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- Reckless driving in Portugal: the deterrent impact of increased penalties on traffic accidentsPublication . Tavares, António F.; Mendes, Sílvia M.; Costa, Cláudia S.Portugal is among the few OECD countries that are often cited as examples every time traffic statistics are published. Unfortunately, the reason is that it tops the charts on accident and mortality figures. Also unfortunate is that the underlying causes remain a matter of speculation. This paper is the first systematic look at traffic policy in Portugal. It is the first of three parts1 of a government-funded effort at sponsoring an empirical analysis of Portuguese policy on road mortality. Given that temporal statistics on traffic accidents have only recently begun to be collected, we are limited to traffic policies that have been implemented in the 1990s. We are also limited to aggregate data, given that there is no systematic collection on individual-level data in Portugal. Specifically, we examine the impact of a sentencing policy that raised the statutory penalties for reckless driving and other traffic offences in the mid 1990s. In 1995, Portugal ranked second only to Hungary in fatality rates on motorways (Page 2001). Were Portuguese drivers deterred by this increase in the severity? To what extent is this policy change associated with a reduction in the accident rate resulting in injury? It has become commonplace in criminology, especially among European criminologists (Tonry 2005), to almost expect an absence of a relationship between criminal acts and punishment, thus, of course contradicting deterrence theory.
- Too many policy options, not enough diversity? A typology of tourism policy toolsPublication . Costa, Cláudia S.; Tavares, António F.The design a typology of policy tools specifically aimed at tourism policy at the local level represents the main goal and the original contribution of this paper. Based on market failures theory and the tools approach, we analyze the Weimer and Vining’s original typology supplemented by an empirical analysis of tourism policy tools adopted by local governments in Portugal. This empirical analysis uses a representative sample of 214 Portuguese local governments. The results suggest an alignment with Weimer and Vining’s original typology but also the existence of specific situations in Portuguese local governments requiring the expansion of this typology. Besides that, the intervention by Portuguese local governments in tourism relies primarily in the use of direct provision. For most municipalities, direct provision is still the main, sometimes the only, set of policy tools employed when addressing tourism market failures.
- O sistema de mérito no âmbito da common law: origens, evolução e atualidadePublication . Costa, Cláudia S.; Tavares, António F.Este capítulo discute as origens e a evolução da aplicação do sistema de mérito nos Esta- dos Unidos da América (EUA), com enfoque na tensão primordial entre a busca da efi- ciência através da competência técnica da burocracia e a sua responsabilização políti- ca perante os eleitos e seus nomeados. Os autores começam por descrever o sistema de despojos que vigorou nos EUA durante grande parte do século XIX, evidenciando os fatores que conduziram à sua crítica e subs- tituição pelo sistema de mérito plasmado no Pendleton Act. Posteriormente, é descrita a evolução do sistema ao longo do século XX, identificando os grandes desafios e altera- ções que levaram à sua modernização. O capítulo encerra com a identificação dos tra- ços preponderantes do sistema de mérito na atualidade.
- Do tourism policy tools boost local tourism development? The case of Portuguese municipalitiesPublication . Costa, Cláudia S.; Tavares, António F.Based on market failures theory and the tools approach, this research extends the analysis of local governments intervention in tourism activity, exploring the relationship between tourism policy tools and the development of local tourism (Duncan, 1995; Cooper & Flehr, 2006; Blake & Sinclair, 2007). The engagement of the public sector in the development of tourist destinations is seen as understandable, in particular, the case of local initiatives aiming at the mitigation of tourism market failures (Elliott, 2002; Pearce, 2011). The goal of this research is to identify which tourism policy tools provide the greatest contribution to the development of local tourism in Portuguese municipalities.
- The impact of deterrence policies on reckless driving: the case of PortugalPublication . Tavares, António F.; Mendes, Sílvia M.; Costa, Cláudia S.In this paper, we test the effect of three different criminal deterrence theory policy tools: criminal certainty, severity, and celerity of punishment. Whereas most criminal deterrence studies in this field focus on the former two components of deterrence theory, this study also examines the potential deterrent effect of the latter component. Using a time-series design with monthly data, we estimate the effects of an increase in the threat of punishment for traffic offenses resulting from a general increase in fines for traffic offenses, an increase in the probability of getting caught with a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) level outside the legal limits, and the enactment of an “on-the-spot” fine payment policy in Portugal. We find strong evidence to support a severity effect. An increase in the statutory severity of sentence maxima for traffic violations leads to a decrease in accident and injury rates—approximately an average 0.5 percent reduction in monthly accident and injury rates. Changes in the BAC levels and the mandatory swift payment policy did not produce any convincing deterrence impact.