The dynamic adjustment of local government budgets : Does Spain behave differently?

[spa] El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar si los municipios españoles se ajustan en presencia de un shock presupuestario y (si es así) qué elementos del presupuesto son los que realizan el ajuste. La metodología utilizada para contestar estas preguntas es un mecanismo de corrección del error, VECM, que estimamos con un panel de datos de los municipios españoles durante el período 1988-2006. Nuestros resultados confirman que, en primer lugar, los municipios se ajustan en presencia de un shock fiscal (es decir, el déficit es estacionario en el largo plazo). En segundo lugar, obtenemos que cuando el shock afecta a los ingresos el ajuste lo soporta principalmente el municipio reduciendo el gasto, las transferencias tienen un papel muy reducido en este proceso de ajuste. Por el contrario, cuando el shock afecta al gasto, el ajuste es compartido en términos similares entre el municipio – incrementado los impuestos – y los gobiernos de niveles superiores – incrementando las transferencias. Estos resultados sugieren que la viabilidad de las finanzas pública locales es factible con diferentes entornos institucionales.

Auction theory, sequential local service privatization, and the effects of geographical scale economies on effective competition

A sequential weakly efficient two-auction game with entry costs, interdependence between objects, two potential bidders and IPV assumption is presented here in order to give some theoretical predictions on the effects of geographical scale economies on local service privatization performance. It is shown that the first object seller takes profit of this interdependence. The interdependence externality rises effective competition for the first object, expressed as the probability of having more than one final bidder. Besides, if there is more than one final bidder in the first auction, seller extracts the entire bidder¿s expected future surplus differential between having won the first auction and having lost. Consequences for second object seller are less clear, reflecting the contradictory nature of the two main effects of object interdependence. On the one hand, first auction winner becomes ¿stronger¿, so that expected payments rise in a competitive environment. On the other hand, first auction loser becomes relatively ¿weaker¿, hence (probably) reducing effective competition for the second object. Additionally, some contributions to static auction theory with entry cost and asymmetric bidders are presented in the appendix

Estructura y tipología de las "estimes-manifests" en Cataluña (Siglos XIV-XV)

Este artículo es una recapitulación y una puesta al día de nuestros actuales conocimientos sobre los libros de estimes o de manifests confeccionados en los municipios catalanes durante la Edad Media. Para ello se revisa la situación historiográfica, se plantea el estado de la cuestión sobre la materia y se abordan los principales problemas planteados entorno a la confección de los libros de estimes o de manifest a partir de un significativo elenco de ejemplos locales. Además del particularismo geográfico, el trabajo no olvida el enfoque evolutivo. Pese a la variadísima casuística existente, debida a que no existió un marco normativo único o general, se analizan los criterios que cada municipio puso en práctica en la elaboración de las estimes o manifests y se repasan los procedimientos seguidos tanto en la declaración de los bienes como los relativos a la tipología de la riqueza anotada.

Partial correlation : Network analysis

The final year project came to us as an opportunity to get involved in a topic which has appeared to be attractive during the learning process of majoring in economics: statistics and its application to the analysis of economic data, i.e. econometrics.Moreover, the combination of econometrics and computer science is a very hot topic nowadays, given the Information Technologies boom in the last decades and the consequent exponential increase in the amount of data collected and stored day by day. Data analysts able to deal with Big Data and to find useful results from it are verydemanded in these days and, according to our understanding, the work they do, although sometimes controversial in terms of ethics, is a clear source of value added both for private corporations and the public sector. For these reasons, the essence of this project is the study of a statistical instrument valid for the analysis of large datasets which is directly related to computer science: Partial Correlation Networks.The structure of the project has been determined by our objectives through the development of it. At first, the characteristics of the studied instrument are explained, from the basic ideas up to the features of the model behind it, with the final goal of presenting SPACE model as a tool for estimating interconnections in between elements in large data sets. Afterwards, an illustrated simulation is performed in order to show the power and efficiency of the model presented. And at last, the model is put into practice by analyzing a relatively large data set of real world data, with the objective of assessing whether the proposed statistical instrument is valid and useful when applied to a real multivariate time series. In short, our main goals are to present the model and evaluate if Partial Correlation Network Analysis is an effective, useful instrument and allows finding valuable results from Big Data.As a result, the findings all along this project suggest the Partial Correlation Estimation by Joint Sparse Regression Models approach presented by Peng et al. (2009) to work well under the assumption of sparsity of data. Moreover, partial correlation networks are shown to be a very valid tool to represent cross-sectional interconnections in between elements in large data sets.The scope of this project is however limited, as there are some sections in which deeper analysis would have been appropriate. Considering intertemporal connections in between elements, the choice of the tuning parameter lambda, or a deeper analysis of the results in the real data application are examples of aspects in which this project could be completed.To sum up, the analyzed statistical tool has been proved to be a very useful instrument to find relationships that connect the elements present in a large data set. And after all, partial correlation networks allow the owner of this set to observe and analyze the existing linkages that could have been omitted otherwise.

Licensing Review in R+D Projects

FOSS packages are becoming ever more present in R&D projects carried out a variety of entities, including large corporations. I will focus on how legal risks associated with the use of FOSS licenses can be assessed and discuss measures directed to risk mitigation.

El fútbol y el negocio del entretenimiento global. Los clubes como multinacionales del ocio

El artículo tiene como objetivo analizar el proceso de expansión internacional de los clubes más ricos del fútbol español durante la primera década del siglo XXI, Real Madrid y FC Barcelona. Después de que los clubes de la Premier League inglesa fueran los primeros en crear una estrategia de branding internacional, otras ligas y organizaciones deportivas han adoptado sus mismos sistemas de gestión empresarial. En España, el Real Madrid y el FC Barcelona son el ejemplo más evidente, por su número de fans en todo el mundo, por sus acuerdos internacionales en la comercialización de sus productos con otras organizaciones y por la presencia que tienen sus marcas en todo el mundo gracias a las inversiones de sus fundaciones en escuelas de fútbol en concepto de Responsabilidad Social Corporativa. Por eso, ambos clubes, Real Madrid y FC Barcelona, pueden calificarse de nuevas multinacionales del ocio.

Privatization, cooperation and costs of solid waste services in small towns

This paper analyzes the cost implications of privatization and cooperation in the provision of solid waste services for a sample of small municipalities. In conducting this empirical analysis, a survey is first designed and administered to municipalities in the Spanish region of Aragon, and then an estimation of the determinants of service costs is undertaken, considering the possible endogeneity of delivery choices. Our findings indicate that cooperation is more effective than privatization in saving costs. Both production forms can enable small municipalities to cut costs by exploiting scale economies. However, the fact that inter-municipal cooperation involves lower transaction costs and is less likely to be affected by competition problems would seem to account for the fact that it is a more effective way of reducing costs.

Why do municipalities cooperate to provide local public services? An empirical analysis

Intermunicipal cooperation is being increasingly adopted in various countries as a part of local service delivery reforms. This paper draws on survey data from Spain’s municipalities to examine the reasons underpinning the decisions of local governments to engage in intermunicipal cooperation and privatisation. Our empirical analysis indicates that small municipalities prefer to rely on cooperation for reducing costs, while their larger counterparts prefer to privatise the delivery of services. By cooperating, scale economies can be achieved with lower transaction costs and fewer concerns for competition than is the case via private production.

Col.legi d' educadors socials de Catalunya: un nou i necessari instrument al servei de la professió

Sempre és difícil assignar un origen a les iniciatives socials perquè, la majoria de vegades, solen resultar conseqüència de l'esforç col.lectiu de moltes persones i institucions. De totes formes podríem dir que del Col·legi Professional se'n parla, en molts dels àmbits de l'educació social, des de mitjans dels anys vuitanta. De fet, ja en la I Trobada d'Educadors Especialitzats Faustino Guerau (Barcelona, octubre de 1988), en parlar de les formes organitzatives del col.lectiu professional, ja va fer aparició aquest objectiu. Però llavors, ni tan sols existien associacions d'educadors en tot l'Estat espanyol, ni una Federació que les coordinés. El tema es reprèn en el I Congrés d'Educadors de Pamplona (març de 1987) i en el X Col.loqui Internacional de la AIEJI(J) (Barcelona, novembre de 1989). La prioritat es fixà en la creació de la Diplomatura i en això es posaren tots els esforços fins 1991. Després va seguir un període de crisi en les Associacions d'Educadors que se supera a finals del 1993. D'aquesta crisi se'n surt col·lectivament, amb una sèrie d'objectius entre els que ocupa un espai central el Col·legi Oficial. Així doncs, en el I Congrés de l'Educador Social d'abril de 1995 a Múrcia, un dels àmbits temàtics oberts fou el del Col·legi Professional. Més en concret, l' Associació Professiona1 d'Educadors Socials de Catalunya -APESC-, escull des del 1994, aquesta com una de les seves fites fonamentals per al bienni 1994-96. I en aquesta línia inicia des del 94 diferents contactes instituciona1s, polítics, amb altres col.lectius professionals, a1umnes ...

Emergence and development of a financial cluster: the evolution of Andorra’s banking deposits in the long-term, 1931-2007

This paper explores the origins of Andorra’s financial cluster. It shows that the free movement of currency, the protection of infant industry, and geographical concentration lie at the foundation of the cluster’s competitive advantage. Drawing on a new set of data, the paper also provides for the first time an estimate of the total deposits held by Andorra’s banks between 1931 and 2007. Based on this new information, the paper reaches the conclusion that the development of the cluster went through four distinct phases in which large companies, acting as leaders, played an important role in enhancing the cluster’s business capabilities.

The First Privatization Policy in a Democracy: Selling State-Owned Enterprises in 1948-1950, Puerto Rico

In the 1940s, when the Governor of Puerto Rico was appointed by the US President and the Puerto Rican government was answerable only to the US Federal government, a large state-owned enterprise (SOE) sector was established on the island. Public services such as water, transportation and energy were nationalized, and several new manufacturing SOEs were created to produce cement, glass, shoes, paper and chalkboard, and clay products. These enterprises were created and managed by government-owned corporations. Later on, between 1948 and 1950, under the island’s first elected Governor, the government sold these SOEs to private groups. This paper documents both the creation and the privatization of the SOE sector in Puerto Rico, and analyzes the role played by ideology, political interests, and economic concerns in the decision to privatize them. Whereas ideological factors might have played a significant role in the building of the SOE sector, we find that privatization was driven basically by economic factors, such as the superior efficiency of private firms in the sectors where the SOEs operated, and by the desire to attract private industrial investment to the Puerto Rican economy.

¿Por qué se privatizan servicios en los municipios (pequeños)? Evidencia empírica sobre residuos sólidos y agua

Este artículo examina los factores que influyen en la privatización de los servicios de residuos sólidos y suministro de agua. Se aprovecha la disponibilidad de datos para una muestra de municipios de Aragón para identificar los aspectos de mayor importancia en municipios de pequeña dimensión. Los resultados del análisis empírico muestran que, para ambos servicios, la situación financiera de los municipios influye de forma significativa en la decisión de privatizar de los municipios pequeños, mientras que los aspectos ideológicos no parecen tener importancia. Las motivaciones referidas a los costes varían en función de las características específicas del servicio considerado. En este sentido, la dispersión de los núcleos de población y la cooperación inter-municipal juegan un papel particularmente relevante en municipios de pequeña dimensión.

Mercado del libro y empresas editoriales entre el Centenario de Independencias y la Guerra Civil española: la editorial Sudamericana

[spa]Las estrategias comerciales de los libreros y editores españoles para desembarcar en los mercados americanos son analizadas en un contexto signado por las tendencias americanistas en el plano político y las iniciativas regeneracionistas en el económico durante el periodo que va del Centenario de las Independencias hasta la Guerra Civil española. Se abordan algunas de las políticas empresariales editoriales implementadas en Cataluña, el liderazgo ejercido por esta región como epicentro del proyecto hispano, y finalmente las condiciones que permitieron la creación de la editorial Sudamericana en Buenos Aires ante la inminencia del triunfo franquista. Los ejes de estudio son las estrategias editoriales y comerciales; el peso de las asociaciones y corporaciones patronales del libro; y los vínculos tejidos con el sector intelectual argentino en las primeras décadas del siglo XX a través de delegaciones consulares, instituciones culturales y cámaras españolas de comercio.

Intermunicipal cooperation and privatization of solid waste services among small municipalities in Spain

The aim of this paper is to analyze the effects of intermunicipal cooperation and privatization on the delivery costs of urban solid waste services. The results of our empirical analysis, which we conducted among a sample of very small municipalities, indicate that small towns that cooperate incur lower costs for their waste collection service. Cooperation also raises collection frequency and improves the quality of the service in small towns. By contrast, the form of production, whether it is public or private, does not result in systematic differences in costs. Interestingly, the degree of population dispersion has a significant positive relation with service costs. No evidence of scale economies is found because, it would seem, small municipalities exploit them by means of intermunicipal cooperation.

Choosing hybrid organizations for local services delivery : An empirical analysis of partial privatization

The empirical literature about factors explaining local government delivery choices has traditionally focused the attention on the public or private production dilemma. However, hybrid organizational forms such as mixed public-private firms are increasingly used in several European countries. This paper makes use of survey data from Spanish municipalities to examine motivations of local governments for engaging in hybrid organizational forms. Data refer to two very relevant local services: water distribution and solid waste collection. The empirical analysis indicates that the use of mixed firms emerge as a type of pragmatically based ‘third way’ between pure public and pure private production. Indeed, local governments make use of mixed firms when cost considerations (scale economies, transaction costs and soon), financial constraints and private interests exert contradictory pressures. On the contrary, political and ideological factors do not play any significant role on the local government decision of engaging or not in joint ventures with private partners.