Disseny i implementaci�� d'un quadre de comandament d'indicadors financers

El present projecte es desenvolupa sota el marc d���un conveni de pr��ctiques entre l���empresa UNIT4 i la UAB, amb l���objectiu de dissenyar i implementar un subproducte per a la plataforma ekon Finacnes que permeti treure el m��xim profit als indicadors financers, creant un quadre de comandament intu��tiu i visualment agradable.

An��lisi econ��mica financera del sector de c��rnies catal��

Objectiu: Aquest treball pret��n reflectir la situaci�� econ��mica i financera de les empreses c��rnies catalanes en el per��ode 2007-2011, mitjan��ant l'an��lisi de dades dels seus estats comptables, per tal de diagnosticar la salut empresarial del sector de c��rnies catalanes. L'estudi tamb�� realitza una an��lisi descriptiva de les entitats que engloben les c��rnies catalanes i la posici�� que ocupen dintre de les ind��stries agroaliment��ries espanyoles, identificant les diferents variables d'an��lisi a curt termini, a llarg termini i d'an��lisi econ��mica; afegint a l'an��lisi convencional informacions patrimonials i de tresoreria procedents l'Estat de canvis en el patrimoni net i l'Estat de fluxos d'efectiu. Disseny/metodologia/enfocament: Fer una an��lisis financera a curt termini, a llarg termini, de resultats i dels dos estats nous: Estat de canvis en el patrimoni net i Estat de fluxos d'efectiu sobre una mostra de 130 empreses catalanes utilitzant l'estad��stica descriptiva oportuna. Resultats: La principal aportaci�� ha estat el diagn��stic d' una bona salut empresarial d'aquestes empreses c��rnies en el per��ode analitzat tot i que a partir de l'any 2011 hi ha un canvi en els indicadors financers utilitzats. Limitacions: Seria convenient estendre la mostra i observar en els exercicis posteriors al 2011 si es verifica el canvi de tend��ncia dels indicadors. Implicacions pr��ctiques: Permet valorar la projecci�� que ha fet aquest sector d'activitat a Catalunya en el per��ode analitzat.Implicacions socials: Els resultats de l'estudi permet veure la projecci�� de futur que t�� aquest sector amb els canvis oportuns a fer. Originalitat/valor afegit: Per les associacions d'ind��stries c��rnies permet fer una valoraci�� de la salut empresarial de les principals empreses associades i per emprendre els reptes de futur oportuns.

Quadre de comandament d'indicadors comptables per administracions p��bliques

El present projecte es desenvolupa sota el marc d'un conveni de pr��ctiques entre l'empresa UNIT4 i la UAB, amb l'objectiu de dissenyar i implementar un subproducte per a la plataforma EKON SICAL que permeti treure-li el m��xim profit als indicadors financers, creant un quadre de comandament intu��tiu i visualment agradable.

Financial development, labor and market regulations and growth

This paper investigates the importance that market regulation and financial imperfections have on firm growth. We analyse institutions af- fecting labor market as Employment Protection Laws (EP) and Product Market Regulation (PM). We show that together with the beneficial effects of financial development, a firm will get less financing, and thus investless, in a weak financial market (finance effect), the strictness of product and labor market regulations also affect firm growth (labor effect). In particular, we show that the stricter the rules the more detrimental the influence on growth in sectoral value added for a large number of countries. We also show that the labor effect overcomes the positive finance effect.

Governance mechanisms in Spanish financial intermediaries

This paper examines the governance of Spanish Banks around two main issues. First, does a poor economic performance activate those governance interventions that favor the removal of executive directors and the merger of non-performing banks? And second, does the relationship between governance intervention and economic performance vary with the ownership form of the bank? Our results show that a bad performance does activate governance mechanisms in banks, although for the case of Savings Banks intervention is confined to a merger or acquisition. Nevertheless, the distinct ownership structure of Savings Banks does not fully protect non-performing banks from disappearing. Product-market competition compensates for those weak internal governance mechanisms that result from an ownership form which gives voice to several stakeholder groups.

Indicators and evaluation tools for the assessment of urban sustainability

This paper attempts to provide an explanation of why reductionistic approaches are not adequate to tackle the urban sustainability issue in a consistent way. Concepts such as urban environmental carrying capacity and ecological footprint are discussed. Multicriteria evaluation is proposed as a general multidimensional framework for the assessment of urban sustainability. This paper deals with the following main topics: 1) definition of the concept of urban sustainability 2) discussion of relevant sustainability indicators 3) multicriteria evaluation as a framework for the assessment of urban sustainability 4) an illustrative example.

Are one factor logarithmic volatility models useful to fit the features of financial data? An application to microsoft data.

This paper provides empirical evidence that continuous time models with one factor of volatility, in some conditions, are able to fit the main characteristics of financial data. It also reports the importance of the feedback factor in capturing the strong volatility clustering of data, caused by a possible change in the pattern of volatility in the last part of the sample. We use the Efficient Method of Moments (EMM) by Gallant and Tauchen (1996) to estimate logarithmic models with one and two stochastic volatility factors (with and without feedback) and to select among them.

Financial intermediation in a model of growth through creative destruction

This paper presents an endogenous growth model in which the research activity is financed by intermediaries that are able to reduce the incidence of researcher's moral hazard. It is shown that financial activity is growth promoting because it increases research productivity. It is also found that a subsidy to the financial sector may have larger growth effects than a direct subsidy to research. Moreover, due to the presence of moral hazard, increasing the subsidy rate to R\&D may reduce the growth rate. I show that there exists a negative relation between the financing of innovation and the process of capital accumulation. Concerning welfare, the presence of two externalities of opposite sign steaming from financial activity may cause that the no-tax equilibrium provides an inefficient level of financial services. Thus, policies oriented to balance the effects of the two externalities will be welfare improving.

Financial integration, productivity and capital accumulation

Understanding the mechanism through which financial globalization affects economic performance is crucial for evaluating the costs and benefits of opening financial markets. This paper is a first attempt at disentangling the effects of financial integration on the two main determinants of economic performance: productivity (TFP) and investments. I provide empirical evidence from a sample of 93 countries observed between 1975 and 1999. The results suggest that financial integration has a positive direct effect on productivity, while it spurs capital accumulation only with some delay and indirectly, since capital follows the rise in productivity. I control for indirect effects of financial globalization through banking crises. Such episodes depress both investments and TFP, though they are triggered by financial integration only to a minor extent.

Financial incentives in academia: research versus development

This paper investigates the effects of monetary rewards on the pattern of research. We build a simple repeated model of a researcher capable to obtain innovative ideas. We analyse how the legal environment affects the allocation of researcher's time between research and development. Although technology transfer objectives reduce the time spent in research, they might also induce researchers to conduct research that is more basic in nature, contrary to what the skewing problem would presage. We also show that our results hold even if development delays publication.

The Adoption of agricultural credit cooperativism in Spain (1890-1935) : solidarity from below?

The spread of agrarian credit cooperativism in Spain (1890-1934) was done under a variety of ideological and economic orientations. This article focuses on the construction of a few tools and indicators to explain the characteristics of agricultural credit cooperatives. An analysis of financial operations of rural savings banks is related with socio-political aspects that influenced their development; This analysis helps us to explain the relative success of German credit cooperative models adopted in the context of Spanish agriculture, as happened on European periphery.

Private Governance of Financial Markets: the US Regulatory Regime on Hedge Funds

The article investigates the private governance of financial markets by looking at the evolution of the regulatory debate on hedge funds in the US market. It starts from the premise that the privatization of regulation is always the result of a political decision and analyzes how this decision came about and was implemented in the case of hedge funds. The starting point is the failure of two initiatives on hedge funds that US regulators launched between 1999 an 2004, which the analysis explains by elaborating the concept of self-capture. Facing a trade off between the need to tackle publicly demonized issues and the difficulty of monitoring increasingly sophisticated and powerful private markets, regulators purposefully designed initiatives that were not meant to succeed, that is, they ���self-captured��� their own activity. By formulating initiatives that were inherently flawed, regulators saved their public role and at the same time paved the way for the privatization of hedge fund regulation. This explanation identifies a link between the failure of public initiatives and the success of private ones. It illustrates a specific case of formation of private authority in financial markets that points to a more general practice emerging in the regulation of finance.

Small firms, growth and financial constraints

This paper analyses the impact of different sources of finance on the growth of firms. Using panel data from Spanish manufacturing firms for the period 2000-2006, we investigate the effects of internal and external finances on firm growth. In particular, we examine three dimensions of these financial sources: a) the performance of the firms��� capital structure in accordance with firm size; b) the effects of internal and external financial sources on growth performance; c) the combined effect of equity, external debt and cash flow on firm growth. We find that low-growth firms are sensitive to cash flow and short-term bank debt, while high-growth firms are more sensitive to long-term debt. Furthermore, equity capital seems to reduce barriers to external finance. Our main conclusion is that during the start-up phase, firms are unable to increase their financial leverage and so their capital structure fails to promote correct investment strategies. However, as their equity capital increases, alternative financial mechanisms, in particular long-term debt, become available, which have a positive impact on firm growth.

Pla de millora de la doc��ncia del Departament de Matem��tica Econ��mica, Financera i Actuarial

La finalitat del projecte (bianual 2007-09) era aconseguir una millora de la doc��ncia que imparteix el Departament de Matem��tica Econ��mica, Financera i Actuarial. La nostra tasca principal ha consistit en obtenir uns indicadors que ens permetessin con��ixer millor el nostre alumnat, per tal de tenir la m��xima informaci�� a l'hora de plantejar la revisi�� global que representa la implantaci�� dels nous graus d���acord amb les directrius del proc��s de Converg��ncia Europea. En aquest projecte han participat tots els coordinadors de les assignatures obligat��ries del Departament i els tres Grups d���Innovaci�� Docent formats per membres del Departament. S���han analitzat les dades de les assignatures des del curs 2000-01 fins 2006-07 per tal de tenir informaci�� sobre l���efic��cia de cursar les assignatures d���Introducci�� a les Matem��tiques i la seva incid��ncia en els aprovats a Matem��tiques I i II . Tamb�� s���han estudiat dades sobre el col��lectiu de repetidors. Com a resultat d���aquest estudi i de les enquestes que s���han fet, s���han redactat dos articles: ���Propuesta de mejora de la actuaci��n docente a partir de las caracter��sticas del alumnado de primer curso de Matem��ticas en la Facultad de Econom��a y Empresa de la Universidad de Barcelona��� y ���Estudio del perfil del alumnado de primer curso en la Facultad de Econom��a y Empresa de la Universidad de Barcelona��� que s���han presentat a dos congressos d���Innovaci�� Docent (Burgos, setembre-2009 i Vigo, juliol-2009).