Nova School of Business & Economics (Nova SBE) has further strengthened its leadership in scientific research in Europe, remaining the only institution in Portugal to receive funding from the European Research Council (ERC) in the fields of Economics, Finance, and Management (panel SH1 – Individuals, Markets and Organisations).
The project Finanças para Todos [Finance for All], led by Miguel Ferreira, Full Professor and Vice-Dean at Nova SBE, has been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant — the first ever granted in Portugal within this panel. The study aims to assess the impact of financial literacy training on the working population in Portugal, analysing not only the direct effects on individuals’ financial knowledge and behaviour, but also the indirect impacts on their colleagues, companies, and local economies. Miguel Ferreira also holds the Banco BPI–Fundação “la Caixa” Chair in Responsible Finance and coordinates the financial literacy program Finanças para Todos at Nova SBE.
“Financial education is essential for household well-being and economic resilience. This project will, for the first time, allow us to rigorously and on a large scale understand the real effects of financial literacy in the workplace and across regions,” highlights Miguel Ferreira, principal investigator of the Finanças Para Todos project.
With an innovative experimental design involving large-scale interventions at the municipal, corporate, and employee levels, the project combines survey data collected during the interventions with unique administrative data — including credit, tax, property, and banking transaction records — from various institutions, including the National Statistics Office, the Bank of Portugal, and a commercial bank. This will allow measuring both short- and long-term effects in areas such as assets, income, consumption, savings, employment, and entrepreneurship. The project has partners including the Banco de Portugal and the Instituto Nacional de Estatística.This will be the first international study to analyse both the direct and spillover effects of financial education in the workplace, offering new insights into its economic and social impact.
“This recognition confirms the excellence of NOVA’s researchers and their commitment to conducting research that has a positive impact on society. I would like to congratulate Nova SBE and Professor Miguel Ferreira on this achievement,” said Isabel Rocha, Vice-Rector for Research, Innovation and Value Creation at NOVA University Lisbon.
This is the third ERC grant awarded to Nova SBE projects, following previous grants received by Miguel Ferreira (ERC Starting Grant, 2012) and Alex Armand (ERC Starting Grant, 2021). This new distinction acknowledges Miguel Ferreira’s exceptional academic career, with his research in finance widely published and internationally recognised.
According to Pedro Oliveira, Dean of Nova SBE, “ERC funding is among the most prestigious in Europe. Awarding this grant to Nova SBE and Professor Miguel Ferreira is a recognition of the global relevance of the research we conduct at our school and a source of pride for Portugal. In particular, the fact that this is Professor Miguel Ferreira’s second ERC grant further reinforces the quality of our research and the importance of this distinction.”
Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research, and Innovation, stated: “These ERC grants are our commitment to making Europe the world’s hub for excellent research. By supporting projects that have the potential to redefine whole fields, we are not just investing in science but in the future prosperity and resilience of our continent (…).”
ERC Advanced Grants are awarded to senior researchers with established scientific careers, enabling them to develop ambitious projects with the potential to generate significant advances in knowledge. This new funding further strengthens Nova SBE’s position as an international reference in the production of scientific research in economics, management, and the social sciences.