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/s10551-024-05829-2

This 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.2025.23.052

The 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.2025.125829

This 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.2025.105080

This 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/s41262-025-00417-9

This 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/s41311-024-00608-2

This 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/s11123-025-00772-4

This 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/10.1177/13567667231217755

This 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/s41295-025-00428-5

This 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-x

This 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.