Issue 56

The latest research and development (R&D) framework programmes of the European Union (EU), “Horizon 2020” and “Horizon Europe”, have significantly increased the resources available to promote science and innovation in Europe. However, the strong competitiveness of the research teams and their search for excellence may cause inequality in the spatial distribution of investment effort in R&D. The aim of this paper is to analyse the geographic distribution of R&D spending in the EU. A greater concentration of funds is observed in the most advanced and dynamic economies, capable of promoting more competitive research teams and projects. Through an empirical analysis, estimated by a spatial convergence model, it is found that EU R&D funds are preventing cross-regional convergence in Europe by driving growth mainly in wealthier regions. Based on these results, it seems relevant to consider spatial correction mechanisms for the distribution of R&D resources so that they achieve greater territorial cohesion in Europe.

We analyze the effect of the reception of remittances on violence (approximated by the homicide mortality rate). The relevance of the study lies in the research of two phenomena with high impact on Mexico’s society and economy. We used a linear regression model with instrumental variables. At the municipal level we found a high and positive correlation between the homicide rate and the percentage of households that receive remittances, although this relationship does not extend throughout the whole territory. In general, the reception of remittances had a significant effect in the increase of violence.

Airports have become one of the main factors of urban competitiveness, due to their role as communication nodes and also due to their ability to generate economic activity. The literature shows that, in many metropolitan areas, airports are an important pole of economic activity that attracts companies related to airport activity, but also other types of firms due to their accessibility and the lower price of land compared to the city center. This article describes the plan for the creation of an Airport City at Barcelona Airport and estimates the economic effect that its implementation would have on the Catalan and Spanish economy.

Depopulation is a consolidated research topic and more recently it is also important for governments. In this context, we propose an alternative methodology of emerging patterns to reveal significant trends and nuances of the population decreasing in Spanish municipalities between 1998 and 2021. To this goal, we use conventional sources, such as the Municipal Register of Inhabitants. Our results demonstrate a cold-hot bipolar systemic behavior, more balanced in its surface dimension than in the demographic one. It confirms two realities north-south in the depopulating Spain. Cold spots are concentrated in the northern half of the country with intensifying and consecutive patterns. Finally, the study provides a scalable methodology that is replicable in other periods and/or territories.

The structure of audio-visual television production in Andalusia is complex, particularly the composition of the business fabric of the television system in the autonomous community, insofar as it depends, to a large extent, on public television, Canal Sur Televisión. The aim of this study is to approach the reality of audio-visual production companies specialising in television to find out whether Andalusian public television is fulfilling its public service function and, above all, whether it is a matrix that generates the regional industrial and business fabric. The methodology is based on a simple structural approach, using professional empiricism and participant observation, where the techniques used were qualitative and quantitative: content analysis, direct observation and participant observation, bibliographic techniques, in-depth interviews (using the key informant tool) and surveys. All this took place during the years 2020, 2021 and 2022. The results point to the fulfilment of the obligation to promote the development of the Andalusian audio-visual fabric and that of audio-visual production companies, as observed in its regulations.

The objective of the study was to analyze barriers to access to health care in Chile reported by international migrants residing in the metropolitan region of the country and associated factors. For this purpose, a digital survey on vulnerabilities and resources of migrant communities in Chile to face the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was applied. A descriptive and stratified analysis was performed by demographic and socioeconomic variables, type of health provision and migratory status. As results, immigrants from Haiti reported the highest percentage of barriers to health care access, after adjusting for socio-demographic variables and migratory status.

The aim of this paper is to identify and quantify econometrically the determinants of the spending needs of the Autonomous Communities. The combination of individual fixed effects that capture unobservable inter-territorial differences in spending preferences or efficiency, on the one hand, with expenditure determinants of low variability, on the other poses problems for traditional estimators. To overcome this limitation, alternative econometric specifications and estimators are explored. The results show that the estimated coefficients and their significance change substantially, not being able to guarantee the necessary robustness to sustain an adequate political discussion. Therefore, it is necessary to bet on other strategies for empirical work that allow us to the spending preferences of the Autonomous Communities.

The BBVA Foundation has recently published (January 2023) the report on capital endowments in Spain and its autonomous communities corresponding to the period 1995-2022. This report is the latest in a long relationship between the BBVA Foundation and the Ivie that has lasted for more than 25 years. In these years, a database on investment and capital stock has been built following the most established and recognized methodologies at each moment of time. The last methodological change was implemented in the edition prior to this one. The initial year of reference for the database is 1964. Despite the fact that a long historical series is available, in the report that is being reviewed now it has been decided to focus on the most recent period, the one that begins with the 1995 expansion.