Construction of a Composite Index of European Identity

In this work, we build a Composite Index of European Identification. We analyse the main theoretical backgrounds explaining citizens' identification with Europe and the alternative types of identities (civic against the ethnic-cultural constructions) and the social psychology theory (based on awareness, emotional attachment and evaluation). We have found that neither of them report spatially homogeneous results over Europe. The proposed solution in this work is the use of fuzzy set techniques. This option is flexible enough to report an index of identification with Europe at the individual level. The Composite Index of European Identity a report an alternative specification to the self-reported perception given by individuals. In this work, we have reported a brief description of the index, which report higher values in Eastern European countries and Spain, and lower average figures in the United Kingdom, France, Sweden and the Netherlands. The index is clearly increasing with education, income and city size, and does not display any first-sight association with respondent's age and gender. The Composite Index is an important complement to the survey's scores, as it captures the grounds in which social identification is built and consequently displays a more robust picture of the determinants of European identity and particularly by the role played by regional policies

Is football an indicator of development at the international level? (WP)

[spa] El objetivo de este trabajo es examinar si el fútbol puede ser considerado como un indicador de desarrollo a nivel internacional. Se ha diseñado un modelo econométrico empírico con el fin de analizar el desarrollo en términos de niveles de PIB per cápita y del crecimiento del PIB. Se utiliza información transversal y temporal. Los resultados sugieren que la clasificación FIFA de las selecciones nacionales se puede utilizar para complementar nuestra comprensión del desarrollo multidimensional en aquellos países donde la disponibilidad de la información no es tan buena como los investigadores quisieran.[eng] The aim of this paper is to examine whether football can be considered an indicator of development at the international level. An empirical econometric model is designed in order to analyse development in terms of both levels of GDP per capita and GDP growth. Cross-sectional and time series information is used. The results suggest that FIFA rankings of national teams can be used to complement our understanding of multidimensional development in those countries where the availability of information is not as good as researchers would like

The role of urbanisation on international migrations. A case study of EU and ENP countries

This article estimates the impact of the urbanisation rates as pull factor of international migration between the European Union and the countries involved in the European Neighbouring Policy. The 1970-2000 period was investigated by using a gravitational model and estimates were obtained by using a a wide fixed-effects structure. The main finding was that changes in urbanisation matter more as a pull factor than changes in GDP per capita. This may be linked to the existence of greater opportunities arising in growing cities and to the fact that in the period of analysis these opportunities had been more important in small and medium sized cities than in large cities. In addition, it appears that immigrants not only look for monetary outcomes by migrating, but also cue on non-economic territorial features

Defining housing market areas using commuting and migration algorithms. Catalonia (Spain) as an applied case study

In the literature on housing market areas, different approaches can be found to defining them, for example, using travel-to-work areas and, more recently, making use of migration data. Here we propose a simple exercise to shed light on which approach performs better. Using regional data from Catalonia, Spain, we have computed housing market areas with both commuting data and migration data. In order to decide which procedure shows superior performance, we have looked at uniformity of prices within areas. The main finding is that commuting algorithms present more homogeneous areas in terms of housing prices

The effect of labour-market differentials on interregional migration in Spain: A meta-regression analysis

This paper performs a meta-regression analysis to derive the role of techniques, data and variable's definition on the effect of the labor-market determinants on interregional migration. We use Spain as a case of study, a country with heterogeneous and even counterintuitive behavior of internal migration flows to its labor-market drivers. We use data from studies released over the last 40 years. The results show that migration flows respond to labor-market differentials in a theoretically consistent way. We find that the vast diversity in the studies' attributes is behind the significant heterogeneity of their estimated effects. Differences in aggregation level, variables measures, model specification, and the national economic context influence the identification of the push and pull effects

On the Influence of Foreign Players on the Success of Football Clubs

This article analyzes whether having more foreign players influences the performance of football clubs. We do so by comparing a cross section of close to 1,000 football clubs all over the world. We find that, on average, those clubs in leagues with more foreign players display better results in the world rankings. Nevertheless, within each league, where all clubs have the same regulations, having more foreign players has no effect. In the end, when all clubs have the same possibilities for importing better players from abroad, what matters is the financial power to choose the better ones

The Lisbon Strategy at Midterm: Expectations and Reality

CASE - Center for Social and Economic Research inspired an extensive discussion on the Lisbon Strategy, its goals and objectives, successes and failures. The fervent debate, which took place in Warsaw at the end of 2004, investigated the future of the Strategy in Europe and Poland. The publication, which we are proud to present, is a result of this discussion. The Polish context for achieving the Lisbon goals was explored at a conference on December 9, 2004 entitled “The Lisbon Strategy in Poland: Directions of Necessary Reforms”. Earlier, however, answering the question whether the Lisbon objectives successfully support competitiveness in Europe was of chief concern to a group of scholars and specialists attending the conference entitled “Lisbon Strategy as an Effective Tool of Increasing Competitiveness in Europe?” (The meeting took place in Warsaw on November 8, 2004). The conference dialogue resulted in systematic and inquisitive debate on the causes of successes and failures of the Lisbon Strategy against the background of the current economy in the united Europe. The perspectives for the future implementation of the Strategy and its desired effects also proved to be of great concern. The arguments presented by the authors of the present publication continue the discussion, which has now been enriched by the contributions by conference participants.Lisbon Strategy, European Union, enterprise policy, structural indicators, employment, productivity, innovation, R&D, pension system, liberalization, sustainable development, competitiveness, economic growth

Understanding the process of creating a European identity: The role of Cohesion Policy

This paper reviews the theoretical arguments for understanding the process of the creation of a European identity. We discuss the mechanisms and determinants driving citizens' identification with Europe, stressing the role of territory in European identity formation. More precisely, our focus is on the literature that considers the link between European identity and EU policies that influence the socioeconomic conditions in general and Cohesion Policy in particular. This is a major policy within the EU that accounted for some 350 billion euros invested in the 2007-2013 programming period, or about one-third of the EU budget. Consequently, Cohesion Policy is expected to determine the way citizens identify with the European project in the regions benefitting more and less by the policy. The study also considers arguments supporting an urban-rural divide in European identity, which could interact with the influence of the Cohesion Policy. Initial descriptive evidence of these links is provided based on results from a comprehensive survey of 15 EU member state

What drives migration moves across urban areas in Spain? Evidence from the Great Recession [WP]

In Spain, economic disparities between regions have traditionally played a relevant role in migration. Nevertheless, during the previous high-instability period, analyses provided conflicting results about the effect of these variables. In this work, we aim to determine the role that labour market factors play in internal migration during the Great Recession, paying special attention to the migration response of the heterogeneous population groups. To do so, we resort to an extended gravity model and we consider as a territorial unit the 45 Spanish Functional Urban Areas. Our results point to real wages as having a significant influence on migration motivations