Evaluating active labor markets in Romania

We evaluate the presence of effects from joining one of four active labour market programs in Romania in the late 1990s compared to the no-program state. Using rich follow-up survey data and propensity score matching, we find that three programs (training and retraining, self-employment assistance, and employment and relocation services) had success in improving participants' economic outcomes and were cost-beneficial from society's perspective. In contrast, public employment was found detrimental for the employment prospects of its participants.

Political institutions and the development of telecommunications

It has traditionally been argued that the development of telecommunications infrastructure is dependent on the quality of countries' political institutions. We estimate the effect of political institutions on the diffusion of three telecommunications services and find it to be much smaller in cellular telephony than in the others. By evaluating the importance of institutions for technologies rather than for industries, we reveal important growth opportunities for developing countries and offer policy implications for alleviating differences between countries in international telecommunications development. Keywords: Political constraints, telecommunications, GMM, economic development. JEL codes: O1, O3.

A Multisectorial model of prices: the SAM approach

Social Accounting Matrices (SAM) are normally used to analyse the income generation process. They are also useful, however, for analysing the cost transmission and price formation mechanisms. For price contributions, Roland-Holst and Sancho (1995) used the SAM structure to analyse the price and cost linkages through a representation of the interdependence between activities, households and factors. This paper is a further analysis of the cost transmission mechanisms, in which I add the capital account to the endogenous components of the Roland-Holst and Sancho approach. By doing this I reflect the responses of prices to the exogenous shocks in savings and investment. I also present an additive decomposition of the global price effects into categories of interdependence that isolates the impact on price levels of shocks in the capital account. I use a 1994 Social Accounting Matrix to make an empirical application of the Catalan economy. Keywords: social accounting matrix, cost linkages, price transmission, capital account. JEL Classification: C63, C69, D59.

Industrial location at a local level: some comments about the territorial level of the analysis

This paper contributes to the existing literature on industrial location by discussing some issues regarding the territorial levels that have been used in location analysis. We analyse which could be the advantages and disadvantages of performing locational analysis at a different local levels. We use data for new manufacturing firms located at municipality, county and travel to work areas level. We show that location determinants vary according to the territorial level used in the analysis, so we conclude that the level at which we perform the investigation should be carefully selected. Keywords: industrial location, cities, agglomeration economies, count data models.

Construcció d’un microrobot

Treball de recerca realitzat per un alumne d’ensenyament secundari i guardonat amb un Premi CIRIT per fomentar l'esperit científic del Jovent l’any 2006. La construcció d'un microrobot autònom capaç de realitzar una funció per ell mateix, ha permès exposar una introducció en el món de l'electrònica i la mecànica pràctiques. Es tracta d’un microrobot rastrejador: capaç de seguir una línia pintada al terra, per mitjà d'unes entrades (sensors detectors de llum), una lògica (C.I. operacionals) i uns motors motrius comandats per mitjà d'un C.I. driver. S’adjunten imatges dels resultats.

Hidrogen, pesent i futur de l'energia

Treball de recerca realitzat per un alumne d’ensenyament secundari i guardonat amb un Premi CIRIT per fomentar l'esperit científic del Jovent l’any 2006. L’hidrogen és provable que sigui el nou vector energètic, però queden importants dificultats tècniques i tecnològiques per a la seva producció i distribució a gran escala. A partir de l'estudi d'una pila d'hidrogen, s’exposa una visió general de l'estat d'aquest nou sistema de transport d'energia, dels diversos mitjans de producció transport i d'aprofitament d'aquest element i, finalment, es presenta una visió de les línies d'investigació i dels projectes que s'estan desenvolupant arreu del món. Es mostra un estudi detallat sobre un sistema de producció, basat en un electrolitzador, una cel•la fotoelèctrica, i en una pila d'hidrogen PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane).

Payments for environmental services in watersheds: insights from a comparative study of three cases in Central America

We have compared three cases of payments for water-related environmental services (PES) in Central America, in terms of socioeconomic background, opportunity costs of forest conservation and stakeholders’ perceptions on the conditions of water resources and other issues. We found that, in general, the foregone benefits from land uses alternative to forest cover are larger than the amount paid, which apparently contradicts the economic foundation of PES schemes. A number of possible explanations are explored. The results also suggest that trade-offs between different environmental and social goals are likely to emerge in PES schemes, posing some doubts on their ability to be multipurpose instruments for environmental improvement and rural development. We also found that PES schemes may work as a conflictresolution instrument, facilitating downstream -upstream problem solving, though at the same time they might introduce changes in social perceptions of property rights.

El desarrollo económico de las Islas Baleares en perspectiva comparada (1950-2000)

El objetivo de este estudio consiste en presentar de forma sumaria la evolución de aquella de las macromagnitudes que mejor sintetiza la actividad productiva de cualquier economía, el Producto Interior Bruto, y en analizar sus cambios durante la segunda mitad del siglo XX en las Islas Baleares. El trabajo se orienta a cuestionar si el modelo de crecimiento en que se ha apoyado el desarrollo económico contemporáneo de las islas presenta las ventajas sobresalientes desde el punto de vista del bienestar material de los ciudadanos que se suele afirmar, puesto que se trataría de “la comunidad autónoma con más alto nivel de renta por habitante de España”. El ejercicio se lleva a cabo exclusivamente a través de las conclusiones que se desprenden de las cuentas de la región según los conceptos convencionales de la contabilidad nacional y regional. Pese a la enorme trascendencia que el autor les reconoce, se dejarán de lado en este ensayo toda una serie de elementos básicos en el debate social como son los costes medioambientales o los daños, a veces irreparables, a un paisaje muy frágil, con el fin de simplificar y dar la máxima claridad a la argumentación. Se emplearán como referencias comparativas los casos de las restantes islas del Mediterráneo europeo occidental, insertas en los Estados francés e italiano: Córcega, Cerdeña y Sicilia.

Colombian international trade from a physical perspective: towards an ecologial "Prebisch Thesis"

Prebisch's approach to economic development was based on the notion that there is an international historical division of labour. Peripheral countries are specialized in exporting primary goods while centre countries export industrial goods. The Terms of trade for peripheral countries tend to deteriorate. This approach can be extendend to ecological issues. The international Centre-Periphery division does not only involve the monetary exchange of goods and capital, but also the physical exchange in which Southern countries provide materials and energy so that Northern countries can develop their socioconomic metabolism. This metabolism process is guaranteed through cheap prices for primary goods. This paper aims to apply and extend Prebisch's thought on unequal exchange, both monetary and ecological, in relation to colombian trade in the period 1970-2002, using material flow analysis.

Income growth and atmospheric pollution in Spain: an input-output approach

The relationships between economic growth and environmental pressures are complex. Since the early nineties, the debate on these relationships has been strongly influenced by the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis, which states that during the first stage of economic development environmental pressures increase as per capita income increases, but once a critical turning-point has been reached these pressures diminish as income levels continue to increase. However, to date such a delinking between economic growth and emission levels has not happened for most atmospheric pollutants in Spain. The aim of this paper is to analyse the relationship between income growth and nine atmospheric pollutants in Spain. In order to obtain empirical outcomes for this analysis, we adopt an input-output approach and use NAMEA data for the nine pollutants. First, we undertake a structural decomposition analysis for the period 1995-2000 to estimate the contribution of various factors to changes in the levels of atmospheric emissions. And second, we estimate the emissions associated with the consumption patterns of different groups of households classified according to their level of expenditure

Socio-economic impacts and assessment biological invasions

Biological invasions have been object of ecological research for years. As one objective, natural scientists investigate the effects of invasive species on ecosystems and their functioning (Levine et al. 2003). However, impacts on ecosystems are also of relevance for society. Changes in ecosystems affect humans in so far as ecosystems provide goods and services, such as fresh water, food and fibbers or recreation, which might be altered due to invasive species. Therefore impacts of biological invasions should be an object of socio-economic interest, which is also demanded by the Convention on Biological Diversity

Simulació d'un sistema dinàmic: el creixement del pi blanc i la seva resposta davant dels incendis

Treball de recerca realitzat per un alumne d’ensenyament secundari i guardonat amb un Premi CIRIT per fomentar l'esperit científic del Jovent l’any 2006. La capacitat d’entendre i predir sistemes naturals ha rebut un suport important gràcies als ordinadors i, amb ells, la capacitat de simular processos. En aquest cas es concreta en la creació d’un model de simulació pel creixement del pi blanc i la seva regeneració després d’un incendi. En una primera part es fa una aproximació des de l’àmbit de la biologia a aspectes com la successió forestal, els incendis forestals i la descripció del pi blanc i la seva regeneració després d’un incendi. L’última part té una vessant més tecnològica, explicant la simulació, i en concret, l’autòmat cel•lular. Aquest és el tipus que s’ha emprat per a la realització d’un programa de simulació que no s’inclou aquí.

Memòria justificativa de l'estada de recerca

Estudi elaborat a partir d’una estada a l’Associação para o Desenvolvimento da Aerodinânica Industrial (ADAI) de la Universitat de Coimbra, Portugal, entre març i juliol de 2006. Aquesta disposa d'un laboratori d'assaigs i té medis suficients per a cremar de manera controlada parcel•les prèviament delimitades en terreny forestal. Això permet observar el fenomen dels incendis forestals a dues escales de treball diferents. L’objectiu ha estat l’obtenció de dades experimentals sobre la propagació de fronts de flames que avancen sobre combustible tractat amb retardants sota l’efecte del pendent o el vent. S’ha participat en proves experimentals de camp i se n’han realitzat dues en instal•lacions de laboratori en què l’efecte del pendent o de la velocitat del vent podia ser variat. Degut a l’elevat nombre de variables que entren en joc l’anàlisi acurada de les dades encara està en procés.

Between specialization and globalization. The marketing of agrarian products and its environmental impacts seen from a historical perspective: the province of Barcelona in the mid-nineteenth century

Ecological economics has five good reasons to consider that economic globalisation, spurred by commercial and financial fluxes, to be one of the main driving forces responsible for causing environmental degradation to our planet. The first, is the energy consumption and the socio-environmental impacts which long-distance haulage entails. The second, is the ever-increasing flow of goods to far-away destinations which renders their recycling practically impossible. This is particularly significant, because it prevents the metabolic lock of the nutrients present in food and other agrarian products from taking place. The third, is that the high degree of specialization attained in agriculture, forestry, cattle, mining and industry in each region, generates deleterious effects not only on the eco-landscape structure of the uses of the soil, but on the capability to provide habitat and environmental functions to maintain biodiversity as well

Balances energéticos y usos del suelo en la agricultura catalana: una comparación entre mediados del siglo XIX y finales del XX

El presente trabajo analiza y compara, desde la perspectiva analítica del metabolismo social, los usos del suelo y los balances energéticos derivados de estos usos de los sistemas agrarios de cinco municipios de la comarca catalana del Vallès, en dos momentos históricos que ilustran las características y magnitud de las transformaciones que se han producido en los sistemas agrarios catalanes durante los últimos 150 años. El primer corte corresponde a mediados del siglo XIX, representativo del funcionamiento de una agricultura orgánica avanzada; el segundo, a finales del siglo XX, representativo de un sistema agrario industrializado donde la energía fósil y otros inputs externos al sistema tienen una presencia determinante. A partir de la información contenida en los amillaramientos, los censos ganaderos y las cartillas evaluatorias disponibles para los municipios estudiados, y los datos actuales de los censos agrarios, forestales y de rendimientos y aprovechamientos de los distintos productos, se han construido los balances energéticos de los dos periodos analizados. A partir de estos balances hemos constatado como en los 150 años transcurridos se ha producido una espectacular pérdida de eficiencia energética y de sostenibilidad de los sistemas agrarios, a pesar de los grandes incrementos de la productividad por ha. de los diversos cultivos y de la producción ganadería, que se atribuye totalmente al paso de una agricultura orgánica avanzada a unos sistemas agrarios con un elevado consumo de combustibles fósiles en forma de carburantes, abonos de síntesis y fitosanitarios y, especialmente, al peso descomunal de la actividad ganadera, desarrollada completamente al margen del territorio.