Redes e capital social: o enfoque da informação para o desenvolvimento local

O acesso à informação é um elemento-chave para o desenvolvimento econômico e social de comunidades e grupos sociais. A capacidade de obter informações, além dos contornos restritos da própria comunidade, é parte do capital relacional dos indivíduos e grupos. As transformações dependem das redes existentes entre os indivíduos do grupo e atores localizados em outros espaços sociais, ou seja, do capital social da comunidade. Por ser tratado como capital, da mesma forma que o capital humano ou financeiro, investimentos para sua ampliação devem permitir retornos ou benefícios, servindo de base para o desenvolvimento, o que tem sido amplamente pesquisado. O uso da metodologia de análise de redes sociais vem se difundindo rapidamente, nos últimos anos, trazendo contribuições significativas para a compreensão do papel do capital social no desenvolvimento. A construção de redes sociais e a conseqüente aquisição de capital social estão condicionadas por fatores culturais, políticos e sociais. O próprio conceito de capital social é multidimensional, o que significa incorporar vários níveis e unidades de análise. A combinação da metodologia de análise de redes com uma base teórica sólida amplia os espaços de pesquisa, em um espectro que vai das pesquisas sobre o acesso às informações básicas sobre saúde pública em comunidades urbanas ao comércio internacional, passando pela análise do desenvolvimento regional, através do estudo dos arranjos produtivos locais.

Does human capital stimulate investment in physical capital?: Evidence from a cost system framework

The direct effect of human capital on economic growth has been widely analysed in the economic literature. This paper, however, focuses on its indirect effect as a stimulus for private investment in physical capital. The methodological framework used is the duality theory, estimating a cost system aggregated with human capital. Empirical evidence is given for Spain for the period 1980-2000. We provide evidence on the indirect effect of human capital in making private capital investment more attractive. Among the main explanations forthis process, we observe that higher worker skill levels enable higher returns to be extracted from investment in physical capital.

Human capital spillovers, productivity and regional convergence in Spain

This paper analyses the differential impact of human capital, in terms of different levels of schooling, on regional productivity and convergence. The potential existence of geographical spillovers of human capital is also considered by applying spatial panel data techniques. The empirical analysis of Spanish provinces between 1980 and 2007 confirms the positive impact of human capital on regional productivity and convergence, but reveals no evidence of any positive geographical spillovers of human capital. In fact, in some specifications the spatial lag presented by tertiary studies has a negative effect on the variables under consideration.

Qüestionari de trajectòria educativa i capital social acadèmic

Projecte de recerca (EDU2011-25960) Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad

Regional economic growth and human capital: the role of overeducation

This article analyses the link between human capital and regional economic growth in the European Union. Using various indicators of human capital calculated from census microdata, we conclude that the recent economic performance of European regions is associated with an increase in overeducation. In fact, measures of educational mismatch seem to be more strongly connected to regional economic performance than do other traditional measures of human capital stock.

Financial reforms and capital flows: Insights from general equilibrium

As a result of debt enforcement problems, many high-productivity firms in emergingeconomies are unable to pledge enough future profits to their creditors and this constrains thefinancing they can raise. Many have argued that, by relaxing these credit constraints, reformsthat strengthen enforcement institutions would increase capital flows to emerging economies. Thisargument is based on a partial equilibrium intuition though, which does not take into account theorigin of any additional resources that flow to high-productivity firms after the reforms. We showthat some of these resources do not come from abroad, but instead from domestic low-productivityfirms that are driven out of business as a result of the reforms. Indeed, the resources released bythese low-productivity firms could exceed those absorbed by high-productivity ones so that capitalflows to emerging economies might actually decrease following successful reforms. This resultprovides a new perspective on some recent patterns of capital flows in industrial and emergingeconomies.

Venture capital financing : screening and contracting under assymetric information

Structure of the Thesis This thesis consists of 5 sections. Section 1 starts with the problem definition and the presentation of the objectives of this thesis. Section 2 introduces a presentation of the theoretical foundations of Venture financing and a review of the main theories developed on Venture investing. It includes a taxonomy of contracting clauses relevant in venture contracting, the conflicts they address, and presents some general observations on contractual clauses. Section 3 presents the research findings on the analysis of a European VC's deal flow and investment screening linked to the prevailing market conditions. Section 4 focuses an empirical study of a European VC's investment process, the criteria it uses to make its investments. It presents empirical findings on the investment criteria over time, business cycles, and investment types. It also links these criteria to the VC's subsequent performance. Finally, section 5 presents an empirical research on the comparison of the legal contracts signed between European and United States Venture Capitalists and the companies they finance. This research highlights some of the contracting practices in Europe and the United States.

Disentangling the link between health and social capital: A comparison of immigrant and native-born populations in Spain

An increasing body of research has pointed to the relevance of social capital in studying a great variety of socio-economic phenomena, ranging from economics growth and development to educational attainment and public health. Conceptually, our paper is framed within the debates about the possible links between health and social capital, on one hand, and within the hypotheses regarding the importance of social and community networks in all stages of the dynamics of international migration, on the other hand. Our primary objective is to explore the ways social relations contribute to health differences between the immigrants and the native-born population of Spain. We also try to reveal differences in the nature of the social networks of foreign-born, as compared to that of the native-born persons. The empirical analysis is based on an individual-level data coming from the 2006 Spanish Health Survey, which contains a representative sample of the immigrant population. To assess the relationship between various health indicators (self-assessed health, chronic conditions and long-term illness) and social capital, controlling for other covariates, we estimate multilevel models separately for the two population groups of interest. In the estimates we distinguish between individual and community-level social capital. While the Health Survey contains information that allows us to define individual social capital measures, the collective indicators come from other official sources. In particular, for the subsample of immigrants, we proxy community-level networks and relationships by variables contained in the Spanish National Survey of Immigrants 2007. The results obtained so far point to the relevance of social capital as a covariate in the health equation, although, the significance varies according to the specific health indicator used. Additionally, and contrary to what is expected, immigrants’ social networks seem to be inferior to those of the native-born population in many aspects; and they also affect immigrant’s health to a lesser extent. Policy implications of the findings are discussed. Keywords: health status, social capital, immigration, Spain

An application of capital allocation principles to operational risk

The cost of operational risk refers to the capital needed to a fford the loss generated by ordinary activities of a firm. In this work we demonstrate how allocation principles can be used to the subdivision of the aggregate capital so that the firm can distribute this cost across its various constituents that generate operational risk. Several capital allocation principles are revised. Proportional allocation allows to calculate a relative risk premium to be charged to each unit. An example of fraud risk in the banking sector is presented and some correlation scenarios between business lines are compared. Keywords: solvency, quantile, value at risk, copulas

EL Portafolio docente como estrategia formativa innovadora del profesorado novel universitario. Un estudio de casos

Este artículo sintetiza los resultados y las principales conclusiones de una investigación realizada en la Universidad de Barcelona sobre el tema del portafolio docente, un fenómeno bastante reciente en el campo de la formación del profesorado en general, y en la del docente universitario en particular. La introducción de esta herramienta en la Enseñanza universitaria se debe a la Asociación Canadiense de Profesores de Universidad (en la década de los ochenta), que la empleó para la habilitación y la evaluación de docentes. Sin embargo, en este trabajo se parte de la idea de que los portafolios docentes tienen también una vertiente formativa y resultan útiles en la mejora y el desarrollo profesional del profesorado universitario novel. Explorar este aspecto es el objetivo de nuestro estudio. Se ha elegido, como campo de aplicación, el profesorado novel de la Universidad de Barcelona, que ha elaborado un portafolio docente en los cursos de Iniciación en la Docencia Universitaria. El enfoque usado ha sido cualitativo y como estrategia metodológica hemos optado por el estudio de casos múltiple, dado que la muestra está constituida por 10 profesores universitarios noveles de diferentes áreas de conocimiento. Para recoger y registrar la información, los instrumentos empleados fueron la entrevista en profundidad y el análisis de documentos. Los resultados apuntan a que el verdadero valor del portafolio docente reside en su potencial formativo y para el desarrollo profesional del profesorado universitario novel. También revelan que el portafolio es una herramienta valiosa para un nuevo profesionalismo docente, que se orienta a la reflexión sobre la propia práctica docente y al desarrollo de una enseñanza más acorde con las exigencias de la nueva sociedad del conocimiento.

Aprender a ser docente en un mundo en cambio. Simposio internacional

[spa] Este texto recoge el conjunto de contribuciones presentadas al simposio internacional Aprender a ser docente en un mundo en cambio, que tuvo lugar en Barcelona el 21 y 22 de noviembre de 2013, un acto organizado por los grupos de investigación consolidados Esbrina - Subjetividades y entornos de aprendizaje contemporáneos (2009SGR 503) de la Universidad de Barcelona y ELKARRIKERTUZ (IT-563-13) de la Universidad del País Vasco.El simposio nos dio la oportunidad de debatir con la comunidad educativa el sentido de ser docente en el mundo actual y nos permitió presentar y debatir los resultados del proyecto de investigación coordinado La construcción de la identidad docente del profesorado educación infantil y primaria en la formación inicial y los primeros años de trabajo (Identidoc) (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad. EDU2010-20852-C02-01/EDU2010-20852-C02-02), e intercambiar con otros colegas conocimientos y reflexiones en torno a estos temas.[cat]Aquest text recull el conjunt de contribucions presentades al simposi internacional Aprender a ser docente en un mundo en cambio, que va tenir lloc a Barcelona el 21 i 22 de novembre de 2013, un acte organitzat pels grups de recerca consolidats ESBRINA - Subjectivitats i entorns educatius contemporanis (2009SGR 503) de la Universitat de Barcelona i ELKARRIKERTUZ (IT-563-13) de la Universitat del País Basc.El simposi ens va donar l'oportunitat de debatre amb la comunitat educativa el sentit de ser docent en el món actual i ens va permetre presentar i debatre els resultats del projecte de recerca coordinat La construcción de la identidad docente del profesorado educación infantil y primaria en la formación inicial y los primeros años de trabajo (Identidoc) (Ministeri d'Economia i Competitivitat. EDU2010-20852-C02-01/EDU2010-20852-C02-02), i intercanviar amb altres col·legues coneixements i reflexions al voltant d'aquests temes.

Aprender a ser docente en un mundo en cambio. Simposio internacional

[spa] Este texto recoge el conjunto de contribuciones presentadas al simposio internacional Aprender a ser docente en un mundo en cambio, que tuvo lugar en Barcelona el 21 y 22 de noviembre de 2013, un acto organizado por los grupos de investigación consolidados Esbrina - Subjetividades y entornos de aprendizaje contemporáneos (2009SGR 503) de la Universidad de Barcelona y ELKARRIKERTUZ (IT-563-13) de la Universidad del País Vasco.El simposio nos dio la oportunidad de debatir con la comunidad educativa el sentido de ser docente en el mundo actual y nos permitió presentar y debatir los resultados del proyecto de investigación coordinado La construcción de la identidad docente del profesorado educación infantil y primaria en la formación inicial y los primeros años de trabajo (Identidoc) (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad. EDU2010-20852-C02-01/EDU2010-20852-C02-02), e intercambiar con otros colegas conocimientos y reflexiones en torno a estos temas.[cat]Aquest text recull el conjunt de contribucions presentades al simposi internacional Aprender a ser docente en un mundo en cambio, que va tenir lloc a Barcelona el 21 i 22 de novembre de 2013, un acte organitzat pels grups de recerca consolidats ESBRINA - Subjectivitats i entorns educatius contemporanis (2009SGR 503) de la Universitat de Barcelona i ELKARRIKERTUZ (IT-563-13) de la Universitat del País Basc.El simposi ens va donar l'oportunitat de debatre amb la comunitat educativa el sentit de ser docent en el món actual i ens va permetre presentar i debatre els resultats del projecte de recerca coordinat La construcción de la identidad docente del profesorado educación infantil y primaria en la formación inicial y los primeros años de trabajo (Identidoc) (Ministeri d'Economia i Competitivitat. EDU2010-20852-C02-01/EDU2010-20852-C02-02), i intercanviar amb altres col·legues coneixements i reflexions al voltant d'aquests temes.