Tax reforms and inequality: theoretical and empirical implications

In this paper we examine the effect of tax policy on the relationship between inequality and growth in a two-sector non-scale model. With non-scale models, the longrun equilibrium growth rate is determined by technological parameters and it is independent of macroeconomic policy instruments. However, this fact does not imply that fiscal policy is unimportant for long-run economic performance. It indeed has important effects on the different levels of key economic variables such as per capita stock of capital and output. Hence, although the economy grows at the same rate across steady states, the bases for economic growth may be different.The model has three essential features. First, we explicitly model skill accumulation, second, we introduce government finance into the production function, and we introduce an income tax to mirror the fiscal events of the 1980¿s and 1990¿s in the US. The fact that the non-scale model is associated with higher order dynamics enables it to replicate the distinctly non-linear nature of inequality in the US with relative ease. The results derived in this paper attract attention to the fact that the non-scale growth model does not only fit the US data well for the long-run (Jones, 1995b) but also that it possesses unique abilities in explaining short term fluctuations of the economy. It is shown that during transition the response of the relative simulated wage to changes in the tax code is rather non-monotonic, quite in accordance to the US inequality pattern in the 1980¿s and early 1990¿s.More specifically, we have analyzed in detail the dynamics following the simulation of an isolated tax decrease and an isolated tax increase. So, after a tax decrease the skill premium follows a lower trajectory than the one it would follow without a tax decrease. Hence we are able to reduce inequality for several periods after the fiscal shock. On the contrary, following a tax increase, the evolution of the skill premium remains above the trajectory carried on by the skill premium under a situation with no tax increase. Consequently, a tax increase would imply a higher level of inequality in the economy

Un examen de grec per a les PAU. Reflexions, plantejaments i dades

En aquest article es fa una descripció de l"examen de Grec de les Proves d"Accés a la Universitat, en l"àmbit universitari de Catalunya. La intenció principal de l"autora és exposar a partir de quins paràmetres són confegits i quins objectius pretén atènyer cadascun dels cinc exercicis que composen l"examen, així com l"examen en el seu conjunt, tant en relació amb les assignatures de Grec del batxillerat com en relació als continguts, habilitats i competències avaluables de cara a l"accés a una titulació universitària.

L'avançament de la introducció d'una llengua estrangera: un fugida cap enrera?

The age at which school children begin instruction in the foreign language has been brought forward on two main grounds: (1) young children are better language learners than older children, and (2) bilingualism brings cognitive advantages to children. Both statements are critically analysed in this paper. First of all, recent research findings show that the advantage that younger learners show in a naturalistic language learning situation (or through school immersion) disappears in a formal language learning situation with very limited exposure to the target language. Secondly, the positive effects on cognitive development that have been revealed through research correspond to situations of balanced bilingualism, that is, situations in which children have a high command of the two languages. In contrast, children¿s command of the foreign language in our context is very limited and hence far from the situation of balanced bilingualism (or trilingualism) that is said to bring positive cognitive effects.

En torno a los efectos de la edad en el aprendizaje escolar de una lengua extrangera

The purpose of this article is to treat a currently much debated issue, the effects of age on second language learning. To do so, we contrast data collected by our research team from over one thousand seven hundred young and adult learners with four popular beliefs or generalizations, which, while deeply rooted in this society, are not always corroborated by our data.Two of these generalizations about Second Language Acquisition (languages spoken in the social context) seem to be widely accepted: a) older children, adolescents and adults are quicker and more efficient at the first stages of learning than are younger learners; b) in a natural context children with an early start are more liable to attain higher levels of proficiency. However, in the context of Foreign Language Acquisition, the context in which we collect the data, this second generalization is difficult to verify due to the low number of instructional hours (a maximum of some 800 hours) and the lower levels of language exposure time provided. The design of our research project has allowed us to study differences observed with respect to the age of onset (ranging from 2 to 18+), but in this article we focus on students who began English instruction at the age of 8 (LOGSE Educational System) and those who began at the age of 11 (EGB). We have collected data from both groups after a period of 200 (Time 1) and 416 instructional hours (Time 2), and we are currently collecting data after a period of 726 instructional hours (Time 3). We have designed and administered a variety of tests: tests on English production and reception, both oral and written, and within both academic and communicative oriented approaches, on the learners' L1 (Spanish and Catalan), as well as a questionnaire eliciting personal and sociolinguistic information. The questions we address and the relevant empirical evidence are as follows: 1. "For young children, learning languages is a game. They enjoy it more than adults."Our data demonstrate that the situation is not quite so. Firstly, both at the levels of Primary and Secondary education (ranging from 70.5% in 11-year-olds to 89% in 14-year-olds) students have a positive attitude towards learning English. Secondly, there is a difference between the two groups with respect to the factors they cite as responsible for their motivation to learn English: the younger students cite intrinsic factors, such as the games they play, the methodology used and the teacher, whereas the older students cite extrinsic factors, such as the role of their knowledge of English in the achievement of their future professional goals. 2 ."Young children have more resources to learn languages." Here our data suggest just the opposite. The ability to employ learning strategies (actions or steps used) increases with age. Older learners' strategies are more varied and cognitively more complex. In contrast, younger learners depend more on their interlocutor and external resources and therefore have a lower level of autonomy in their learning. 3. "Young children don't talk much but understand a lot"This third generalization does seem to be confirmed, at least to a certain extent, by our data in relation to the analysis of differences due to the age factor and productive use of the target language. As seen above, the comparably slower progress of the younger learners is confirmed. Our analysis of interpersonal receptive abilities demonstrates as well the advantage of the older learners. Nevertheless, with respect to passive receptive activities (for example, simple recognition of words or sentences) no great differences are observed. Statistical analyses suggest that in this test, in contrast to the others analyzed, the dominance of the subjects' L1s (reflecting a cognitive capacity that grows with age) has no significant influence on the learning process. 4. "The sooner they begin, the better their results will be in written language"This is not either completely confirmed in our research. First of all, we perceive that certain compensatory strategies disappear only with age, but not with the number of instructional hours. Secondly, given an identical number of instructional hours, the older subjects obtain better results. With respect to our analysis of data from subjects of the same age (12 years old) but with a different number of instructional hours (200 and 416 respectively, as they began at the ages of 11 and 8), we observe that those who began earlier excel only in the area of lexical fluency. In conclusion, the superior rate of older learners appears to be due to their higher level of cognitive development, a factor which allows them to benefit more from formal or explicit instruction in the school context. Younger learners, however, do not benefit from the quantity and quality of linguistic exposure typical of a natural acquisition context in which they would be allowed to make use of implicit learning abilities. It seems clear, then, that the initiative in this country to begin foreign language instruction earlier will have positive effects only if it occurs in combination with either higher levels of exposure time to the foreign language, or, alternatively, with its use as the language of instruction in other areas of the curriculum.

Resiliència i èxit escolar en l’alumnat de secundària de procedència estrangera. Diagnòstic i línies d’intervenció

L’estudi realitzat aborda i caracteritza des de l’enfocament de la resiliència com l’alumnat de procedència estrangera s’enfronta a una etapa d’alt risc d’abandonament escolar com és l’Educació Secundària Obligatòria (ESO) –especialment en el segon cicle– i el moment de transició acadèmica cap a la Postobligatòria (PO). En altres paraules, s’analitzen i valoren els mecanismes resilients desplegats per l’alumnat immigrant que donen llum sobre com aconseguir que processos, a priori, qualificats com a problemàtics o dificultosos per aquests grups degut a la seva situació de major vulnerabilitat esdevinguin una xarxa protectora que afavoreixi trajectòries d’èxit escolar. L’emmarcament conceptual des de la resiliència educativa, en general, ha centrat la seva atenció en la capacitat de l’individu per “compensar” certes limitacions amb altres habilitats. Tanmateix, la definició de resiliència a la qual ens hem aferrat té un caire més ecològic i culturalment sensible. És la definició proposada pel Resilience Research Centre (RRC) i encunyada pel seu co-director Michael Ungar: In the context of exposure to significant adversity, resilience is both the capacity of individuals to navigate their way to the psychological, social, cultural, and physical resources that sustain their well-being, and their capacity individually and collectively to negotiate for these resources to be provided in culturally meaningful ways (Ungar, 2012). Entesa d’aquesta manera, la resiliència és un constructe social que identifica els processos i resultats relacionats amb allò que la gent conceptualitza com a “benestar”. Així, es més probable que la resiliència aparegui quan es proporcionin els serveis, suports i recursos que garanteixen el benestar de tots els nens/es des d’una perspectiva que sigui significativa tant per a l’individu, com per la seva família i comunitat...

'Biased' Risk Perceptions of Longevity and Disability in Old Age

Rational learning theories postulate that information channels and cognitive biases such as individual optimism may influence an individual¿s assessment of the risk of undesired events, especially with regard to those that have a cumulative nature. This is the case with disability in old age, which may take place upon survival to an advanced age, and such factors have been regarded as responsible for certain individual behaviours (for example, the limited incidence of insurance purchase). This paper examines the determinants of individual perceptions with regard to disability in old age and longevity. The cumulative nature of such perceptions of risk is tested, and potential biases are identified, including `optimism¿ and a set of information determinants. Empirical evidence from a representative survey of Catalonia is presented to illustrate these effects. The findings from this research suggest a significant overestimation of disability in old age, yet this is not the case with longevity. Furthermore, individual perceptions with regard to disability in old age, unlike those with regard to longevity, exhibit on aggregate an `optimistic bias¿ and, are perceived as `cumulative risks¿. Gender influences the perceived risk of disability in old age at a population level but not at the individual level, and the opposite holds true for age. Finally, self-reported health status is the main variable behind risk perceptions at both the individual and population level.

Incentives and promotion in wage hierarchies

Most of the large firms organization schemes consist in hierarchical structures of tiers with different wage levels. Traditionally the existence of this kind of organizations has been associated to the separation of productive and managerial or supervision tasks and to differences in the skills of the workers. However, many firms now employ workers with similar skills, and then the hierarchical structure can be related to an incentive scheme to ensure that workers supply effort. The model we present investigates how firm owners should determine the optimal wage distribution in order to maximize profits.

Graduate labor mismatch in Central and Eastern Europe

[cat] Utilitzant l’enquesta REFLEX/HEGESCO, aquest article explora la probabilitat de desajustament entre educació i treball a l’Europa de l’Est i Central. Classifiquem els països en dos grups segons la transparència dels títols educatius al mercat de treball. Polònia, la República Txeca i Eslovènia formen el grup amb més transparència, i Hongria, Lituània i Estònia formen el grup amb més opacitat. Analitzem tres tipus de desajustaments: el vertical (infra‐, sobre‐educació), l’horitzontal (desajustament del camp d’estudi) i el desajust en habilitats. Focalitzem l’anàlisi en l’efecte dels camps d’estudi i les competències dels individus en el desajustament del mercat laboral en aquests països. Els resultats mostren importants diferències entre els dos grups de països estudiats.

Modeval2 Reference Manual

El Projecte MODEVAL respon a la necessitat detectada en matèria d'avaluació de competències bàsiques de les persones, i tracta de definir quins són els nivells bàsics d'habilitats que garanteixen unes condicions individuals favorables per al desenvolupament de la persona, la ciutadania activa, i la integració social, cultural i professional dels individus. Mentre el projecte MODEVAL 1 tenia com a objectiu realitzar un marc de referència metodològic a nivell europeu per a dur a terme l'avaluació de competències; el projecte MODEVAL 2, és a dir, el present treball, té com a objectiu la creació de mòduls de formació per als diferents interessats (és a dir, formadors d'alfabetització i de formació bàsica, investigadors, coordinadors de centres de formació, els responsables polítics, estadístics, persones que realitzaran enquestes a gran escala sobre el coneixement de base, etc.) per tal d'aplicar les recomanacions del projecte i crear les seves pròpies eines d'avaluació.

Modeval2 Manuel de Reference

El Projecte MODEVAL respon a la necessitat detectada en matèria d'avaluació de competències bàsiques de les persones, i tracta de definir quins són els nivells bàsics d'habilitats que garanteixen unes condicions individuals favorables per al desenvolupament de la persona, la ciutadania activa, i la integració social, cultural i professional dels individus. Mentre el projecte MODEVAL 1 tenia com a objectiu realitzar un marc de referència metodològic a nivell europeu per a dur a terme l'avaluació de competències; el projecte MODEVAL 2, és a dir, el present treball, té com a objectiu la creació de mòduls de formació per als diferents interessats (és a dir, formadors d'alfabetització i de formació bàsica, investigadors, coordinadors de centres de formació, els responsables polítics, estadístics, persones que realitzaran enquestes a gran escala sobre el coneixement de base, etc.) per tal d'aplicar les recomanacions del projecte i crear les seves pròpies eines d'avaluació.

Implementació d'estratègies de pràctica reflexiva en la formació inicial i permanent dels mestres

La recerca formativa que es presenta a continuació s'ha dut a terme durant els cursos acadèmics 2008-2009 i 2009-2010, en l'àmbit de la formació de mestres, amb grups d'estudiants de primer i en el marc de les assignatures de Didàctica i Organització Educativa del nou grau d'Educació Infantil. Per dur-la a terme s'ha disposat de la col·laboració de mestres en actiu de l'etapa d'educació infantil de diferents escoles de Barcelona. Aquesta recerca ha facilitat la incorporació d'estratègies de pràctica reflexiva a partir de la participació directa dels estudiants en entorns d'aprenentatge propis de l'exercici docent: les aules d'educació infantil. La intervenció dels estudiants ha estat possible gràcies a l'organització i la planificació curricular de les escoles en diferents espais i ambients d'aprenentatge, que han permès un treball col·laboratiu entre mestres, estudiants i professorat. Els resultats d'aquesta recerca han estat la implementació de metodologies de formació de pràctica reflexiva (millora personal i professional), la relació entre l'ensenyament universitari i el món laboral (teoria i pràctica) i l¿adquisició d'habilitats i competències dels estudiants i professionals (novells i experts), resultats que contribueixen a millorar l'acció docent a través de la participació conjunta de dos col·lectius: universitat i escola.

Resiliència i èxit escolar en l’alumnat de secundària de procedència estrangera. Diagnòstic i línies d’intervenció

L’estudi realitzat aborda i caracteritza des de l’enfocament de la resiliència com l’alumnat de procedència estrangera s’enfronta a una etapa d’alt risc d’abandonament escolar com és l’Educació Secundària Obligatòria (ESO) –especialment en el segon cicle– i el moment de transició acadèmica cap a la Postobligatòria (PO). En altres paraules, s’analitzen i valoren els mecanismes resilients desplegats per l’alumnat immigrant que donen llum sobre com aconseguir que processos, a priori, qualificats com a problemàtics o dificultosos per aquests grups degut a la seva situació de major vulnerabilitat esdevinguin una xarxa protectora que afavoreixi trajectòries d’èxit escolar. L’emmarcament conceptual des de la resiliència educativa, en general, ha centrat la seva atenció en la capacitat de l’individu per “compensar” certes limitacions amb altres habilitats. Tanmateix, la definició de resiliència a la qual ens hem aferrat té un caire més ecològic i culturalment sensible. És la definició proposada pel Resilience Research Centre (RRC) i encunyada pel seu co-director Michael Ungar: In the context of exposure to significant adversity, resilience is both the capacity of individuals to navigate their way to the psychological, social, cultural, and physical resources that sustain their well-being, and their capacity individually and collectively to negotiate for these resources to be provided in culturally meaningful ways (Ungar, 2012). Entesa d’aquesta manera, la resiliència és un constructe social que identifica els processos i resultats relacionats amb allò que la gent conceptualitza com a “benestar”. Així, es més probable que la resiliència aparegui quan es proporcionin els serveis, suports i recursos que garanteixen el benestar de tots els nens/es des d’una perspectiva que sigui significativa tant per a l’individu, com per la seva família i comunitat...

L'avançament de la introducció d'una llengua estrangera: un fugida cap enrera?

The age at which school children begin instruction in the foreign language has been brought forward on two main grounds: (1) young children are better language learners than older children, and (2) bilingualism brings cognitive advantages to children. Both statements are critically analysed in this paper. First of all, recent research findings show that the advantage that younger learners show in a naturalistic language learning situation (or through school immersion) disappears in a formal language learning situation with very limited exposure to the target language. Secondly, the positive effects on cognitive development that have been revealed through research correspond to situations of balanced bilingualism, that is, situations in which children have a high command of the two languages. In contrast, children¿s command of the foreign language in our context is very limited and hence far from the situation of balanced bilingualism (or trilingualism) that is said to bring positive cognitive effects.

En torno a los efectos de la edad en el aprendizaje escolar de una lengua extrangera

The purpose of this article is to treat a currently much debated issue, the effects of age on second language learning. To do so, we contrast data collected by our research team from over one thousand seven hundred young and adult learners with four popular beliefs or generalizations, which, while deeply rooted in this society, are not always corroborated by our data.Two of these generalizations about Second Language Acquisition (languages spoken in the social context) seem to be widely accepted: a) older children, adolescents and adults are quicker and more efficient at the first stages of learning than are younger learners; b) in a natural context children with an early start are more liable to attain higher levels of proficiency. However, in the context of Foreign Language Acquisition, the context in which we collect the data, this second generalization is difficult to verify due to the low number of instructional hours (a maximum of some 800 hours) and the lower levels of language exposure time provided. The design of our research project has allowed us to study differences observed with respect to the age of onset (ranging from 2 to 18+), but in this article we focus on students who began English instruction at the age of 8 (LOGSE Educational System) and those who began at the age of 11 (EGB). We have collected data from both groups after a period of 200 (Time 1) and 416 instructional hours (Time 2), and we are currently collecting data after a period of 726 instructional hours (Time 3). We have designed and administered a variety of tests: tests on English production and reception, both oral and written, and within both academic and communicative oriented approaches, on the learners' L1 (Spanish and Catalan), as well as a questionnaire eliciting personal and sociolinguistic information. The questions we address and the relevant empirical evidence are as follows: 1. "For young children, learning languages is a game. They enjoy it more than adults."Our data demonstrate that the situation is not quite so. Firstly, both at the levels of Primary and Secondary education (ranging from 70.5% in 11-year-olds to 89% in 14-year-olds) students have a positive attitude towards learning English. Secondly, there is a difference between the two groups with respect to the factors they cite as responsible for their motivation to learn English: the younger students cite intrinsic factors, such as the games they play, the methodology used and the teacher, whereas the older students cite extrinsic factors, such as the role of their knowledge of English in the achievement of their future professional goals. 2 ."Young children have more resources to learn languages." Here our data suggest just the opposite. The ability to employ learning strategies (actions or steps used) increases with age. Older learners' strategies are more varied and cognitively more complex. In contrast, younger learners depend more on their interlocutor and external resources and therefore have a lower level of autonomy in their learning. 3. "Young children don't talk much but understand a lot"This third generalization does seem to be confirmed, at least to a certain extent, by our data in relation to the analysis of differences due to the age factor and productive use of the target language. As seen above, the comparably slower progress of the younger learners is confirmed. Our analysis of interpersonal receptive abilities demonstrates as well the advantage of the older learners. Nevertheless, with respect to passive receptive activities (for example, simple recognition of words or sentences) no great differences are observed. Statistical analyses suggest that in this test, in contrast to the others analyzed, the dominance of the subjects' L1s (reflecting a cognitive capacity that grows with age) has no significant influence on the learning process. 4. "The sooner they begin, the better their results will be in written language"This is not either completely confirmed in our research. First of all, we perceive that certain compensatory strategies disappear only with age, but not with the number of instructional hours. Secondly, given an identical number of instructional hours, the older subjects obtain better results. With respect to our analysis of data from subjects of the same age (12 years old) but with a different number of instructional hours (200 and 416 respectively, as they began at the ages of 11 and 8), we observe that those who began earlier excel only in the area of lexical fluency. In conclusion, the superior rate of older learners appears to be due to their higher level of cognitive development, a factor which allows them to benefit more from formal or explicit instruction in the school context. Younger learners, however, do not benefit from the quantity and quality of linguistic exposure typical of a natural acquisition context in which they would be allowed to make use of implicit learning abilities. It seems clear, then, that the initiative in this country to begin foreign language instruction earlier will have positive effects only if it occurs in combination with either higher levels of exposure time to the foreign language, or, alternatively, with its use as the language of instruction in other areas of the curriculum.

L'avaluació de l'alumnat a la universitat

En les últimes dècades, en el camp de l'avaluació en general i, en particular, en el de l'avaluació dels aprenentatges, s'hi reflecteixen importants transformacions. Moltes raons justifiquen aquests canvis projectats en l'àmbit universitari. Podem indicar-ne com a rellevants els següents: a) La incorporació ineludible de nous objectius d'aprenentatge que la societat de la informació requereix dels professionals universitaris: capacitat de transferència, de treballar en grup i en xarxa; habilitats per seleccionar informació i per autoformar-se; saber desenvolupar comportaments d'autonomia, etc. Tots aquests objectius d'aprenentatge són competències que van més enllà del que ofereixen els tradicionals procediments d'avaluació. b) El desenvolupament de noves estratègies d'avaluació (mapes conceptuals, portafolis, etc. ) que posen en joc habilitats complexes i processos metacognitius, més d'acord amb les noves competències professionals i personals. A l'article s'analitzen diferents plantejaments d'avaluació de l'alumnat en l'àmbit universitari, distingint diferents modalitats i presentant tècniques, tant de tipus tradicionals com noves.