Otoño 2003

The present paper seeks to analyse regional and industry wage differentials in Spain. Differences in observed industry and regional earnings are to be expected, whenever the considered individuals differ with respect to their human capital characteristics. However, this paper shows, using data from Encuesta de Estructura Salarial (Structure of Earnings Survey), referring to 1995, that while controlling for these characteristics reduces the magnitude of derived industry-regional wage premia, they are insufficient to eliminate altogether. The results allow the authors to describe a dual wage determination system in Spain. That is to say, average hourly wage is closely related to cost of living in those industry-regions with a higher labour productivity and to labour productivity in those industry-regions with a lower level of value added per employee. This situation finds its institutional coverage in the collective bargaining system.

The aim of this work is to measure the Industrial Marshallian District (IMD) effect through non-radial measures of technical efficiency. Taking as reference the spatial location of each firm (inside or outside of the IMD), a valuable information can be obtained to assess whether there exist competitive advantages (Porter’s approach) derived from firms agglomerations, as well as their intensity and typology. Recent literature on this topic uses radial measures of technical efficiency. This study tries to overcome some of the limitations involved in this kind of studies, especially as they obtain a unique indicator for the efficiency of all inputs. The methodology used here permits to calculate an efficiency index for each of the inputs. This information is especially important for the analysis of the territorial externalities since contributes to the identification and evaluation of the effects derived from the external economies in every of the aspects of the firms activity. An empirical application is carried out for a sample of Spanish Small and Medium industrial Firms (SMF).

This paper defends the use of convergence models to study the temporary evolution of the Chilean communes’ socioeconomic development. To do so, we will use an indicator made up of using multivariate analysis techniques. By means of regression models of transversal section and models of distributional dynamics we will outline, on the basis of the historic function of communal economies, the behaviour expected for those economies in future and, therefore, the tendencial evolution of Chilean territorial economic model.

Neoclassic economic growth studies should considerate differentiation of economies taking into account structural parameters for different groups of regions. The estimation of Verdoorn law conditioning by means of initial levels of some structural parameters allows confirming the idea to considerate Spanish provinces into diversified convergence clubs.

In this study a function of the demand for holiday making tourism in the Canary Islands is estimated. The object is to identify the determinants of this function and quantify their impact, not only on the volume of demand (length of stay), but also on the gross income generated by tourism, given that businesses in the tourist sector as well as public institutions responsible for planning and control of tourism both measure economic results by income rather by demand.

In this paper we present a new assessment of the effects of fiscal policy on economic growth, focusing on the role of public expenditure. Starting from a theoretical model where only those public expenditure items strictly presumed to influence the production process (i.e., public capital and transfers) are incorporated into the production function, we provide an empirical application for the case of the Spanish regions during the period 1967-1995. The results confirm the positive effect on growth from both public capital and transfers, being relatively more intense that of public capital for the more productive regions, and that of transfers for the less productive ones.

The aim of this article is to analyse the evolution and degree of convergence in the technical efficiency of the regional productive sectors. We use the frontier approach of the Malmquist Index computed through the nonparametric programming method to compare the contribution of efficiency gains to productivity growth. Next we consider the existence of a technological catch-up effect and determine if infrastructure is a conditioning factor of this process. The results show differences in the behaviour of technical change and efficiency change amongst the productive sectors. We also confirm the existence of a catch-up effect, in that, the less efficient sectors have benefited from technological diffusion with this process occurring rapidly in the period studied.

The process of European integration, and particularly the enlargement of the EU, has substantial consequences for transport and the way it interacts with the rest of the economy. Transport intensity has been increasing and changing transport costs have different impacts on different sectors and regions depending on both traditional factors such as value to weight ratios and the competitive structure of industry. This paper explores some of the factors lying behind the rise in transport intensity, how it relates to trade and to changing activity patterns and the endogeneity of transport with the process of specialisation and regional concentration. This is set against the pressures arising from EU enlargement. This leads to questions concerning the sustainability of exiting transport policies which place emphasis on mobility. The paper explores the dynamics of the relationship, highlighting the way in which the modelling of the transport system needs to interact with that of the rest of the economy.