Impacto de la crisis económica en la salud

Equipo de trabajo EASP: Guadalupe Carmona López, Luis Andrés López Fernández, Oscar Javier Mendoza García, Ignacio Oleaga de Usategui. No contiene fecha de edición.

La Unión Europea en la crisis del Líbano o la paradoja entre poder y querer

El conflicto de Oriente Próximo escribió una más de sus tantas páginas el pasado verano. A principios de julio, las milicias de Hezbollah secuestraron a dos soldados israelíes cerca de la frontera del Líbano y se lanzaron cohetes Katiuska hacia el norte de Israel. Este suceso provocó la respuesta armada israelí y el inicio de un largo verano de bombardeos en el sur del Líbano, en los suburbios de Beirut y en el norte de Israel. La escalada bélica se llevó a cabo delante de una comunidad internacional incapaz de responder con contundencia a la desproporcionada respuesta israelí y a los continuos ataques de Hezbollah en el norte de Israel. Por su lado, la Unión Europea evidenció la divergencia de pareceres entre sus 25 estados miembros. Así, mientras que países como Francia, España o Italia criticaban la desproporción de la actuación israelí; Reino Unido o Alemania reconocían a Israel el derecho a la legítima defensa.

U.S. subprime financial crisis contagion on BRIC and European Union stock markets

ABSTRACTThe Copula Theory was used to analyze contagion among the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and European Union stock markets with the U.S. Equity Market. The market indexes used for the period between January 01, 2005 and February 27, 2010 are: MXBRIC (BRIC), MXEU (European Union) and MXUS (United States). This article evaluated the adequacy of the main copulas found in the financial literature using log-likelihood, Akaike information and Bayesian information criteria. This article provides a groundbreaking study in the area of contagion due to the use of conditional copulas, allowing to calculate the correlation increase between indexes with non-parametric approach. The conditional Symmetrized Joe-Clayton copula was the one that fitted better to the considered pairs of returns. Results indicate evidence of contagion effect in both markets, European Union and BRIC members, with a 5% significance level. Furthermore, there is also evidence that the contagion of U.S. financial crisis was more pronounced in the European Union than in the BRIC markets, with a 5% significance level. Therefore, stock portfolios formed by equities from the BRIC countries were able to offer greater protection during the subprime crisis. The results are aligned with recent papers that present an increase in correlation between stock markets, especially in bear markets.

The building blocks of international ecological footprint inequality: a regression-based decomposition

This paper performs an empirical Decomposition of International Inequality in Ecological Footprint in order to quantify to what extent explanatory variables such as a country’s affluence, economic structure, demographic characteristics, climate and technology contributed to international differences in terms of natural resource consumption during the period 1993-2007. We use a Regression-Based Inequality Decomposition approach. As a result, the methodology extends qualitatively the results obtained in standard environmental impact regressions as it comprehends further social dimensions of the Sustainable Development concept, i.e. equity within generations. The results obtained point to prioritizing policies that take into account both future and present generations.

A better understanding of ecological conditions for Leontopodium alpinum Cassini in the Swiss Alps

Although Leontopodium alpinum is considered to be threatened in many countries, only limited scientific information about its autecology is available. In this study, we aim to define the most important ecological factors which influence the distribution of L. alpinum in the Swiss Alps. These were assessed at the national scale using species distribution models based on topoclimatic predictors and at the community scale using exhaustive plant inventories. The latter were analysed using hierarchical clustering and principal component analysis, and the results were interpreted using ecological indicator values. L. alpinum was found almost exclusively on base-rich bedrocks (limestone and ultramaphic rocks). The species distribution models showed that the available moisture (dry regions, mostly in the Inner Alps), elevation (mostly above 2000 m.a.s.l.) and slope (mostly >30°) were the most important predictors. The relevés showed that L. alpinum is present in a wide range of plant communities, all subalpine-alpine open grasslands, with a low grass cover. As a light-demanding and short species, L. alpinum requires light at ground level; hence, it can only grow in open, nutrient-poor grasslands. These conditions are met in dry conditions (dry, summer-warm climate, rocky and draining soil, south-facing aspect and/or steep slope), at high elevations, on oligotrophic soils and/or on windy ridges. Base-rich soils appear to also be essential, although it is still unclear if this corresponds to physiological or ecological (lower competition) requirements.

Las Finanzas autonómicas en boom y en crisis (2003-12)

En esta nota se introducen algunos ajustes a los datos presupuestarios disponibles sobre los ingresos y los gastos de las comunidades autónomas con el fin de corregir las distorsiones generadas por la forma en la que se han contabilizado algunas partidas. Las series ajustadas se utilizan para analizar la evolución de las finanzas regionales durante la crisis actual y la parte final de la expansión precedente. El ejercicio ayuda a poner en perspectiva la actual controversia sobre las finanzas autonómicas. En ella se suele poner el acento en la dureza de los recortes de los últimos ejercicios, olvidando la temeraria explosión del gasto durante los años anteriores al comienzo de la crisis. Cuando se toma el período en su conjunto, el proceso de consolidación presupuestaria que comienza en 2010 aparece como una corrección parcial y tardía de los excesos de años anteriores. De cara al futuro, convendría tomar medidas que ayuden a hacer menos procíclico el patrón de gasto autonómico. Aunque esto ya se hace en parte en la nueva Ley de Estabilidad Presupuestaria, se argumenta que sería conveniente crear un Fondo de Estabilización Presupuestaria para facilitar el alisamiento del gasto regional.

The Building Blocks of International Ecological Footprint inequality: A Regression-Base Decomposition

This paper performs an empirical Decomposition of International Inequality in Ecological Footprint in order to quantify to what extent explanatory variables such as a country’s affluence, economic structure, demographic characteristics, climate and technology contributed to international differences in terms of natural resource consumption during the period 1993-2007. We use a Regression- Based Inequality Decomposition approach. As a result, the methodology extends qualitatively the results obtained in standard environmental impact regressions as it comprehends further social dimensions of the Sustainable Development concept, i.e. equity within generations. The results obtained point to prioritizing policies that take into account both future and present generations. Keywords: Ecological Footprint Inequality, Regression-Based Inequality Decomposition, Intragenerational equity, Sustainable development.

Contagion or Interdependence in the recent Global Financial Crisis? An application to the stock markets using unconditional cross-market correlations

We consider stock market contagion as a significant increase in cross-market linkages after a shock to one country or group of countries. Under this definition we study if contagion occurred from the U.S. Financial Crisis to the rest of the major stock markets in the world by using the adjusted (unconditional) correlation coefficient approach (Forbes and Rigobon, 2002) which consists of testing if average crossmarket correlations increase significantly during the relevant period of turmoil. We would not reject the null hypothesis of interdependence in favour of contagion if the increase in correlation only suggests a continuation of high linkages in all state of the world. Moreover, if contagion occurs, this would justify the intervention of the IMF and the suddenly portfolio restructuring during the period under study.

How did the Financial Crisis affect the Real Interest Rate Dynamics in Europe?

We investigate the effects of the financial crisis on the stationarity of real interest rates in the Euro Area. We use a new unit root test developed by Peseran et al. (2013) that allows for multiple unobserved factors in a panel set up. Our results suggest that while short-term and long-term real interest rates were stationary before the financial crisis, they became nonstationary during the crisis period likely due to persistent risk that characterized financial markets during that time. JEL codes: E43, C23. Keywords: Real interest rates, Euro Area, financial crisis, panel unit root tests, cross-sectional dependence.

Exploring the conditions for a mortality crisis: bringing context back into the debate

This study engages with the debate over the mortality crises in the former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe by 1) considering at length and as complementary to each other the two most prominent explanations for the post-communist mortality crisis, stress and alcohol consumption; 2) emphasizing the importance of context by exploiting systematic similarities and differences across the region. Differential mortality trajectories reveal three country groups that cluster both spatially and in terms of economic transition experiences. The first group are the countries furthest west in which mortality rates increased minimally after the transition began. The second group experienced a severe increase in mortality rates in the early 1990s, but recovered previous levels within a few years. These countries are located peripherally to Russia and its nearest neighbours. The final group consists of countries that experienced two mortality increases or in which mortality levels had not recovered to pre-transition levels well into the 21st century. Cross-sectional time-series data analyses of men’s and women’s age and cause-specific death rates reveal that the clustering of these countries and their mortality trajectories can be partially explained by the economic context, which is argued to be linked to stress and alcohol consumption. Above and beyond many basic differences in the country groups that are held constant—including geographically and historically shared cultural, lifestyle and social characteristics—poor economic conditions account for a remarkably consistent share of excess age-specific and cause-specific deaths.

Economic crisis and recovery: changes in second birth rates within occupational classes and educational groups

This study assesses the decline in second birth rates for men and women across different skill levels in transitional Russia. Changes within educational groups and occupational classes are observed over three distinct time periods: the Soviet era, economic crisis, and economic recovery. The most remarkable finding is the similarity in the extent second birth rates declined within educational groups and occupational classes during the economic crisis. Although further decline occurred in the recovery period, more variation emerged across groups.

Consultation d'urgence/crise pour couples et families: motifs d'urgence et évaluation du traitement [Couples and families emergency/crisis consultation: emergency patterns and treatment assessment]

Since the opening in 2003 of the Couple & Family Consultation Unit (UCCF) at Prangins Hospital, we have met urgent demands and observed that the suffering systems (i.e., couples and families) couldn't face any waiting period. So in 2007 an Emergency/Crisis Facility was created, based on the hypothesis that there is no contra-indication to systemic emergency care, if one understands and structures both crisis and treatment. We studied the suffering population in demand and the emergency/crisis issues and assessed therapy efficiency. Then we observed that treating suffering systems in emergency does produce therapeutic gain in terms of crisis resolution and patients' satisfaction. Those treatments refer to public health issues, as considered the human, social and financial cost of couples/families dysfunctions.

La representación del barrio del Raval de Barcelona en la prensa escrita catalana: análisis del discurso periodístico durante la crisis económica del 2010

En el contexto de la Sociedad red (Castells: 2007) los medios constituyen referentesfacultados para reproducir discursos socialmente legitimados. La inseguridad ciudadana y el temor hacia el otro son algunos de los tópicos recurrentes de estos discursos. Esto puede contribuir con laestigmatización de ciertos grupos y los barrios urbanos en los que habitan.Este trabajo analiza el discurso periodístico sobre el Raval de Barcelona con el fin de determinar cuáles son las estrategias que emplean los diarios de referencia para describir al barriodurante un periodo específico de crisis económica (2010).La investigación se fundamenta en la premisa teórica de que los discursos mediáticosinfluyen en las percepciones que tienen los receptores acerca de los otros y de su entorno. La investigación se articula a partir de tres ejes de análisis: el estudio de la relación entre el contexto yel medio de comunicación, el análisis crítico del discurso periodístico y la recepción de este discurso.