to varia tions in air quality, as direct exposure leads to...

Portuguese territories' distribution of wealth and people with higher qualifications appears to be related. On the one hand, more concentrated in certain municipalities, and on the other hand, each time more unbalanced between municipalities. The Portuguese population with higher qualifications tends to be more concentrated close to big cities and...

This study aims to analyze the impact of women's presence on the board of directors on the outcomes of Spanish and Portuguese-listed firms over the third millennium. Based on a documental analysis of 44 publications, it is concluded that female directors positively affect the quality and transparency of the firm's reporting and compliance with the...

Achieving gender equality and women's empowerment is integral to each of the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs). Notwithstanding that, goal five is fully applied to gender equality. In this chapter, the authors attempt to collate and understand the disjointed research on female management around the world, reviewing the literature at the macro...

Due to the growing awareness concerning environmental problems, specifically air pollution, it is crucial to understand the relationship between perceptions of air quality and the pro-environmental behaviors of visitors. This study segments visitors based on self-reported pro-environmental behaviors. A survey was carried out in Portugal (N=602). Th...

Of the various approaches that, over the last few decades, have sought explanations for the constant increase in the wage gap between more and less skilled workers, the Skill-Biased Technological Change (SBTC) approach has been the most used and the one that has led to the most consistent results. The objective of this study is to assess whether th...

This paper aims to analyze the efficiency of the funds in technological, healthcare, and consumer cyclical sectors based on the U.S. News & World Report rankings. We employed a Principal Component Analysis to select the indicators to explain efficiency. Then, we have used an alternative approach that combines Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) with Mu...

Using energy efficiently is crucial for economic development and sustainability. However, excessive use of fossil fuels impedes sustainable economic growth, and the released emissions have a negative impact on the environment. Still, there is no consensus in the literature as to the side effects or even regarding the determinants used to assess thi...

Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of financial inclusion and financial innovation on corruption, considering the moderating role of education, as well as identify the specific modality of digital inclusion and payments that contribute to corruption reduction. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a representative sample consisting...

This article explores the complexities of family businesses within the global economy and introduces the Family Business Project (FAB) which aims to address the unique needs of family enterprises in Asian countries, promoting competence-based qualifications. The project involves 22 international partners and aims to create a master’s curriculum, es...

The connection between Earth’s global temperature and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is one of the highest challenges in climate change science since there is some controversy about the real impact of CO2 emissions on the increase of global temperature. This work contributes to the existing literature by analyzing the relationship between CO2 emiss...

The objective of this study is to contribute to the knowledge about the relationship between financial inclusion and credit risk in the Southern African Development Community ( SADC ) countries, which remains relatively unexplored in the developing countries context. The result of panel vector autoregressive models ( PVAR ) estimation shows that th...

The scientific literature and decision makers debate and explore education's influence on regional development. However, differences among EU regions remain to be explained. The present article proposes to measure these disparites in terms of the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and understand how tertiary education can explain that performa...

Considering the growing importance of sustainable investments worldwide, we explore the volatility transmission effects between the EURO STOXX Sustainability Index and the stock market indexes of its stocks. Using daily index return data, during 2000–2022, covering the COVID-19 pandemic, Multivariate Generalized Auto-Regressive Conditional Heterosk...

Innovative educational methods such as gamification are gaining ground in more formal environments and have great potential to improve learning in education. However, the implementation of this strategy in the classroom is assumed to be a complex practice for beginners and requires the development of new competencies by educators. This chapter aims...

Assessing tourism destination attractiveness is a dynamic procedure influenced by constantly changing factors. Despite the existence of various studies on destination attractiveness, less attention has been devoted to measuring the relevance of air quality. The growing concerns related to the impacts of air pollution worldwide, make it imperative t...

The adjustment of services of general interest to ageing and shrinking populations is a significant challenge in many European regions. This article analyses the response in the number of primary schools to changes in the student population in the municipalities of mainland Portugal between 2007 and 2016. It focuses on the time lag of this adjustme...

The G7 countries consist of some of the world's most developed nations which have economically flourished over the years. However, alongside such robust economic performances, the environmental qualities in these countries have rather aggravated to raise deep concerns among the stakeholders. Hence, this study is designed to empirically examine the...

This paper aims to develop a model for predicting corporate bankruptcy for SMEs in the Portuguese manufacturing industry where this question remains rather unaddressed. Using profitability, activity, liquidity, leverage, and solvency ratios, it was added the size and age variables, for a group of 208 firms, including 49 bankrupt firms and 159 activ...

Although a few studies have analyzed the nexus of renewable energy and green finance, the literature lacks the use of renewable energy by sources. The other major failure is that it uses only annual and small data. Therefore, this study investigates the connectedness and spillovers relationship between green finance and five types of renewable ener...

Gender diversity in management has become of increased interest to academics and researchers in the last decades since women and men have different personal and psychological characteristics that affect their decision-making process in management actions and leadership. A female presence has been under-represented on companies’ boards of directors,...

Environmental sustainability is an increasing concern in the present era, particularly in the tourism field, which is known as an industry with severe environmental impacts. Thus, raising awareness concerning the importance of adopting pro-environmental behaviors is mandatory to achieve truly sustainable development of the tourism sector. This stud...

The population pyramid of the Portuguese population reveals an aged population as a consequence of low fertility rates and the growing life expectancy. In this scenario, some municipalities tend to create conditions and give incentives to attract the young population, or otherwise, even more, primary schools should be closed. The dynamic relation b...

O desenvolvimento acelerado das tecnologias de informação e comunicação tem vindo a impor na agenda técnico científica o debate sobre a “forma” e o “conteúdo” do planeamento do território na sociedade contemporânea, reclamando alguns autores a necessidade de revisitar conceitos, princípios e definições clássicas do planeamento (Marques et al.,...

Education, financial knowledge, and energy literacy are seen as powerful tools that empower citizens and help them make informed decisions. Considering that both education and financial knowledge are often associated with better levels of energy literacy, we consider it important to check if there are common determinants between these three variabl...

In a high tax burden environment related to electricity prices in Portugal, it is needed to establish fiscal and economic-political measures to lower the electrical price weight imposed on both households and non-households. The most effective way is to first be aware of its determinants. This paper contributes to the existent literature by analyzi...

The energy stock market is characterized by high returns and strong volatility, and little is known about possible interactions between these companies in the literature. We studied the time series of 18 European energy companies’ daily stock prices during 2008–2018, including oil and natural gas prices. To analyze the relationship between the comp...

Over the past three decades, researchers have extensively examined the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis. Despite their early focus on the ecological impacts of anthropogenic development, associated conclusions differ and often conflict. In this study, we conducted a state-of-the-art review of this topic and shed light on the methodologi...

Using a unique or common measure of energy poverty is very limited for the true clas�sifcation of a household being in energy poverty. Thus, this study proposes a compos�ite indicator, whose weights will be determined from the estimation of two relationships using a robust and stable methodology based on information theory. This work considers two...

It is important to unearth the role of structural change factors for sustainable growth in developed economies. Economic complexity, export product quality, and institutional indicators represent the overall structural change and transformation in an economy. This paper probed the influence of export product quality and economics of complexity on e...

Purpose-This study examines the relationship between internal corporate governance mechanisms and firm risk-taking. Design/methodology/approach-This research comprises a sample of 38 non-financial Portuguese firms listed on Euronext Lisbon, over the period from 2007 to 2017. To test the formulated hypotheses we use panel-corrected standard errors (...

The literature has mainly relied on an annual and short span of data to analyze the relationship between energy, environmental and financial indicators. This study analyzes the relationship between energy efficiency, energy research, pollution mitigation, and FinTech by applying two novel methods-the causality test in the frequency domain [11] and...

Financial inclusion is a widely used measure to improve the living standards of households and foster inclusive economic growth. Thus, financial inclusion is one of the main policy objectives in developing countries. Besides, financial regulation (capital adequacy requirement) is a policy measure used to ensure financial stability. The objective of...

The forensic accountant profession has been highly established around the world due to world-renowned financial scams that occurred from Malaysian to Europe and leading to closures and to failures like Adelphia and many more. Forensic accounting techniques are a consortium of investigation and interrogation attempts by corrupt financial gurus. The...

This chapter intends to contribute to the analysis of forensic accounting (FA) techniques through a bibliometric review of the existent literature in order to understand the current state of FA research as well as to contribute to the analysis of the influence of FA on corporate governance. Although FA is a modern discipline, in recent years its re...