Business Research Unit

BRU-Iscte Research Seminar: Frederica Mendonça
2025-12-02 13:00 (Europe/Lisbon) | ONLINE
Speaker: Frederica Mendonça (Research Affiliate at Nova SBE NOVAFRICA Knowledge Centre)
Date: 2 December 2025 (online)
Time: 1 p.m.
Duration: 1 hour
Title: Road to somewhere: Introducing ReCycling in a Mozambican city
Brief description of the seminar: Urban recycling in Sub-Saharan Africa remains below five percent due to coordination failures: households lack incentives to separate waste when collection is unreliable, while collectors avoid markets with scarce supply. In this project, I implement a randomised field experiment to test whether low-cost interventions can overcome this barrier in Quelimane, Mozambique. The intervention combined household information on recycling with the creation of a buyback centre that engaged bicycle taxi drivers as waste collectors. A second treatment arm adds a conspicuous signalling device to reinforce pro-social motives from households. Within eighteen weeks, cyclists delivered 3,109 kilograms of recyclables, exclusively from treated households, while earning substantially more than on passenger trips. This translates into a significant increase in cyclists’ self-reported weekly earnings. Households report less burning and a 30% increase in separated waste. I also observe an increase in satisfaction with the city’s waste management. These preliminary findings suggest that mobilising informal transport networks, supported by light-touch interventions with households, can enhance recycling outcomes, raise earnings, and provide a scalable model for service delivery under weak state capacity.
Session chair: Professor Catarina Roseta Palma

TRANSFORM Policy Hackathon: Work 2040
2025-12-10 09:00 - 23:00
We invite you to a dynamic and interactive Policy Hackathon on December 10, 2025, from 10:00 to 12:00 CET (09:00-11:00 PT Time), held entirely online and free of charge. The event will be in English.
This event is part of the European TRANSFORM project, coordinated in Iscte by BRU-Iscte researcher Sílvia Silva. The project aims to prepare the workforce for rapid technological advancements by fostering the necessary skills, competencies, and adaptability for emerging job roles. It addresses labour shortages and workforce well-being, promoting competitiveness in the EU labour market.
What to expect?

Collaborate in diverse stakeholder groups on real challenges
Rapid brainstorming and co-creation of policy ideas
Direct impact through shared insights and recommendations

Why participate?

Bring your voice and experience into the policy process
Help shape tangible solutions for the future of work
Connect with changemakers across Europe

Whether you’re a policymaker, researcher, student, or engaged citizen – your input matters!
👉 Register here: Registration form
REGISTER HERE

BRU Research Seminar: Rafael Mesquita Pereira
2026-02-03 12:30 - 13:30
Speaker: Rafael Mesquita Pereira (Federal University of Rio Grande, Brazil)
Date: February 3, 2026 (online)
Time: 12h30
Duration: 40 a 50 minutos
Title: Heterogeneities of the value of a statistical life in Brazil
Brief description of the seminar: The Value of a Statistical Life (VSL) is a well-established metric in the economic literature that captures workers’ willingness to pay to avoid fatal workplace accidents. This measure has been widely employed in countries such as the United States to guide compensation amounts awarded to families of fatal occupational accident victims, as well as in cost–benefit analyses of public policies that estimate the benefits of investments based on the number of lives potentially saved. However, average VSL estimates often mask substantial heterogeneity related to worker characteristics and job attributes, including gender, race, age, industry, and occupational risk history. To address this limitation, the present study seeks to estimate VSL for the Brazilian labor market while accounting for these sources of heterogeneity. The objective is to highlight the need for public policies aimed at reducing yet another dimension of inequality observed in the country.
Session chair: Professor Luís Clemente Casinhas
