A territorial approach to R&D subsidies: Empirical evidence for Catalonian firms

Using a database of 2,263 responses to R&D public calls in Catalonia, during the period 2007–2010, this paper proceeds to analyse the potential interaction of the territorial and policy dimensions with the propensity to apply for, and be awarded, a public R&D subsidy. Controlling for characteristics at the firm and project level, we estimate models using a twostep procedure. In the first step, our results suggest that large firms which export and which belong to high-tech manufactures are more likely to participate in a public R&D call. Furthermore, both urban location and past experience of such calls have a positive effect. Our territorial proxy of information spillovers shows a positive sign, but this is only significant at intra-industry level. Membership of one of the sectors prioritized by the Catalan government, perhaps surprisingly, does not have a significant impact. In the second step, our results show that cooperative projects, SMEs or old firms shows a positive effect on the probability of obtaining a public subsidy. Finally, the cluster policy does not show a clear relationship with the public R&D call, suggesting that cluster policies and R&D subsidies follow different goals. Our results are in line with previous results in the literature, but they highlight the unequal territorial distribution of the firms which apply and the fact that policymakers should interlink the decision criteria for their public call with other policies.

A territorial approach to R&D subsidies: Empirical evidence for Catalonian firms

Using a database of 2,263 responses to R&D public calls in Catalonia, during the period 2007–2010, this paper proceeds to analyse the potential interaction of the territorial and policy dimensions with the propensity to apply for, and be awarded, a public R&D subsidy. Controlling for characteristics at the firm and project level, we estimate models using a two-step procedure. In the first step, our results suggest that large firms which export and which belong to high-tech manufactures are more likely to participate in a public R&D call. Furthermore, both urban location and past experience of such calls have a positive effect. Our territorial proxy of information spillovers shows a positive sign, but this is only significant at intra-industry level. Membership of one of the sectors prioritized by the Catalan government, perhaps surprisingly, does not have a significant impact. In the second step, our results show that cooperative projects, SMEs or old firms shows a positive effect on the probability of obtaining a public subsidy. Finally, the cluster policy does not show a clear relationship with the public R&D call, suggesting that cluster policies and R&D subsidies follow different goals. Our results are in line with previous results in the literature, but they highlight the unequal territorial distribution of the firms which apply and the fact that policymakers should interlink the decision criteria for their public call with other policies. Keywords: Evaluation, R&D policies, territorial approach, clusters JEL Classifications: L53, L25, O38

Estudi per a la implantació d'un ERP en una empresa de fabricació de material per a minusvàlids

Un sistema ERP és una aplicació que ens permet fer la gestió dels processos de negoci de una forma àgil. Aquest projecte tracta sobre l’estudi per a la implantació d’un ERP en una empresa de fabricació de material per a minusvàlids. Inicialment es farà una part teòrica sobre el que són els sistemes ERP. A continuació, s’analitza el funcionament de l’empresa on es realitzarà l’estudi. Finalment, s’estudien tres solucions ERP del mercat actual i es selecciona la que millor s’adapta a les necessitats i requeriments en vistes a una possible implantació.

A state-space approach for measuring regional manufacturing production indices

In this paper we propose a latent variable model, in the spirit of Israilevich and Kuttner (1993), to measure regional manufacturing production. To test the validity of the proposed methodology, we have applied it for those Spanish regions that have a direct quantitative index. The results demonstrate the accuracy of the methodology proposed and show that it can overcome some of the difficulties of the indirect method applied by the INE, the Spanish National Institute of Statistics.

A dynamic analysis of asymmetric shocks in EU manufacturing

Available empirical evidence regarding the degree of symmetry between European economies in the context of Monetary Unification is not conclusive. This paper offers new empirical evidence concerning this issue related to the manufacturing sector. Instead of using a static approach as most empirical studies do, we analyse the dynamic evolution of shock symmetry using a state-space model. The results show a clear reduction of asymmetries in terms of demand shocks between 1975 and 1996, with an increase in terms of supply shocks at the end of the period.

Automatització d'un procés de fabricació de peces plàstiques

RESUM L'automatització s'utilitza des de fa molts anys, tot i que va començar a agafar la definició que coneixem actualment al voltant dels anys seixanta i setanta, moment en què es comencen a comercialitzar els primers PLC. A partir d'aquí, el seu creixement ha estat exponencial. En aquest sentit, la tecnologia ha anat avançant i ha augmentat els components que la forma, per això a hores d'ara encara no sabem fins on podrà arribar i què aconseguirà. Per a la indústria tot això ha significat l'automatització de processos que fins ara utilitzaven molt mà d'obra, reduint-la dràsticament. Una de les indústries que més s'ha beneficiat de tots aquests avenços ha estat la de l'automoció, concretament les seves grans línies de producció, automatitzades a uns nivells que fins fa poc temps eren impensables. Aquest projecte forma part d'aquesta indústria, no directament per a la construcció de l'automòbil, sinó indirectament, ja que l'empresa per a la qual s'ha fet l'automatització fabrica peces plàstiques per a automòbils. Concretament, unes peces amb uns injerts metàl•lics conductors que es munten a tots els vehicles i s'utilitzen per accionar els neteja vidres dels cotxes. Aquest fet implica que la fabricació i el disseny de la peça sigui curosament vigilat i controlat per al client final, amb uns controls de qualitat extremadament exigents. El funcionament del procés de fabricació es fa a partir d'unes peces de plàstic produïdes per una injectora que es fan passar per unes estacions automatitzades, cada una de les quals fa una acció concreta per aconseguir el muntatge final.