Infraestructuras y desarrollo económico en el Pirineo Central (1850-2000)

This paper is aimed at describing the impact of infrastructure on the economic evolution of Central Pyrenees (i.e., Huesca and the Catalan"Alt Pirineu"). The text analyses if investment in railways, roads and dams favoured economic development or, on the contrary, was just an instrument to extract domestic resources. The paper distinguishes among three different periods. Firstly, during the second half of the nineteenth century and the first few years of the twentieth century, the lack of railway connections prevented the economic development of the area. Secondly, between the first decades of the twentieth century and 1975, a road network was set up that reinforced the economic decadence of the most depressed valleys, and the construction of large dams was a powerful factor of depopulation all over the region. Finally, from 1975 onwards, some trends may be observed towards the correction of the previous policies.

Autovías y ferrocarriles: un modelo para evaluar efectos intermodales de la política de infraestructuras

La construcción de autovías disminuye el coste temporal del viaje por carretera, con efectos sobre la demanda del transporte por carretera. Pero, además de los efectos intramodales, existen efectos intermodales, puesto que las autovías afectan a la demanda en otros modos alternativos a la carretera. En este trabajo formulamos y contrastamos empíricamente un modelo que permite obtener resultados para evaluar el impacto de las autovías sobre la demanda de ferrocarril. Seguidamente se pronostican algunos efectos sobre la demanda ferroviaria de algunas actuaciones en infraestructuras viarias incluidas en el Plan Director de Infraestructuras (1993-2007).

The spreading of the introduced seaweed Caulerpa taxifolia (Vahl) C. Agardh in the Mediterranean Sea: testing the boat transportation hypothesis

The Spreading of the Introduced Seaweed Caulerpa taxifolia (Vahl) C. Agardh in the Mediterranean Sea: Testing the Boat Transportation Hypothesis

The Spatial effects of transportation on industrial employment

This paper examines the direct and indirect impacts of transport infrastructure on industrial employment. We estimate regressions with spatial econometric methods using data from the Spanish regions for the period 1995-2008. We find that the density of motorways and the amount of port traffic (particularly general non-containerized and container traffic) are significant determinants of industrial employment in the region, while the effects of railway density and the amount of airport traffic are unclear. Our empirical analysis shows the existence of significant negative spatial spillovers for the density of motorways and levels of container port traffic while the impact of general non-containerized port traffic seems to be mainly local.

Pork Barrel politics in semi-democracies: the Spanish 'Parlamentary roads', 1874-1915

This paper analyzes the effects of parliamentary representation on road infrastructure expenditure during the Spanish Restoration. Using a panel dataset of Spanish provinces in 1880-1914 we find that the allocation of administrative resources among provinces depended both on the delegation characteristics (such as the share of MPs with party leadership positions, and their degree of electoral independence), and the regime"s global search for stability. These results point to the importance of electoral dynamics within semi-democratic political systems, and offer an example of the influence of government tactics on infrastructure allocation.

Pork Barrel politics in semi-democracies: the Spanish 'Parlamentary roads', 1874-1915

This paper analyzes the effects of parliamentary representation on road infrastructure expenditure during the Spanish Restoration. Using a panel dataset of Spanish provinces in 1880-1914 we find that the allocation of administrative resources among provinces depended both on the delegation characteristics (such as the share of MPs with party leadership positions, and their degree of electoral independence), and the regime"s global search for stability. These results point to the importance of electoral dynamics within semi-democratic political systems, and offer an example of the influence of government tactics on infrastructure allocation.