Economic and Management Sciences

Objectives

• Develop the ability to systematically understand the scientific fields of Economics and Management
• Provide the deepening and extension of the theoretical and methodological knowledge obtained in the 1st and 2nd  cycles studies and their application in the specialties of this cycle of studies
• Strengthening the capacity, skills and research methods associated with scientific areas of Economics and Management
• Provide advanced training for the practice of research, basic and applied scientific fields of this third cycle of studies
• To strengthen students' skills in the areas of economics and management, allowing them to enter with a comparative advantage or to have a more promising career in academia and / or in business activity

PhD Goals & Learning Objectives

The goal of the PhD Programme is to promote high skills for scientific research in the area of Economic and Management Sciences.

Develop capacity for systematic understanding of science in Economics and Management; Provide the depth and extent of theoretical and methodological knowledge obtained over the 1st and 2nd Cycle Studies and its application in the specialities of this cycle of studies; Strengthen the capabilities, skills and research methods in scientific fields of Economics and Management; Provide advanced training for the pursuit of research, basic and applied science, in this cycle of studies; Develop the ability to conceive, design, adapt and perform a significant research, respecting the requirements imposed by the standards of academic quality and integrity; Provide integration to students of the Cycle study into research centers related to these scientific areas, based at the University of Algarve, linking whenever possible individual projects with objectives of those units of R&D.

Operating Mode

Classes are on Fridays after working hours and on Saturdays in the morning. There are seminars on some Thursdays, also after working hours.

The cycle of studies is organized during the first year in three research seminars. The second and the third seminar is differentiated according to the optional scientific domain - Economics or Management, while the first one is common for both scientific domains.   

1st Research Seminar (Advanced Data Analysis) – Both Management and Economics
The curricular unit includes an approach to research methodologies and gives the student the necessary tools to understand the main concepts, its adequacy and limitations, and the use of the following mentioned research techniques:
Categorical analysis, optimal scale and joint analysis;
Structural equation models with latent variables, either as specified models of covariance structure or according to the PLS (partial least squares) approach,
BIPLOT methods; 
Three-way methods for data analysis and the STATIS procedure;
Probabilistic linear model and logistic regression, test hypotheses under the Logit and Probit models;
Econometrics tools with cross-sectional data.
 
2nd Research Seminar (Advanced Management) – Management
To deepen the theoretical knowledge and the latest developments at the various areas of management, based on the discussion of scientific articles that discuss the state of the art in each area; to understand the philosophy of a comprehensive research in the management field and different research strategies followed, in order to complement the training in advanced analysis of quantitative, qualitative and mixed data, lectured during the research Seminar I.
 
2nd Research Seminar (Advanced Economic Theory) - Economics
To provides the student with the analytical skills and knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and the reality of the economy. After the frequency of the course students should have a broad understanding of the principles of economics that apply to the functions of individual decision makers within the economic system. The unit includes an approach to research methodologies and advanced microeconomic and macroeconomic theory, aimed to providing the student with the tools needed to structure his thesis project. In addition to these two knowledge research topics, two other from four available are added (public economics, environmental economics, regional modeling and economics of tourism and leisure) to be chosen by students according to their research interest.
 
3rd Research Seminar (PhD Project) – Either Management or Economics
To develop the necessary skills to perform advanced research in particular, namely familiarizing the students with the main bibliographical sources and search engines and developing skills of critical analysis and synthesis, in order to allow students to conceive the thesis project, showing the main contributions of their research, namely in the following specialties of either Economics or Management: theory of financial markets, analysis of efficiency and productivity, market research, theories and models of leadership, public economics, environmental economics, regional modeling and economics of tourism and leisure.