Economic Valuation of Ecosystem Services: Conflicts in Classification

4 p.

The Black Box of Mutual Fund Fees

This paper re-examines the determinants of mutual fund fees paid by mutual fund shareholders for management costs and other expenses. There are two novelties with respect to previous studies. First, each type of fee is explained separately. Second, the paper employs a new dataset consisting of Spanish mutual funds, making it the second paper to study mutual fund fees outside the US market. Furthermore, the Spanish market has three interesting characteristics: (i) both distribution and management are highly dominated by banks and savings banks, which points towards potential conflicts of interest; (ii) Spanish mutual fund law imposes caps on all types of fees; and (iii) Spain ranks first in terms of average mutual fund fees among similar countries. We find significant differences in mutual fund fees not explained by the fund’s investment objective. For instance, management companies owned by banks and savings banks charge higher management fees and redemption fees to nonguaranteed funds. Also, investors in older non-guaranteed funds and non-guaranteed funds with a lower average investment are more likely to end up paying higher management fees. Moreover, there is clear evidence that some mutual funds enjoy better conditions from custodial institutions than others. In contrast to evidence from the US market, larger funds are not associated with lower fees, but with higher custody fees for guaranteed funds and higher redemption fees for both types of funds. Finally, fee-setting by mutual funds is not related to fund before-fee performance.

Danka Multimedia: Una sociedad cooperativa en expansión en la nueva economía digital

[ES] Danka Multimedia es una sociedad cooperativa que ofrece servicios de comunicación integral en el ámbito de marketing y la formación mediante el uso de las nuevas tecnologías. Por el sector de actividad en el que se encuentra, así como por su propia vocación empresarial, Danka ha experimentado desde sus inicios un proceso paulatino de crecimiento. Este crecimiento está siendo cada más vez progresivo y, por ello, la empresa se está viendo obligada a hacer frente a una serie de problemas derivados del mismo. Estos conflictos derivados del crecimiento, comunes a todo tipo de empresa, se ven acrecentados en el caso de Danka Multimedia por su personalidad jurídica, los valores y cultura que ello conlleva y el sector de actividad en el que desarrolla su actividad. La gestión de este crecimiento, por parte de Danka Multimedia, es el tema central que se aborda a lo largo del caso.

Régimen jurídico de las lenguas y reconocimiento de la diversidad lingüística en el Tratado por el que se establece una Constitución para Europa

The territory of the European Union is made up of a rich and wide-ranging universe of languages, which is not circumscribed to the «State languages». The existence of multilingualism is one of Europe’s defining characteristics and it should remain so in the constantly evolving model of Europe’s political structure. Nonetheless, until now, the official use of languages has been limited to the «State languages» and has been based on a concept of state monolingualism that has led to a first level of hierarchization among the languages of Europe. This has affected the very concept of European language diversity. The draft of the treaty establishing a European Constitution contains various language-related references that can be grouped in two major categories: on the one hand, those references having to do the constitutional status of languages, and on the other, those regarding the recognition of European language diversity. Both issues are dealt with in this article. In analyzing the legal regime governing languages set forth in the draft of the constitutional treaty, we note that the draft is not based on the concept of the official status of languages. The language regulation contained in the draft of the constitutional treaty is limited in character. The constitutional language regime is based on the concept of Constitutional languages but the official status of languages is not governed by this rule. The European Constitution merely enunciates rights governing language use for European citizens vis-à-vis the languages of the Constitution and refers the regulation of the official status of languages to the Council, which is empowered to set and modify that status by unanimous decision. Because of its broad scope, this constitutes a regulatory reservation. In the final phase of the negotiation process a second level of constitutional recognition of languages would be introduced, linked to those that are official languages in the member states (Catalan, Basque, Galician, etc.). These languages, however, would be excluded from the right to petition; they would constitute a tertium genus, an intermediate category between the lan guages benefiting from the language rights recognized under the Constitution and those other languages for which no status is recognized in the European institutional context. The legal functionality of this second, intermediate category will depend on the development of standards, i.e., it will depend on the entrée provided such languages in future reforms of the institutional language regime. In a later section, the article reflects on European Union language policy with regard to regional or minority languages, concluding that the Union has not acted in accordance with defined language policy guidelines when it has been confronted, in the exercise of its powers, with regional or minority languages (or domestic legislation having to do with language demands). The Court of Justice has endeavoured to resolve on a case by case basis the conflicts raised between community freedoms and the normative measures that protect languages. Thus, using case law, the Court has set certain language boundaries for community freedoms. The article concludes by reflecting on the legal scope of the recognition of European language diversity referred to in Article II-82 of the European Constitution and the possible measures to implement the precept that might constitute the definition of a true European language policy on regional or minority languages. Such a policy has yet to be defined.

Gobernanza, procesos participativos y conflictos en los Espacios Naturales Protegidos de la Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco

[ES] El objetivo del artículo es explorar la potencialidad de la Evaluación Multi-criterio Social como enfoque metodológico para evaluar Espacios Naturales Protegidos (ENP) e iniciar un proceso de discusión sobre la conveniencia de incorporar esta metodología para la gobernanza de la Red Natura 2000 de la Comunidad Autónoma de Euskadi. Del caso de estudio analizado se desprende que la inclusión de la población local en un proceso participativo dirigido a la planificación y manejo de los ENP contribuiría a reducir el número y calado de conflictos potenciales. Asimismo, facilitaría la gobernanza efectiva de los ENP, lo que parece un reto ineludible para que las áreas protegidas logren sus objetivos y funciones.

Valuing a Natura 2000 network site to inform land use options using a discrete choice experiment: An illustration from the Basque Country

One of the main problems that public institutions face in the management of protected areas, such as the European Natura 2000 network, is determining how to design and implement sustainable management plans that account for the wide range of marketed and non-marketed benefits they provide to society. This paper presents an application of a stated preference valuation approach aimed at evaluating the social preferences of the population of the Basque Country, Spain, for the key attributes of a regional Natura 2000 network site. According to our results, individuals’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) is higher for attributes associated with non-use values (native tree species and biodiversity conservation) than for attributes associated with use values (agricultural development and commercial forestry). The paper concludes that management policies related to Natura 2000 network sites should account for both for the importance of non-use values and the heterogeneity of the population's preferences in order to minimize potential land use conflicts.

Towards a participatory integrated assessment approach for planning and managing Natura 2000 network sites

Managing protected areas implies dealing with complex social-ecological systems where multiple dimensions (social, institutional, economic and ecological) interact over time for the delivery of ecosystem services. Uni-dimensional and top-down management approaches have been unable to capture this complexity. Instead, new integrated approaches that acknowledge the diversity of social actors in the decision making process are required. In this paper we put forward a novel participatory assessment approach which integrates multiple methodologies to reflect different value articulating institutions in the case of a Natura 2000 network site in the Basque Country. It integrates within a social multi-criteria evaluation framework, both the economic values of ecosystem services through a choice experiment model and ecological values by means of a spatial bio-geographic assessment. By capturing confronting social and institutional conflicts in protected areas the participatory integrated assessment approach presented here can help decision makers for better planning and managing Natura 2000 sites.

Familia, mujer y conflictividad en Guipúzcoa durante la Edad Moderna

[ES]El presente artículo trata de analizar de forma crítica el papel desempeñado por las mujeres en las familias guipuzcoanas durante el Antiguo Régimen. A través del estudio de una serie de casos en los que se vieron implicadas personas del sexo femenino, se lleva a cabo un análisis profundo de las estructuras familiares, tratando de hacer hincapié en la variedad de situaciones y en la importancia de las pasiones y sentimientos que repercuten en la toma de decisiones y estrategias establecidas en las distintas esferas relacionales. Para ello, además de hacer uso de la importante producción historiográfica vasca y española, se hecha mano de documentación judicial, custodiada en archivos como el Archivo de la Real Chancillería de Valladolid y el Archivo General de Gipuzkoa

Ikasgelan gauzatzen diren gatazkaz ohartuz

Laburpena: Bost urteko gela batean burututako ikerketa lan honen bidez, gure inguruko eskoletan ohikoa den egoera aztertu nahi da. Hots, eskoletan ematen diren gatazka egoerak, hain zuzen ere. Gainera, argi izan behar dugu hauek ondo bideratzen ez badira biolentzia edota agresibitate egoerak bilakatu daitezkeela. Gatazka hauek bi eratan ulertu daitezke: alde batetik, umearen jokabide negatibo gisa; edota, gaiaren inguruko hausnarketa sakona eginez gero, umeak ingurunea ulertzeko eta horrekin interakzioak egiteko erabiltzen dituen ikasketa mekanismo gisa. Argi dago beraz, gatazka hauen izaera parametro ezberdinek osatzen dutela: irakaslearen papera, eskainitako baliabideak, umearen garapena, etab. Ikuspuntu honetatik lanean ikasgelan bizi izandako gatazken ezaugarrien frekuentzia erregistroa egin da. Gatazka hauen interpretazioak haur hezkuntzako irakasleei hobetu ulertzen eta honekin batera, hauek era positibo batean bideratzen lagundu ahal dizkie.

La mediación como recurso pedagógico por y para la convivencia pacífica en los centros educativos

Resumen: Los centros educativos son un lugar de convivencia y, como en otros ámbitos de la sociedad, se producen conflictos. Si no se gestionan de manera positiva, éstos pueden afectar a dicha convivencia y para ello, se deben fomentar habilidades sociales específicas como lo es la mediación. Como estructura sistémica, la mediación es una herramienta de trabajo por y para la convivencia pacífica en los centros, en la que los alumnos adquieren un papel protagonista en su propia educación. Así, a través del diálogo los alumnos afrontan los problemas que surgen diariamente, adquiriendo compromisos y responsabilidades, tanto consigo mismo como con los demás; lo que mejora sensiblemente el clima escolar.

La mediación para resolver los conflictos en las aulas

RESUMEN: Este trabajo muestra qué es el conflicto, las estrategias más utilizadas en educación para gestionarlo y en concreto la de la mediación. Además, contiene un análisis cualitativo para conocer la necesidad e importancia de tener un programa de mediación en las escuelas, realizado a través de varias entrevistas en tres centros educativos del País Vasco. El análisis de estas entrevistas lleva a pensar que la mediación es una herramienta adecuada para resolver los conflictos que se crean en las escuelas, pero que no debe ser la única, sino una más dentro de los programas y planes de un centro.

Towards a Participatory Integrated Assessment Approach for Planning and Managing Natura 2000 Network Sites

36 p.

From social to political. New forms of mobilization and democratization. Conference proceedings

In the recent evolution of contemporary social movements three phases can be identified. The first phase is marked by the labour movement and the systemic importance attributed to the labour conflict in industrial societies. This conflict has been interpreted as a consequence of the shortcoming of social integration mechanisms by Emile Durkheim, as a rational conflict by entrepreneurs’ and workers’ interests by Max Wener, and as a central class struggle for the transformation of society by Karl Marx. The second phase in this development was led by the new social movements of the post-industrial society of the 1960s and 1970s’ students, women and environmentalist movements. Two new analytical perspectives have explained these movements’ meaning and actions. Resource mobilization theory (McAdam and Tilly) has focuses on rational attitudes and conflicts. Actionalist sociology, in turn, has identified the new protagonists of social conflicts that replaced the labour movement in postindustrial societies. The third phase emerges in a world characterized by the ascendance of markets, the increasingly prominent role of financial capital flows, the closure of communities, and fundamentalism. In this context, human rights and pro-democratization movements constitute alternatives to global domination and the systemic conditioning of individual and groups.

Does rating shopping exist in spanish securitization issues?

[EN] Debt issue credit ratings can lead to conflicts of interest as the issuer itself is entrusted with contracting and compensating the rating agency. Into the bargain, the credit rating agency may be involved in designing the issues that the same agency subsequently rates. Credit rating agencies thus could have incentives to rate issues advantageously. Given the economic importance of this issue, in this paper we have proposed to analyze this phenomenon, known as rating shopping in academic literature, for Spanish market securitization issues for the period of time comprehensive from January 1993 to December 2011. In sum 3,665 published ratings are been analysed, for an issued nominal amount of 791,090 million Euros. The results show an association between the credit rating agency contracted and the mean rating awarded. Significant differences are observed in the ratings associated to the contracting manager (or special purpose vehicle SPV- manager firm), to the number of ratings or to the type of collateral. Furthermore, a pattern compatible with rating shopping was observed for some types of collateral: abnormally high market shares associated with certain agencies awarding unusually generous ratings. However, this phenomenon is not seen to be widespread on the rating market associated to Spanish securitization issues.

Estado de conservación de los elementos constructivos del Palacio Guevara (Segura - Gipuzkoa)

107 pag.