STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE OECD INTERNATIONAL TRADE NETWORK AND THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Trade interactions between states, through the exchange of resources and goods and their concomitant social interactions, contribute to enhancing the productive process, spreading technology, and promoting social, institutional, and diplomatic engagements, serving as a long-standing pillar of economic, regional, and cultural development. In this context, this paper examines the economic interdependence created by international trade in the modern global economy, exploring the emerging economic and spatial structures of global trade flows using complex network analysis. This paper focuses on trade interactions and spatial connections among 42 OECD countries, analyzing the structural mechanisms through which each country participates in international trade across different levels of transaction intensity, each representing different scales of economies. Assuming a positive correlation between the intensity of trade exchanges and national economic development, and that the degree of integration into global trade networks contributes to the strengthening of economies of scale, this study calculates network topology and centrality measures, conducting analysis at three levels of network structure: microscopic (local, node-level), mesoscopic (community-level), and macroscopic (global, network-wide). Each level provides distinct perspectives and insights into how interactions among countries shape the global economic landscape. The findings highlight important aspects of strategic cooperation and potential risks in international trade, emphasizing that international trade and economic interdependence, while supporting global development and prosperity, can also act as a source of economic vulnerability during global financial crises.

Stamatia ALMALIOTI - Researcher, Department of Planning and Regional Development, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece, malmalioti@gmail.com

Dimitrios TSIOTAS - Associate Professor, Department of Regional and Economic Development, Agricultural University of Athens, Greece, tsiotas@aua.gr (Corresponding Author)

F14, O19, R12, R15

DETERMINANTS OF DEMAND FOR CITIES WITH HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS: AN APPROACH BASED ON FRACTIONAL REGRESSION

Higher education institutions are typically situated in urban areas, making them appealing destinations for students seeking advanced education. This paper aims to explore the factors influencing the demand for cities with these institutions, focusing on the Portuguese context. By analysing distance and the quality of life in municipalities, we can better understand what attracts students to these university cities. Our findings, based on a fractional regression model, reveal that proximity to home and the disparity in rental and accommodation expenses play a significant role in the appeal of these cities for students and their families.

Professor Andreia DIONISIO - Departamento de Gestao & CEFAGE-U.E., Universidade de Evora, Portugal andreia@uevora.pt ORCID: 0000-0002-4289-9312

Professor Cassio ROLIM - Departamento de Economia, Universidade Federal do Parana, Curitiba, Brasil cassio.rolim@gmail.com ORCID: 0000-0003-4619-5272

Professor Conceicao REGO - Departamento de Economia & CEFAGE-U.E., Universidade de Evora, Portugal mcpr@uevora.pt ORCID: 0000-0002-1257-412X

C21, I23, R12

INVESTMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY IN THE AGRO-INDUSTRIAL SECTOR: A CASE STUDY

The productivity of a sector, an important determinant of competitiveness, depends, among other factors, on the investment made. In this context, the main aim of this work is to explore the relation between investment and productivity trends, based on the amounts of investment made in the agri-food industry in Northern Portugal (NUT II), as well as the asymmetries at sub-regional level, during the last two EU support frameworks, namely QREN (2007-13) and Portugal 2020 (2014-2020). This study will start by gathering information from organizations that manage EU funds related to the beverage and food industries. This data will be categorized by subsectors and regions to estimate access. The research will then analyse productivity trends in these sectors and the impact of investment on productivity using statistical analysis techniques. The results show that there is a positive and significant relation between gross fixed capital formation and the productivity of both industries: food and beverage. In what refers, specifically to the beverage industry, we obtain significant results in the elasticity model. The findings show that it possible to gauge the effectiveness of policies to support investment, namely by identifying the most dynamic sectors in terms of attracting funds and with the greatest impact in terms of productivity, i.e. assessing the return on investment that is essentially private and supported with public funds, as well as identifying strategic sectors and promoting transparency and accountability in the management of public resources.

Teresa SEQUEIRA - Assistant Professor, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Portugal. Researcher at the Centre for Transdisciplinary Development Studies (CETRAD). E-mail: tsequeir@utad.pt (corresponding author)

Conceicao REGO - Assistant Professor, University of Évora, Portugal. Researcher at the Center for Advanced Studies in Management and Economics (CEFAGE). E-mail: mcpr@uevora.pt

Andreia DIONISIO - Associate Professor with Aggregation, University of Évora, Portugal. Researcher at the Center for Advanced Studies in Management and Economics (CEFAGE). E-mail: andreia@uevora.pt

R12, R58