Interiority of the Optimal Population Growth Rate with Endogenous Fertility

This paper analyzes the issue of the interiority of the optimal population growth rate in a two-period overlapping generations model with endogenous fertility. Using Cobb-Douglas utility and production functions, we show that the introduction of a cost of raising children allows for the possibility of the existence of an interior global maximum in the planners problem, contrary to the exogenous fertility case.endogenous fertility, optimal population growth, overlaping generations models

Applying Active Learning Methods in Higher Education

The 1st International Conference in Experiences in Active Learning in Higher Education was held on 27 October 2017 at the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Barcelona. It provided a forum for high-quality research in innovation in higher education focusing on active learning methodologies such as flipped classroom, team-based learning and problem-based learning

Competences acquisition of university students: Do they match job market's needs?

This paper aims at analyzing the skills and competences acquired by students during their university studies, in order to identify the extent to which they fit into society's labor market demands. Design/methodology/approach, we use data from a survey for firm supervisors corresponding to practices in the Faculty of Economics and Business for the course 2013-14. We analyze the achievement of basic and specific competences and other training project skills, distinguishing by degrees. Findings. Companies find some lacks in the ability to manage time properly, in being versatile, in the communication skills, the ability to work as a team and specially in having an entrepreneurial view. At the university level, this requires training processes more oriented towards experimentation and problem solving. Research limitations/implications, the database used refers only to one Faculty of the University of Barcelona. It would be interesting to collect more data and extend the results to a more general context. Practical implications, it might be interesting both for firms and universities to move closer to one another in a cooperative way. More programs are needed to further enhance the employability of graduates and encourage the mobility of teachers in order for them to spend some time performing their research directly at a firm. Originality/value, this paper explores the immediate and direct relationship established between the university and the labor market through the training period students make during the final stages of their studies

La atención a la dependencia en el marco del estado del bienestar

El denominado estado del bienestar constituye sin duda el gran logro social del siglo XX en buena parte del mundo. Aunque con diferencias entre países, se asienta sobre cuatro pilares fundamentales: educación, salud, pensiones y otros servicios sociales (entre los que se incluye la atención a las personas en situación de dependencia). En la actualidad, se enfrenta a un gran reto que sin duda condicionarán su evolución futura: el envejecimiento de la población. Ello es debido, por una parte, a que el grueso de los programas de gasto social es muy dependiente de la estructura de edades de la población (pensiones, sanidad, atención a la dependencia). Por otra parte, el conjunto de programas de gasto público social se organizan implícitamente mediante un sistema de reparto (las prestaciones se financian con la recaudación del mismo momento temporal). De manera que, a lo largo del proceso de envejecimiento demográfico, una proporción decreciente de personas en edad activa se verá obligada a afrontar un creciente gasto social con el pago de impuestos. Sin embargo, muy a menudo se obvia que el envejecimiento no es un reto únicamente para los programas públicos: reducir las transferencias públicas no resuelve en absoluto el problema, sino que únicamente lo traslada al ámbito privado de los individuos y sus familias, como muestran los resultados de las cuentas de transferencias nacionales presentados en este trabajo. Así pues, las sociedades deben prepararse para repensar de manera integral la distribución de los recursos económicos a lo largo del ciclo vital de las personas