Abstract
The increasing complexity of financial products and services requires a domain of information and knowledge in the financial area. This study explores the role of financial literacy in undergraduate students at a higher education institution in Portugal. A sample of 196 undergraduate students enrolled in six courses in the fields of engineering and social sciences was considered. The results reveal that the level of knowledge about financial literacy is quite heterogeneous. Formal and informal channels tend to coexist when they perform a financial decision. Furthermore, the findings indicate that the awareness of cryptocurrencies is high, while the adherence to digital platforms for the acquisition of these currencies remains low.

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Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has posed enormous challenges to society. Various measures are being taken in higher education as online classes can be expected to persist for several months. However, the question of evaluation arises for which many institutions are not prepared. This perspective aims to explore various models and practices of formative and summative assessment and evaluation that can be adopted in the context of e-learning. Furthermore, it intends to identify a set of good practices and challenges that can be identified in the process of migration to the e-learning model. This study is relevant in the practical dimension for higher education institutions to adopt new approaches for monitoring and evaluating the activities developed by students in the e-learning environment.

Abstract
Regional income inequality is a topic of increasing relevance worldwide that has received considerable scientific attention. However, a clear-cut, comprehensive view has yet to be put forward of the main determinants of regional income inequality. Indeed, the extant empirical literature on the topic has reported differing results. Thus, this study develops a comprehensive meta-analysis using 33 comparable empirical studies spanning 29 years of research, involving 28 main determinants of which the most frequently mentioned were regional development, human capital, manufacturing/industry share, unemployment, financial development, and trade openness. After adjusting for publication bias and heterogeneity in the results reported by the primary studies, we conclude that the not very frequently addressed institutional related determinants (financial development, fiscal policies and public sector size), substantially contribute to reduce within-region income inequality, particularly in lower-income settings. In a smaller extent, human capital and trade openness also mitigate within-region income inequality. Region level of development, urbanization and, in a lesser extent, technological intensity aggravate within-region income inequality. © 2021, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

Abstract
Smart specialisation is a major driver of contemporary regional development policy in the European Union. Politicians, policymakers, and academics enthusiastically wave smart specialisation as the remedy that will fix the problems affecting previous policy rounds. The expectations towards the ‘remedial' effect of smart specialisation bear on the assumption that the policy approach will place the emphasis on what is unique in a given region by means of a so-called entrepreneurial process of discovery, basically a wide participatory process, underpinning a learning mechanism aimed at revealing the R&D and innovation domains in which that region can hope to excel. Universities are generally seen as central organisations in smart specialisation strategies, as made explicit in policy documents and academic papers. The chapter aims at knowing more about the power of smart specialisation policies to induce change in university-industry interactions and the promotion of sustainable growth.

Abstract
The scant literature that addresses issues related to the Technology Balance of Payments (TBP) often refers that a surplus balance may correspond to a high degree of technological autonomy, a low level of technology imports, or an inability to assimilate foreign technologies. It is not clear, however, from this literature whether, and to what extent, the balance of the TBP is related to countries' international competitiveness. The purpose of this paper is to detail the evolution of the TBP for Southern European countries and to assess the extent to which it influences these countries' international competitiveness. Using static and dynamic panel data techniques on data for four Southern European countries (Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain) between 2000 and 2017, our results highlight that a positive TBP significantly contributes to foster countries' international competitiveness.