On the regional impact of public capital formation in Spain

The objective of this paper is to investigate, in a methodologically consistent manner, the regional effects of public capital formation and the possible existence of regional spillover effects in Spain. The empirical results are based on VAR estimates at both the aggregate and regional levels using output, employment, and private capital, as well as different measures of public capital. Empirical results suggest that public capital affects output positively at the aggregate level as well as in all but one region. For most regions, the effects of public capital installed in the region itself are important but the spillover effects induced from public capital installed elsewhere are also very important. In fact, the spillover effects account for over half of the total effects of public capital formation in Spain. Furthermore, these spillover effects have a clear geographical pattern in that they tend to be more important in the peripheral regions of the country. We also find that relative to their share of the Spanish output, the biggest beneficiaries of public capital formation are the largest regions in the country. This suggests that public capital formation has contributed to concentration of output in these regions. Finally, in terms of the effects of public capital formation on the private inputs we find that both private capital and employment are affected positively at the aggregate level as well as for most of the regions. Nevertheless, the effects on private capital seem to be larger. Also, the spillover effects are very important for private capital but not for employment. This reflects a great degree of dynamism and mobility in the capital markets as opposed to the labor markets.

Regional decomposition of CO2 emissions in the world: a cluster analysis

The purpose of this paper is to study the possible differences among countries as CO2 emitters and to examine the underlying causes of these differences. The starting point of the analysis is the Kaya identity, which allows us to break down per capita emissions in four components: an index of carbon intensity, transformation efficiency, energy intensity and social wealth. Through a cluster analysis we have identified five groups of countries with different behavior according to these four factors. One significant finding is that these groups are stable for the period analyzed. This suggests that a study based on these components can characterize quite accurately the polluting behavior of individual countries, that is to say, the classification found in the analysis could be used in other studies which look to study the behavior of countries in terms of CO2 emissions in homogeneous groups. In this sense, it supposes an advance over the traditional regional or rich-poor countries classifications .

Regional income inequalities in Europe: an updated measurement and some decomposition results

In this paper well-known summary inequality indexes are used to explore interregional income inequalities in Europe. In particular, we mainly employ Theils’population-weighted index because of its appealing properties. Two decomposition analysis are applied. First, regional inequalities are decomposed by regional subgroups (countries). Second, intertemporal inequality changes are separated into income and population changes. The main results can be summarized as follows. First, data confirm a reduction in crossregional inequality during 1982-97. Second, this reduction is basically due to real convergence among countries. Third, currently the greater part of European interregional disparities is within-country by nature, which introduce an important challenge for the European policy. Fourth, inequality changes are due mainly to income variations, population changes playing a minor role.

Knowledge, networks of cities and growth in regional urban systems

The objective of this paper is to measure the impact of different kinds of knowledge and external economies on urban growth in an intraregional context. The main hypothesis is that knowledge leads to growth, and that this knowledge is related to the existence of agglomeration and network externalities in cities. We develop a three-tage methodology: first, we measure the amount and growth of knowledge in cities using the OCDE (2003) classification and employment data; second, we identify the spatial structure of the area of analysis (networks of cities); third, we combine the Glaeser - Henderson - De Lucio models with spatial econometric specifications in order to contrast the existence of spatially static (agglomeration) and spatially dynamic (network) external economies in an urban growth model. Results suggest that higher growth rates are associated to higher levels of technology and knowledge. The growth of the different kinds of knowledge is related to local and spatial factors (agglomeration and network externalities) and each knowledge intensity shows a particular response to these factors. These results have implications for policy design, since we can forecast and intervene on local knowledge development paths.

Descentralisation, integration and polycentrism in Barcelona

In this study the employment subcentres of the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona are identified using different criteria. Once catalogued according to their nature,i.e. subcentres arising from integration and decentralisation, they are analysed to see whether their impact on population density depends on their origin. The results obtained confirm a greater impact of integrated subcentres in comparison with decentralised ones, amplified in turn by the fact that the former are further from the CBD and present a greater degree of self-containment in the labor market.

Financial integration, productivity and capital accumulation

Understanding the mechanism through which financial globalization affects economic performance is crucial for evaluating the costs and benefits of opening financial markets. This paper is a first attempt at disentangling the effects of financial integration on the two main determinants of economic performance: productivity (TFP) and investments. I provide empirical evidence from a sample of 93 countries observed between 1975 and 1999. The results suggest that financial integration has a positive direct effect on productivity, while it spurs capital accumulation only with some delay and indirectly, since capital follows the rise in productivity. I control for indirect effects of financial globalization through banking crises. Such episodes depress both investments and TFP, though they are triggered by financial integration only to a minor extent.

Why did London become the main money market? Monetary Policy, Arbitrage and European Money Market Integration in 18th century

How did the leading capital market start to attract international bullion? Why did London become the main money market? Monetary regulations, including the charges for minting money and the restrictions on bullion exchange, have played the key role in defining the direction of the flow of international bullion. Countries that abolished minting charges and permitted the free movement of bullion were able to attract international bullion, and countries that applied minting taxes suffered an outflow of bullion. In these cases monetary authorities tried to limit bullion movement through prohibitions on domestic bullion exchange at a free price, and tariffs and quantitative restrictions on bullion exports. The paper illustrates the logic of international monetary flow in the 18th century, using empirical evidence for England, France and Spain. The first section defines and measures monetary policy, and the second section introduces minting charges into the arbitrage equation in order to explain the logic of bullion flow between the pairs of nations England-France, England-Spain and France-Spain. The conclusion emphasises the importance of monetary policy in the creation of leading money markets.

La Inversión española en el extranjero (1993-2005). Origen regional: análisis y evolución

A nivel mundial, en las últimas tres décadas, la inversión directa ha experimentado un desarrollo espectacular. Los datos de la UNCTAD muestran como, entre 1970 y 2005, los flujos de inversión emitida crecieron más de un quinientos por cien. A pesar que, para el conjunto del periodo estos incrementos inversión fueron continuados, hay que diferenciar cuatro etapas. Hasta principios de los ochenta, el volumen no era excesivamente elevado, pero las tasas de incremento mostraban una tendencia cada vez mayor en el desarrollo de la inversión a nivel mundial. Entre mediados de los ochenta y noventa, los flujos empezaron a crecer de forma más notable y sostenida. El boom inversor se produjo, sobretodo, a partir de los cuatro últimos años del siglo veinte, cuando la inversión creció a un ritmo espectacular; con tasas de incremento anual que en algunos años (como el de 1999) rozaron el sesenta por ciento. Tras el inicio del siglo XXI, la inversión directa se ralentizó. Entre los años 2001 y 2005 las salidas de capital disminuyeron y, aunque se mantuvieron en niveles ciertamente altos en comparación con el conjunto del periodo, fueron sensiblemente más bajos que los registrados a finales de la década de los noventa. El incremento general de este tipo de movimientos internacionales de capital, iniciado, sobretodo, a partir de la década de los ochenta y eclosionado a mediados de los noventa tuvo origen en un contexto de progresiva y paulatina liberalización de las relaciones económicas a nivel mundial; en transformaciones institucionales de gran calado en prácticamente todas las economías del mundo, y en un contexto de fuerte crecimiento económico impulsado, en gran parte, por el desarrollo tecnológico de la llamada "nueva economía".

Creating the Gorizia-Goriska euroregion: an European cross-border administrative model for integrated socio-economic development in the upper adriatic. Crossborder co-operation as a tool for trans-national integration and conflict resolution

Contribució al Seminari: "Les Euroregions: Experiències i aprenatges per a l’Euroregió Pirineus-Mediterrània", 15-16 de desembre de 2005

Inversión en infraestructuras, crecimiento y convergencia regional

This paper presents estimates of the contribution of infrastructure investment to the growth of output and employment in Spain and its regions and investigates the impact of this factor on the process of regional convergence in income per capita during the period 1965-2004.

Stock market integration between new EU member states and the Euro-zone

This paper measures the degree in stock market integration between five Eastern European countries and the Euro-zone. A potentially gradual transition in correlations is accommodated by smooth transition conditional correlation models. We find that the correlation between stock markets has increased from 2001 to 2007. In particular, the Czech and Polish markets show a higher correlation to the Euro-zone. However, this is not a broad-based phenomenon across Eastern Europe. We also find that the increase in correlations is not a reflection of a world-wide phenomenon of financial integration but appears to be specific to the European market. JEL classifications: C32; C51; F36; G15 Keywords: Multivariate GARCH; Smooth Transition Conditional Correlation; Stock Return Comovement; New EU Members.

Progress Towards to Equity Market Integration in Eastern Europe

The advent of the European Union has decreased the diversification benefits available from country based equity market indices in the region. This paper measures the increase in stock integration between the three largest new EU members (Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland who joined in May 2004) and the Euro-zone. A potentially gradual transition in correlations is accommodated in a single VAR model by embedding smooth transition conditional correlation models with fat tails, spillovers, volatility clustering, and asymmetric volatility effects. At the country market index level all three Eastern European markets show a considerable increase in correlations in 2006. At the industry level the dates and transition periods for the correlations differ, and the correlations are lower although also increasing. The results show that sectoral indices in Eastern European markets may provide larger diversification opportunities than the aggregate market. JEL classifications: C32; C51; F36; G15 Keywords: Multivariate GARCH; Smooth Transition Conditional Correlation; Stock Return Comovement; Sectoral correlations; New EU Members

Why the EU does not Have an Independent Competition Agency: French Interests and Transaction Costs in Early European Integration

A major achievement of new institutionalism in economics and political science is the formalisation of the idea that certain policies are more efficient when administered by a politically independent organisation. Based on this insight, several policy actors and scholars criticise the European Community for relying too much on a multi-task, collegial, and politicised organisation, the European Commission. This raises important questions, some constitutional (who should be able to change the corresponding procedural rules?) and some political-economic (is Europe truly committed to free and competitive markets?). Though acknowledging the relevance of legal and normative arguments, this paper contributes to the debate with a positive political-scientific perspective. Based on the view that institutional equilibria raise the question of equilibrium institutions, it shows that collegiality was (a) an equilibrium institution during the Paris negotiations of 1950-51; and (b) an institutional equilibrium for the following 50 years. The conclusion points to some recent changes in the way that European competition policy is implemented, and discusses how these affect the “constitutional” principle of collegial European governance.

El Orden regional de Asia oriental en materia de seguridad

El trabajo analiza los procesos de gestación y evolución del orden regional de Asia oriental en materia de seguridad, así como la estructura normativa del mismo. En estos procesos las iniciativas bilaterales de los Estados tradicionalmente han jugado un papel determinante. Las últimas dos décadas, no obstante, han sido testigo del creciente peso de otros actores no estatales en el marco del llamado second track y del impulso de iniciativas multilaterales. En cuanto a la estructura de este orden, por otra parte, ésta se compone de unos principios y normas constitucionales y de unas instituciones fundamentales que delimitan un orden diferente de y compatible con el orden internacional actual.

The role of attention in multisensory integration processes

Report for the scientific sojourn at the University of Queensland, Australia, between June to October 2007. The integration of sensory information coming from different modalities is a subjectively effortless and automatic process. However, recent findings converge on the idea that there might be some limitations on how much multisensory information can our brains integrate at a given moment. The overall objective of this research visit was to expand and reinforce our current line of research addressing the role that attention plays on the mechanisms responsible for multisensory integration. There is also a critical review of the literature as well as a list of research questions of potential interest in the area of the neuropsychology of multisensory attention.