La democratización de la investigación biomédica

La tecnociencia biomédica debe abrir sus puertas a la democracia. El poder político y el derecho deben redefinir sus relaciones con la tecnociencia para que los científicos, expertos y ejecutivos de las empresas tecnocientíficas no sigan teniendo sólo en sus manos las decisiones sobre la orientación de las investigaciones y las prioridades científico-tecnológicas. La política de la ciencia y sus aplicaciones técnicas deben abrirse a la participación ciudadana, pasar a formar parte de la opinión pública y a ser tratados como asuntos transversales de las políticas públicas. Para ello es necesario que el principio democrático se instale en el seno de la tecnociencia. La libertad de investigación no es incompatible con el hecho de que las decisiones sobre la política científica sean, además de responsables, participativas y transparentes.

Juventud, políticas públicas y crisis en España: ¿Triángulo mágico o triángulo de las Bermudas?

In times of crisis, the youth policies are experiencing enormous cutbacks and transformations to the point that we are wondering whether they really exist as public policies with their own entity. The situation in which many young people find themselves in Spain leads them to wonder where the traditional protection networks are: The family, the NGO’s or the Welfare State, when they are really needed. Our objective in this article is to show and discuss the situation of the youth policies in Spain in the present context of social austerity and drastic cutbacks. We carry out this analysis from the parameters of the magical triangle that unite policies, research and social work with young people

Que lo urgente no relegue lo importante: absentismo vs. productividad

[spa] El debate sobre la productividad de los empleados públicos se mezcla a menudo con alusiones al grado de absentismo de estos. Existe la percepción de que la productividad es baja y el absentismo es muy preocupante y principal causa de la primera. Sin embargo, esta presumida relación causa-efecto es, en muchos casos, cuestionable. Por ello quisimos conocer la opinión de quienes tienen responsabilidad política, directiva o de gestión sobre la ocupación pública. Para ello realizamos una encuesta entre personas con dicho perfil en las Administraciones catalanas (142 encuestados). Un primer análisis nos permite aventurar que el absentismo no es tan apabullante; sin embargo, sí que preocupa la dudosa veracidad de las motivaciones de muchas de las bajas de corta duración. También destaca que la gran mayoría de los entrevistados crea que se debe incidir menos en la presencia efectiva del empleado y más en la fórmula de flexibilidad horaria y de logro de objetivos. Estas y otras observaciones nos llevan a cuestionarnos si la urgencia por combatir un nivel de absentismo que ni los datos ni la percepción entre gestores públicos le confieren el atributo de alarmante nos aleja de lo que sí es importante: la productividad.

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.

Identifying strategies for mitigating the global warming impact of the EU-25 economy using a multi-objective input-output approach

Global warming mitigation has recently become a priority worldwide. A large body of literature dealing with energy related problems has focused on reducing greenhouse gases emissions at an engineering scale. In contrast, the minimization of climate change at a wider macroeconomic level has so far received much less attention. We investigate here the issue of how to mitigate global warming by performing changes in an economy. To this end, we make use of a systematic tool that combines three methods: linear programming, environmentally extended input output models, and life cycle assessment principles. The problem of identifying key economic sectors that contribute significantly to global warming is posed in mathematical terms as a bi criteria linear program that seeks to optimize simultaneously the total economic output and the total life cycle CO2 emissions. We have applied this approach to the European Union economy, finding that significant reductions in global warming potential can be attained by regulating specific economic sectors. Our tool is intended to aid policymakers in the design of more effective public policies for achieving the environmental and economic targets sought.

Ante la polisemia del término absentismo, un intento de concreción de las condiciones necesarias del concepto

[spa] Las distintas aproximaciones al absentismo que se han realizado desde diferentes ramas del conocimiento: económico, legal, médico y psicosocial, no sólo no han ayudado a definir el concepto sino que han aportado una considerable confusión. Las múltiples invocaciones al término se mueven en una escala de generalidad en la que la mayor intensión correlaciona negativamente con la extensión. Porque cuando se asimila cualquier ausencia del puesto de trabajo con el absentismo, casi todo cabe; pero el concepto se vuelve vago y se pierde en una mezcolanza de adjetivos que no permiten avanzar en su comprensión. Si por el contrario, sólo denominamos absentismo a las conductas que tengan los atributos básicos, muchas de las definiciones que hemos analizado no versarán sobre absentismo. Pero como contrapartida, tendremos una referencia conceptual desde la que estudiar y afrontar el fenómeno. Para nosotros son tres las condiciones necesarias, aunque no suficientes por sí mismas, que permiten afrontar el absentismo como un fenómeno de interés politológico: la ausencia, la inexistencia de causa habilitante y la improductividad.

The economic value of reciprocal bilingualism

Some bilingual societies exhibit a distribution of language skills that can- not be explained by economic theories that portray languages as pure commu- nication devices. Such distribution of skills are typically the result of public policies that promote bilingualism among members of both speech commu- nities (reciprocal bilingualism). In this paper I argue that these policies are likely to increase social welfare by diminishing economic and social segmenta- tion between the two communities. However, these gains tend to be unequally distributed over the two communities. As a result, in a large range of circum- stances these policies might not draw su¢ cient support. The model is built upon the communicative value of languages, but also emphasizes the role of linguistic preferences in the behavior of bilingual individuals.

The determinants of capital intensity in Japan and the U.S

We estimate the determinants of capital intensity in Japan and the US, characterized by striking different paths. We augment an otherwise standard Constant Elasticity of Substitution (CES) model with demand-side considerations, which we find especially relevant in the US. In this augmented setting, the elasticity of substitution between capital and labor is placed around 0.85 in Japan, and 0.30 in the US. We also find evidence of biased technical change, which is capital-saving in Japan but labor-saving in the US. These differences help us explain the diverse experience in the capital deepening process of these economies, and lead us to conclude that demand-side drivers may also be relevant to account for different growth experiences. A close look at the nature of technological change is also needed before designing one-size-fits-all industrial, economic growth, and/or labor market policies.