Explaining High Economic Growth in Small Tourism Countries with a Dynamic General Equilibrium Model

This paper shows that tourism specialisation can help to explain the observed high growth rates of small countries. For this purpose, two models of growth and trade are constructed to represent the trade relations between two countries. One of the countries is large, rich, has an own source of sustained growth and produces a tradable capital good. The other is a small poor economy, which does not have an own engine of growth and produces tradable tourism services. The poor country exports tourism services to and imports capital goods from the rich economy. In one model tourism is a luxury good, while in the other the expenditure elasticity of tourism imports is unitary. Two main results are obtained. In the long run, the tourism country overcomes decreasing returns and permanently grows because its terms of trade continuously improve. Since the tourism sector is relatively less productive than the capital good sector, tourism services become relatively scarcer and hence more expensive than the capital good. Moreover, along the transition the growth rate of the tourism economy holds well above the one of the rich country for a long time. The growth rate differential between countries is particularly high when tourism is a luxury good. In this case, there is a faster increase in the tourism demand. As a result, investment of the small economy is boosted and its terms of trade highly improve.

Divergent Reactions to Globalization: Labor Unions and the Nafta and the EU Enlargement Process

The 1990s witnessed the launching of two ambitious trade regionalization plans, the Nafta and EU enlargement to Central and Eastern Europe. In contrast to previous projects for the creation or expansion of regional trade blocs, these two projects concerned states at dramatically different levels of economic development: The Nafta involved the very wealthy economies of Canada and the USA and the significantly poorer economy of Mexico, whereas EU enlargement involved the very wealthy economy of the 15 member-state European Union and the significantly poorer economies of former Communist states in Central and Eastern Europe. Ultimately, the Nafta and EU enlargement are responses to the challenges of globalization. Paradoxically, however, they have been met with radically different societal reactions in the wealthy partners that participated in the launching of these processes. This paper focuses on the reaction by labor unions on both sides of the Atlantic. I conclude that while labor relations and welfare institutions constrained the trade policy choices made by labor unions in the United States and Europe, they do not tell the whole story. It would seem that United States labor unions were more sensitive to the potential risks for workers associated to the liberalization of trade than were their European counterparts.

Anàlisi de la influència dels canvis en els paleoclimes sobre la introducció i evolució del budisme en els països de l'Àsia oriental

S'examinen les possibles influències del canvi climàtic en l'extensió del budisme als països de l'extrem est asiàtic (Corea, Japó), a través de com varen condicionar les condicions de viatge i l'establiment de rutes de comerç entre els diferents països.

Standardized enforcement: Access to justice vs contractual innovation

We model the different ways in which precedents and contract standardization shapethe development of markets and the law. In a setup where more resourceful parties candistort contract enforcement to their advantage, we find that the introduction of astandard contract reduces enforcement distortions relative to precedents, exerting twoeffects: i) it statically expands the volume of trade, but ii) it crowds out the use ofinnovative contracts, hindering contractual innovation. We shed light on the largescale commercial codification occurred in the 19th century in many countries (evenCommon Law ones) during a period of booming commerce and long distance trade.

Relative price riddles in international business cycle theory: Are transport costs the explanation?

We study relative price behavior in an international business cyclemodel with specialization in production, in which a goods marketfriction is introduced through transport costs. The transporttechnology allows for flexible transport costs. We analyze whetherthis extension can account for the striking differences betweentheory and data as far as the moments of terms of trade and realexchange rates are concerned. We find that transport costs increaseboth the volatility of the terms of trade and the volatility of thereal exchange rate. However, unless the transport technology isspecified by a Leontief technology, transport costs do not resolvethe quantitative discrepancies between theory and data. Asurprising result is that transport costs may actually lower thepersistence of the real exchange rate, a finding that is in contrastto much of the emphasis of the empirical literature.

Oil and economy in Mexico, 1900-1930s

This brief essay reviews the macro framework of oil and economy in Mexicoin the early days of the oil industry, from 1900 to 1938. The first sectiondisplays the figures of production at the world level and shows how Mexicobecome a major oil producer in the 1920s. The second section look at theMexican economy of the first third of the century followed by a thirdsection on the importance of the oil sector in terms of trade and fiscalincome. The last section reviews the literature and the outlooks of thecontemporaries over the development of the oil industry in the early partof the 20th century. The paper will be of use for those producing in depthanalyses of the Mexican oil industry in this period.

Lobbying, innovation and protectionist cycles

This paper explains why trade liberalizations occur in developing countries,and why they are often reversed. It does so by focusing on the use oflobbying for protection by import competing firms as a means to postponecostly product quality upgrades to keep up with foreign competitors. Giventhe availability of a political market for import tariffs, domestic firmswill lobby for a sequence of tariffs that insulate domestic profits from awidening quality gap, thereby allowing adjustment to be postponed. But asthe contributions required by the government grow with the size of thequality gap, it will be optimal to adjust quality and to decrease thelobbying effort at some time, leading to liberalization and technologicalcatch-up. But then the equilibrium tariff will again be small and "cheap",and it will pay to start lobbying anew, until the next quality adjustment.Therefore, cycles in protection will occur as a result of the use oflobbying as a substitute for innovation. The model thus sheds new light onthe impact of the costs of protection on the effectiveness of the lobbyingeffort over time, and on their implications for the timing and the timehorizon of trade reforms in developing countries.

Pensamiento geográfico versus teoría de la comunicación. Hacia un modelo de análisis comunicativo del paisaje

El estudio de las implicaciones comunicativas presentes en el paisaje abre un amplio abanico de posibilidades para el tratamiento de la dualidad entre comunicación y paisaje. Aspectos como los efectos que el paisaje genera en los procesos de comunicación humana (comunicación intrapersonal e interpersonal), el seguimiento de los procesos comunicativos mediante los cuales se mercadea con el paisaje (comunicación de masas), la construcción de imaginarios individuales y colectivos a partir de la interacción entre ciudadanía y paisaje y, más recientemente, la construcción de identidades territoriales a partir de la elaboración de una imagen de marca de ciudad o de país —léase promoción turística, citymarketing y/o branding— tienen, todos ellos, unas enormes implicaciones en las sociedades contemporáneas. Es por todo ello por lo que se hace imprescindible avanzar hacia un modelo de análisis comunicativo del paisaje, objetivo posible interrelacionando la geografía y los estudios de comunicación, dos disciplinas aparentemente alejadas una de la otra en cuanto a sus orígenes y su praxis y, sin embargo, muy cercanas en lo que respecta a la evolución reciente de sus paradigmas y en lo referente al tratamiento de determinados conceptos, como los de espacio y paisaje.

Programa de gestió per la Boutique Shahrazad

Per tal d'iniciar el meu TFC, vaig decidir començar a desenvolupar un programa que contempla la gestió diària del comerç, així com la dels productes, clients, proveïdors, vendes i compres, d’un negoci que es tracta d’una botiga de roba, sabates,bosses i complements, per tal de convertir-ho en un sistema de gestió més complert. Actualment, l’entorn de negoci en el petit comerç està cada cop més desplaçat degut al gran creixement de les grans superfícies per part de franquícies de cadenes molt potents. A més, els clients són cada cop més exigents i el mercat està cada vegada més saturat. És per això que voldrem incloure un valor afegit al sistema, per poder donar un nou punt de vista al negoci, de tal manera que permeti nodrir la nostra relació amb el client, de manera que la col•laboració sigui satisfactòria per ambdues parts. I per acabar s’elabora una pàgina web per tal de fer promoció i publicitat per la botiga, ja que avui en dia és molt important existir en el món virtual.

Standardized enforcement: Access to justice vs. contractual innovation

We model the effect of contract standardization on the development of markets andthe law. In a setting in which biased judges can distort contract enforcement, we findthat the introduction of a standard contract reduces enforcement distortions relative toreliance on precedents, exerting two effects: i) it statically expands the volume of trade,but ii) it crowds out the use of open-ended contracts, hindering legal evolution. We shedlight on the large-scale commercial codification undertaken in the nineteenth centuryin many countries (even common-law ones) during a period of booming commerce andlong-distance trade.

Análisis de la Garantía de Origen como mecanismo de cambio hacia un sector eléctrico más sostenible

La Garantía de Origen, como sistema de certificación de electricidad en función de su origen, fue introducida en España en 2007 y abrió la posibilidad de comercializar y consumir electricidad procedente únicamente de fuentes renovables. Resulta interesante abordar la evolución y el estado actual de este instrumento desde distintas aproximaciones para entender que potencial tiene para provocar cambios en los mecanismos de producción, comercialización y consumo de la electricidad encaminados a hacer el sector más sostenible. Este proyecto muestra como la Garantía incide sobre los patrones de la comercialización y el consumo de la electricidad y, a partir de ahí, es capaz de inducir cambios importantes en la estructura del sector eléctrico haciendo depender más de las fuentes renovables y menos de los combustibles fósiles.

Una aproximación a la manipulación de los resultados en las PYMES españolas

[spa] Esta comunicación investiga la manipulación de resultados en las pymes españolas en el período 2000-2008. Se trabaja con dos muestras de empresas (solventes e insolventes) y el proceso seguido ha consistido en recoger datos contables de los cinco años previos antes del concurso de acreedores y emparejarlas con otras de similares características en el año de la declaración. A partir de estas muestras se han aplicado los modelos que más frecuentemente se utilizan para estudiar la manipulación, los basados en variables de devengo y en ingresos. Los resultados ponen de relieve lo poco adecuados que resultan en general por los bajos resultados obtenidos y la superioridad de los basados en ingresos sobre los basados en el devengo. El siguiente paso ha consistido en aplicar indicadores de posible manipulación y reestimar los modelos antes citados de acuerdo con estas variables. Los resultados no han sido mejores y la aplicación del mejor modelo para detectar a las empresas que probablemente podían ser manipuladoras, reafirman su poca capacidad explicativa.

Una aproximación a la manipulación de los resultados en las PYMES españolas

[spa] Esta comunicación investiga la manipulación de resultados en las pymes españolas en el período 2000-2008. Se trabaja con dos muestras de empresas (solventes e insolventes) y el proceso seguido ha consistido en recoger datos contables de los cinco años previos antes del concurso de acreedores y emparejarlas con otras de similares características en el año de la declaración. A partir de estas muestras se han aplicado los modelos que más frecuentemente se utilizan para estudiar la manipulación, los basados en variables de devengo y en ingresos. Los resultados ponen de relieve lo poco adecuados que resultan en general por los bajos resultados obtenidos y la superioridad de los basados en ingresos sobre los basados en el devengo. El siguiente paso ha consistido en aplicar indicadores de posible manipulación y reestimar los modelos antes citados de acuerdo con estas variables. Los resultados no han sido mejores y la aplicación del mejor modelo para detectar a las empresas que probablemente podían ser manipuladoras, reafirman su poca capacidad explicativa.

General Equilibrium Long-Run Determinants for Spanish FDI: A Spatial Panel Data Approach

While general equilibrium theories of trade stress the role of third-country effects, little work has been done in the empirical foreign direct investment (FDI) literature to test such spatial linkages. This paper aims to provide further insights into long-run determinants of Spanish FDI by considering not only bilateral but also spatially weighted third-country determinants. The few studies carried out so far have focused on FDI flows in a limited number of countries. However, Spanish FDI outflows have risen dramatically since 1995 and today account for a substantial part of global FDI. Therefore, we estimate recently developed Spatial Panel Data models by Maximum Likelihood (ML) procedures for Spanish outflows (1993-2004) to top-50 host countries. After controlling for unobservable effects, we find that spatial interdependence matters and provide evidence consistent with New Economic Geography (NEG) theories of agglomeration, mainly due to complex (vertical) FDI motivations. Spatial Error Models estimations also provide illuminating results regarding the transmission mechanism of shocks.

Pensamiento geográfico versus teoría de la comunicación. Hacia un modelo de análisis comunicativo del paisaje

The study of the communicative implications related to landscapes opens a wide range of possibilities concerning the treatment of the communication and landscape relationship. Issues such as the effects of the landscape on the processes of human communication (intrapersonal and interpersonal communication), the follow-up of the communicative processes by means of which the landscape becomes an object of trade (mass communication), the construction of individual and collective imaginaries arising from the citizenship and landscape exchange and, recently, the construction of territorial identities through the production of a brand image of a city or country (i. e., tourist promotion, city marketing and branding). All of them have important implications in the contemporary societies. For that reason, it appears almost essential to progress towards a communicative landscape model, a target which becomes possible if we interrelate geography and communication studies, two fields apparently unrelated one another concerning their origins and practice, although they are very close if we look at the recent evolution of their paradigms and the approach to certain concepts, such as space and landscape.