3,4-Methylenedioxy-methamphetamine induces in vivo regional up-regulation of central nicotinic receptors in rats and potentiates the regulatory effects of nicotine on these receptors

Nicotine (NIC), the main psychostimulant compound of smoked tobacco, exerts its effects through activation of central nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR), which become up-regulated after chronic administration. Recent work has demonstrated that the recreational drug 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) has affinity for nAChR and also induces up-regulation of nAChR in PC 12 cells. Tobacco and MDMA are often consumed together. In the present work we studied the in vivo effect of a classic chronic dosing schedule of MDMA in rats, alone or combined with a chronic schedule of NIC, on the density of nAChR and on serotonin reuptake transporters. MDMA induced significant decreases in [3H]paroxetine binding in the cortex and hippocampus measured 24 h after the last dose and these decreases were not modified by the association with NIC. In the prefrontal cortex, NIC and MDMA each induced significant increases in [3H]epibatidine binding (29.5 and 34.6%, respectively) with respect to saline-treated rats, and these increases were significantly potentiated (up to 72.1%) when the two drugs were associated. Also in this area, [3H]methyllycaconitine binding was increased a 42.1% with NIC + MDMA but not when they were given alone. In the hippocampus, MDMA potentiated the a7 regulatory effects of NIC (raising a 25.5% increase to 52.5%) but alone was devoid of effect. MDMA had no effect on heteromeric nAChR in striatum and a coronal section of the midbrain containing superior colliculi, geniculate nuclei, substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area. Specific immunoprecipitation of solubilised receptors suggests that the up-regulated heteromeric nAChRs contain a4 and b2 subunits. Western blots with specific a4 and a7 antibodies showed no significant differences between the groups, indicating that, as reported for nicotine, up-regulation caused by MDMA is due to post-translational events rather than increased receptor synthesis.

The Spatial Distribution of Human Capital: Can It Really Be Explained by Regional Differences in Market Access?

This paper tests the robustness of estimates of market access impact on regional variability in human capital, as previously derived in the NEG literature. Our hypothesis is that these estimates of the coefficient of market access, in fact, capture the effects of regional differences in the industrial mix and the spatial dependence in the distribution of human capital. Results for the Spanish provinces indicate that the estimated impact of market access vanishes and becomes non-significant once these two elements are included in the empirical analysis.

Geography of talent and regional differences in Spain

Tentative empirical evidence suggests that the agglomeration of talent contributes to regional development. However, given that talented people are not evenly distributed across regions, this paper seeks to determine how the concentration of talent affects patterns of regional development. Here, we empirically evaluate the effects of the distribution of talent on regional differences by means of a detailed analysis of the 17 Autonomous Communities of Spain between 1996 and 2004. We hypothesise that regions specialising in strategic sectors that are creative and which can be assumed to enjoy rapid growth in productivity will experience faster rates of development and, in turn, that this concentration of talent will have a positive impact on the region’s economic performance. Thus, we believe that this mechanism can explain the marked regional imbalances in Spain. Our findings confirm that regional differences, measured in terms of GDP per capita and by, - industrial and service- oriented production, are influenced by the Communities’ talent bases as determined by, educational attainment and employment in assumed to be strategic for regional development, inasmuch as these sectors provide economic specialization.

The Emergence of Regional ICT Regulatory Spaces

This paper examines the role that existing Latin American policy institutions and regulatory coordination mechanisms (otherwise referred to as “regional regulatory spaces”) play in innovation and development of the ICT sector. In doing so, it recognizes that sector regulation does not currently match regional development, thereby limiting its potential progress. In order to shed light on the role that the “regional regulatory space” could potentially play, the author addresses three main questions: · Is there a hierarchy of policies by which it is presumed easy to “coordinate within well-defined technical subjects” but extremely challenging to “agree in matters of public policy?” · What would happen if policy divergence became more important than convergence? Is it reasonable to consider creating “regional regulatory spaces?” or should we focus solely on technological coordination? · Do institutions capable of serving as effective regional regulatory spaces already exist in Latin America or should we consider modifying existing institutions or creating new institutions? After analyzing these three overarching areas of concern, this paper then discusses the need to create a regional space in order to harmonize ICT regulatory frameworks and public policies. Ultimately, this work aims to advance the institutional formulation beyond pre-existing efforts.

Air services on thin routes : Regional versus low-cost airlines

An examination of the impact in the US and EU markets of two major innovations in the provision of air services on thin routes - regional jet technology and the low-cost business model - reveals significant differences. In the US, regional airlines monopolize a high proportion of thin routes, whereas low-cost carriers are dominant on these routes in Europe. Our results have different implications for business and leisure travelers, given that regional services provide a higher frequency of flights (at the expense of higher fares), while low-cost services offer lower fares (at the expense of lower flight frequencies).

The regional distribution of unemployment. What do micro-data tell us?

Regional disparities in unemployment rates are large and persistent. The literature provides evidence of their magnitude and evolution, as well as evidence of the role of certain economic, demographic and environmental factors in explaining the gap between regions of low and high unemployment. Most of these studies, however, adopt an aggregate approach and so do not account for the individual characteristics of the unemployed and employed in each region. This paper, by drawing on micro-data from the Spanish wave of the Labour Force Survey, seeks to remedy this shortcoming by analysing regional differentials in unemployment rates. An appropriate decomposition of the regional gap in the average probability of being unemployed enables us to distinguish between the contribution of differences in the regional distribution of individual characteristics from that attributable to a different impact of these characteristics on the probability of unemployment. Our results suggest that the well-documented disparities in regional unemployment are not just the result of regional heterogeneity in the distribution of individual characteristics. Non-negligible differences in the probability of unemployment remain after controlling for this type of heterogeneity, as a result of differences across regions in the impact of the observed characteristics. Among the factors considered in our analysis, regional differences in the endowment and impact of an individual’s education are shown to play a major role.

Regional Science trends through the analysis of the main facts of the 51st ERSA Conference

The 51st ERSA Conference held in Barcelona in 2011 was one of the largest ever. By examining the characteristics of the conference, this paper identifies the main trends in Regional Science and draws on a broad array of sources of information: the delegates" demographic details, the conference program itself, a satisfaction survey conducted among delegates, a quality survey addressed to those chairing the sessions and, finally, a bibliometric database including each author signing a paper presented at the conference. We finally run a regression analysis from which we show that for ERSA delegates what matters most is quality, and this must be the direction that future conferences should move toward. Ultimately, ERSA conferences are comprehensive, all-embracing occasions, representing an ideal opportunity for regional scientists to present their work to each other and to network.

La investigación de la geografía del turismo en España a través del análisis bibliométrico de las actas del coloquio de geografía del turismo, ocio y recreación (1990-2012)

Con el objetivo de explorar la naturaleza de la investigación geográfica sobre turismo en España, se llevó a cabo un estudio bibliométrico de las 13 actas del Coloquio que promueve el Grupo de Trabajo de Geografía del Turismo, Ocio y Recreación de la Asociación de Geó­ grafos Españoles (AGE). El análisis consideró centros, autores, territorios, temas y meto­ dologías. Hubo cierta correlación entre territorios productores de investigación, territorios investigados y territorios turísticos. Predominaron la temática de la articulación territorial del sistema turístico y la metodología del comentario.

La geografía vital y psicológica de la interculturalidad

This article suggests and discusses the surroundings (geography) of the interculturality. Traditionally the intercultural studies in educational sciences have been reduced to educational practice in schools. Nevertheless, it is suggested other areas or geographies to research and intervene. Based on Bronfenbrenner¿s ecologic model and the "vital and psychological geography" term, I propose the existence of four types of intercultural geographies: micro-intercultural, meso-intercultural, exo-intercultural and macro-intercultural geography. After defining these concepts, we illustrate them with some examples from different experiences and intervention-research projects. Finally, I suggest the "cultural psychogeography" as a discipline to understand the cultural function, origin and causes of social, educative and psychological phenomenons like interculturality

Human Capital Composition and Economic Growth at a Regional Level

With this paper we build a two-region model where both innovation and imitation are performed. In particular imitation takes the form of technological spillovers that lagging regions may exploit given certain human capital conditions. We show how the high skill content of each region’s workforce (rather than the average human capital stock) is crucial to determine convergence towards the income level of the leader region and to exploit the technological spillovers coming from the frontier. The same applies to bureaucratic/institutional quality which are conductive to higher growth in the long run. We test successfully our theoretical result over Spanish regions for the period between 1960 and 1997. We exploit system GMM estimators which allow us to correctly deal with endogeneity problems and small sample bias.

Regional heterogeneity in wage distributions. Evidence from Spain.

Regional differences in real wages have been shown to be both large and persistent in the U.S. and the U.K., as well as in the economies of other countries. Empirical evidence suggests that wage differentials adjusted for the cost of living cannot only be explained by the unequal spatial distribution of characteristics determining earnings. Rather, average wage gap decomposition reveals the important contribution made by regional heterogeneity in the price assigned to these characteristics. This paper proposes a method for assessing regional disparities in the entire wage distribution and for decomposing the effect of differences across regions in the endowments and prices of the characteristics. The hypothesis forwarded is that the results from previous studies obtained by comparing average regional wages may be partial and nonrobust. Empirical evidence from a matched employer-employee dataset for Spain confirms marked differences in wage distributions between regions, which do not result from worker and firm characteristics but from the increasing role of regional differences in the return to human capital.

Regional economic growth and human capital: the role of overeducation

The paper analyses the link between human capital and regional economic growth in the European Union. Using different indicators of human capital calculated from census microdata, we conclude that the recent economic performance of European regions is associated to an increase in overeducation. In fact, measures of educational mismatch seem to have a stronger connection to regional economic performance than other traditional measures of human capital stocks.

Human Capital Spillovers Productivity and Regional Convergence in Spain

This paper analyses the differential impact of human capital, in terms of different levels of schooling, on regional productivity and convergence. The potential existence of geographical spillovers of human capital is also considered by applying spatial panel data techniques. The empirical analysis of Spanish provinces between 1980 and 2007 confirms the positive impact of human capital on regional productivity and convergence, but reveals no evidence of any positive geographical spillovers of human capital. In fact, in some specifications the spatial lag presented by tertiary studies has a negative effect on the variables under consideration.

Human Capital and Regional Wage Gaps

This paper uses micro-level data to analyse the effect of human capital on regional wage differentials. The results for the set of Spanish regions confirm that they differ in the endowment of human capital, but also that the return that individuals obtain from it varies sharply across regions. Regional heterogeneity in returns is especially intense in the case of education, particularly when considering its effect on the employability of individuals. These differences in endowment and, especially, in returns to human capital, account for a significant proportion of regional wage gaps.

Cross-national neighbouring effects on European regional specialization

In undertaking an analysis of neighbouring effects on European regional patterns of specialization, this paper makes two main contributions to the literature. First, we use a spatial weight matrix that takes into consideration membership of an EU cross-border regional association. We then compare our results with those obtained using a contiguity matrix and constitute an upper bound for our parameter of interest. In a further stage, we divide the CBR associations on the basis of their longstanding and the intensity of their cooperation to determine whether the association type has a significant impact. Second, we examine the sensitivity of our results to the use of alternative relative specialization indices.