Agglomeration and labour productivity in Spanish industry: a long-term analysis

This paper analyzes the relationship between spatial density of economic activity and interregional differences in the productivity of industrial labour in Spain during the period 1860-1999. In the spirit of Ciccone and Hall (1996) and Ciccone (2002), we analyze the evolution of this relationship over the long term in Spain. Using data on the period 1860-1999 we show the existence of an agglomeration effect linking the density of economic activity with labour productivity in the industry. This effect was present since the beginning of the industrialization process in the middle of the 19th century but has been decreasing over time. The estimated elasticity of labour productivity with respect to employment density was close to 8% in the subperiod 1860-1900, reduces to a value of around 7% in the subperiod 1914-1930, to 4% in the subperiod 1965-1979 and becomes insignificant in the final subperiod 1985-1999. At the end of the period analyzed there is no evidence of the existence of net agglomeration effects in the industry. This result could be explained by an important increase in the congestion effects in large industrial metropolitan areas that would have compensated the centripetal or agglomeration forces at work. Furthermore, this result is also consistent with the evidence of a dispersion of industrial activity in Spain during the last decades.

Price transmission and market power analysis in the Spanish seafood market chain

[cat] Espanya és un dels principals mercats de productes pesquers d’Europa i del món. El consum de productes pesquers ha estat tradicionalment molt important a Espanya, el 2005 es varen consumir 36,7 kg per persona (MAPA, diversos anys). Malgrat això, el mercat i cóm interactuen els diversos nivells de la cadena de comercialització han gaudit de poca atenció. En aquest estudi, utilitzant dades setmanals, s’analitza per als dotze principals productes pesquers, l’elasticitat en la transmissió de preus al llarg de la cadena de comercialització a Espanya (llotja, mercat central i detallista). Finalment s’investiga la presència d’assimetria en la transmissió de preus entre aquests nivells de mercat. Els resultats obtinguts tenen importants implicacions a l’hora d’analitzar la demanda, poder de mercat i marges al llarg del mercat per als productes pesquers.

Drug price differentials caused by de-listing and price cap policies

This paper analyses the behaviour of pharmaceutical companies that face the threat of having their drugs excluded from reimbursement and the markets characterised also by price caps. We conclude that price elasticity of demand and cost differentials cause the price discounts which drug firms offer to health care organisations. Additionally, we conclude that price cap regulations affect the time path of prices, resulting in higher prices for new products and lower prices for old products.

Agglomeration and labour productivity in Spanish industry: a long-term analysis

This paper analyzes the relationship between spatial density of economic activity and interregional differences in the productivity of industrial labour in Spain during the period 1860-1999. In the spirit of Ciccone and Hall (1996) and Ciccone (2002), we analyze the evolution of this relationship over the long term in Spain. Using data on the period 1860-1999 we show the existence of an agglomeration effect linking the density of economic activity with labour productivity in the industry. This effect was present since the beginning of the industrialization process in the middle of the 19th century but has been decreasing over time. The estimated elasticity of labour productivity with respect to employment density was close to 8% in the subperiod 1860-1900, reduces to a value of around 7% in the subperiod 1914-1930, to 4% in the subperiod 1965-1979 and becomes insignificant in the final subperiod 1985-1999. At the end of the period analyzed there is no evidence of the existence of net agglomeration effects in the industry. This result could be explained by an important increase in the congestion effects in large industrial metropolitan areas that would have compensated the centripetal or agglomeration forces at work. Furthermore, this result is also consistent with the evidence of a dispersion of industrial activity in Spain during the last decades.

Is the wage curve formal or informal? Evidence for Colombia

Using microdata from the 2002-2006 Colombian Continuous Household Survey, we find an elasticity of individual wages to local unemployment rates of -0.07. However, the elasticity for informal workers is significantly higher, a result which is consistent with efficiency wage theoretical models and relevant for regional labour markets analysis in developing countries.

What explains productivity differentials across spanish cities?

This paper estimates the determinants of productivity differentials across urban areas in Spain. To do so we resort to Spanish Social Security administrative data (MCVL) matched with workers’ fiscal information. We use two-step approach that allows us to control for the confounding effects due to the sorting of more productive workers and more productive firms in bigger cities. Our results indicate that city size is a significant determinant of productivity differentials across Spanish urban areas. We estimate an elasticity of urban agglomeration of 3.3%, which is within the range of values already observed in other countries. We also find that the level of human capital, firm size and the level of industrial specialization also matters in order explain productivity differentials across Spanish cities. Keywords: Agglomeration, wages, productivity, city size. JEL codes: R10, R23, J31

Is the wage curve formal or informal? Evidence for Colombia

The objective of this paper is to analyse the existente or not of a wage curve in Colombia, paying special attention to the differences between formal and informal workers, an issue that has been systematically ignored in the wage curve literature. The obtained results using microdata from the Colombian Continuous Household Survey (CHS) between 2002 and 2006 show the existence of a wage curve with a negative slope for the Colombian economy. Using information on metropolitan areas, the estimates of the elasticity of individual wages to local unemployment rates was -0.07, a value that is very close to those obtained for other countries. However, the disaggregation of statistical information for formal and informal workers has shown significant differences among both groups of workers. In particular, for the less protected groups of the labour market, informal workers (both men and women), a high negatively sloped wage curve was found. This result is consistent with the conclusions from efficiency wage theoretical models and should be taken into account when analysing the functioning of regional labour markets in developing countries.

A subspace correction method for discontinuous Galerkin discretizations of linear elasticity equations

We study preconditioning techniques for discontinuous Galerkin discretizations of isotropic linear elasticity problems in primal (displacement) formulation. We propose subspace correction methods based on a splitting of the vector valued piecewise linear discontinuous finite element space, that are optimal with respect to the mesh size and the Lamé parameters. The pure displacement, the mixed and the traction free problems are discussed in detail. We present a convergence analysis of the proposed preconditioners and include numerical examples that validate the theory and assess the performance of the preconditioners.

Elasticity and melting of vortex crystals in anisotropic superconductors: Beyond the continuum regime.

The elastic moduli of vortex crystals in anisotropic superconductors are frequently involved in the investigation of their phase diagram and transport properties. We provide a detailed analysis of the harmonic eigenvalues (normal modes) of the vortex lattice for general values of the magnetic field strength, going beyond the elastic continuum regime. The detailed behavior of these wave-vector-dependent eigenvalues within the Brillouin zone (BZ), is compared with several frequently used approximations that we also recalculate. Throughout the BZ, transverse modes are less costly than their longitudinal counterparts, and there is an angular dependence which becomes more marked close to the zone boundary. Based on these results, we propose an analytic correction to the nonlocal continuum formulas which fits quite well the numerical behavior of the eigenvalues in the London regime. We use this approximate expression to calculate thermal fluctuations and the full melting line (according to Lindeman's criterion) for various values of the anisotropy parameter.

Contemporary engagements within corridors of the past: temporal elasticity, graffiti, and the materiality of St. Rock Street, Barcelona

In a medieval Barcelonan side-street, urine, rubbish, and a bewildering array of graphic imagery splatters the narrowing walls between two major thoroughfares. A contemporary conflict between residents, unknown artists and others is played out using banners, bottles, stickers, posters, stencils, spray paint, and bodily substances. In this shadowed liminality, local and global debates are superimposed upon substructures constructed from disease, prostitution, and the Saint of the Plague. The continuing urban struggle constitutes temporal statements of dirt and purity, violence and humour, dominance and resistance, death and salvation. Like the renovated facades masking the crumbling remains of structures long neglected, the government’s literal whitewashing of the art is a temporal cover-up of a discursive symptom stretching from deeply embedded preconditions. However, from his niche in the angular bend of the alley bearing his name, the statue of St. Rock remains unblinkingly staring, raised above the contestations expressed below.

A marxian model of the breakdown of capitalism

This paper sets out a Marxian model that is based on the one by Stephen Marglin with one sector and continuous substitution. It is extended by adding technical progress and land as a factor of production. It is then shown that capital accumulation causes the preconditions for the breakdown of capitalism to emerge; that is, it causes the organic composition of capital to rise, the rate of profit to fall and the rate of exploitation to rise. A compressed history of the idea of the breakdown of capitalism is then set out and an explanation is given as to how the model relates to this and how it may serve as the basis for further research.

The demand elasticity on tolled motorways

This paper analyses the elasticities of demand in tolled motorways in Spain with respect to the main variables influencing it. The demand equation is estimated using a panel data set where the cross-section observations correspond to the different Spanish tolled motorways sections, and the temporal dimension ranges from the beginning of the eighties until the end of the nineties. The results show a high elasticity with respect to the economic activity level. The average elasticity with respect to petrol price falls around -0.3, while toll elasticities clearly vary across motorway sections. These motorway sections are classified into four groups according to the estimated toll elasticity with values that range from -0.21 for the most inelastic to -0.83 for the most elastic. The main factors that explain such differences are the quality of the alternative road and the length of the section. The long-term effect is about 50 per cent higher than the short term one; however, the period of adjustment is relatively short.

Demand elasticity and market power in the spanish electricity market

In this paper we check whether generator's bid behavior at the Spanish whosale electricity market is consistent with the hypothesis of profit maximization on their residual demands. Using OMEL data, we find the arc-elacticity of the residual demand around the system marginal price. The results suggest thet the larger firms are not actually profit-msximization. We argue how the regulatory environment may drive these results. Finally, we repeat the analysis for the first session of the intra-day market where presumably firms may not have the same incentives as in the day-ahead market.

Artificial diets for the production of natural enemies (predators and parasitoids) of greenhouse pest insects

The aim of this contract was to finalise in vitro rearing on artificial diets of entomophagous insects useful to control insect pests mainly in greenhouses through an analytical and rational approach. The work focuses on the development and optimisation of artificial diets for one coccinellid (Harmonia axyridis), two heteropteran predators (Orius laevigatus, Dicyphus tamaninii), and a braconid parasitoid of aphids (Aphidius ervi). The definition of the artificial diets was based on biochemical analyses of their natural food (aphids) or substitution food for the predators (Ephestia kuehniella eggs). Reliable quality control parameters of the entomophages produced were used in order to adjust dietary composition and formulation of the different diets tested.

Effects of increased drought and selective thinning on growth and resprouting of two coexisting Mediterranean oaks with contrasting leaf habit (Quercus ilex and Quercus cerrioides)

According to the IPCC (2007), the Mediterranean basin is expected to suffer important changes in temperature and precipitation in the next few decades, leading the climate warmer and dryer. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the possible effects of increased drought on species with different structural and physiological traits, to be able to predict possible changes in the structure and composition of Mediterranean forests. Moreover, it will be necessary to assess whether traditional management practices can mitigate the effects of climate change on these forests. The main aim of this study has been to analyze the effects of increased drought on the mortality, growth and resprouting patterns of two co-occurring Mediterranean oak species with contrasting leaf habit (the evergreen Quercus ilex and the winter-deciduous Quercus cerrioides), and to assess the effects of selective thinning on their response to increased drought. Our results show a differential effect of increased drought between species: no differences were observed in the growth of Q. ilex while Q. cerrioides reduced its growth under increased drought conditions. Selective thinning reduced the negative effects of increased drought on tree growth, although this beneficial effect tended to decrease during the experiment. Our results show that increasing aridity in Mediterranean areas can be a constraining factor for deciduous oaks, thus potentially causing their decline in mixed forests and favouring their substitution by the evergreen congeneric species. However, as seen in this study, management can strongly encourage growth both for deciduous and evergreen species, thus reversing the effects of increased water stress on Mediterranean coppices.