The Spanish Regional Policy: an assessment of economic incentives during the period 1988-2003

Two main challenges influence the design of regional policies carried out by European, National and Regional policy makers. The first is the shift towards a knowledge-based economy, where enterprise competitiveness is increasingly linked to intangible assets. The second is the enlargement of the European Union that means important changes in the European Union marketplace and the possibilities of intervention in some less favoured regions. Until today, Regional Policy in many European Union countries has principally been founded on incentives for the creation of employment and investment in tangible assets. In this context, Spanish Regional Policy has been formulated, on the one hand, to achieve decentralisation of the entities responsible for its promotion and, on the other, to foster co-ordination and integration of Community, National and Autonomous Region interventions. Moreover, the design of this policy has taken into consideration the classical conflict between equity and efficiency. The objective of this paper is to assess the results and the gradual changes in regional incentive policy applied in Spain over the last 15 years and to identify the elements in which public intervention could be improved in order to adapt this policy to the demands laid out within the new environment previously defined. This assessment includes: firstly, a brief analysis of the evolution of public intervention; secondly, a study of the spatial distribution of the incentives over the period considered; and thirdly, a comparison of the economic performance of the different areas depending on the awards received. The analysis of this policy is based on a database comprising over 16 000 items referring to award decisions to applications for Regional Investment Grants (Law 50/1985 of 22 December 1985) gathered from the Official State Bulletin (Boletín Oficial del Estado, BOE) during the period 1988-2003. KEY WORDS: Spain, Regional policy, Regional incentive, Employment, Investment, Policy assessment

Enterprise creation at a local scale - determining factors in the case of municipalities in Castilla y León

The behaviour of enterprises in terms of their spatial distribution is increasingly drawing the attention of regional science, due to the fact that regional economic development is the result of the complex interaction of various factors, key amongst which is entrepreneurial demography. Yet, as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has recognised, few empirical studies have addressed the link between new enterprises and economic change at a local scale, despite entrepreneurs constituting one means of creating employment and increasing local community wealth. Within this context, this paper pinpoints those factors that determine the birth of new enterprises at a local scale, focusing on towns in the Spanish Autonomous Region of Castilla y León. The information used was gathered from the approximately 15 000 companies set up between 2001 and 2003 in the 270 towns with over 1 000 inhabitants in the region, and whose creation as a company was published in the Official Journal of the Trade Register Office. The approach used is based on the link between entrepreneurial capacity and regional economic growth, prior to an analysis of regional differences in the setting up of companies within the Spanish economy. Subsequently, a detailed analysis is made of the factors that influence the creation of new enterprises in towns in Castilla y León, through the use of a regression model which, amongst other conclusions, attributes the emergence of enterprises to a large extent to the presence of agglomeration economies and urban growth.

The Spanish Regional Policy: an assessment of economic incentives during the period 1988-2003

Two main challenges influence the design of regional policies carried out by European, National and Regional policy makers. The first is the shift towards a knowledge-based economy, where enterprise competitiveness is increasingly linked to intangible assets. The second is the enlargement of the European Union that means important changes in the European Union marketplace and the possibilities of intervention in some less favoured regions. Until today, Regional Policy in many European Union countries has principally been founded on incentives for the creation of employment and investment in tangible assets. In this context, Spanish Regional Policy has been formulated, on the one hand, to achieve decentralisation of the entities responsible for its promotion and, on the other, to foster co-ordination and integration of Community, National and Autonomous Region interventions. Moreover, the design of this policy has taken into consideration the classical conflict between equity and efficiency. The objective of this paper is to assess the results and the gradual changes in regional incentive policy applied in Spain over the last 15 years and to identify the elements in which public intervention could be improved in order to adapt this policy to the demands laid out within the new environment previously defined. This assessment includes: firstly, a brief analysis of the evolution of public intervention; secondly, a study of the spatial distribution of the incentives over the period considered; and thirdly, a comparison of the economic performance of the different areas depending on the awards received. The analysis of this policy is based on a database comprising over 16 000 items referring to award decisions to applications for Regional Investment Grants (Law 50/1985 of 22 December 1985) gathered from the Official State Bulletin (Boletín Oficial del Estado, BOE) during the period 1988-2003. KEY WORDS: Spain, Regional policy, Regional incentive, Employment, Investment, Policy assessmen

Innovation Behavior of Salvadoran Food & Beverage Industry Firms

Este artículo presenta un análisis cuantitativo sobre los determinantes externos e internos que afectan la dinámica de innovación de un sector de baja tecnología en una economía poco desarrollada, la industria de alimentos y bebidas (A&B) en El Salvador. El marco empírico se basa en un análisis multivariate probit aplicado a datos de la 1ª Encuesta Nacional de Innovación 2013 de El Salvador. Los resultados muestran que la realización de actividades de I+D+i, su correspondiente protección industrial por parte de las empresas de A&B y las relaciones con los agentes del conocimiento son especialmente útiles para sus innovaciones tecnológicas, mientras que la cualificación de su fuerza laboral y las relaciones con los agentes de la cadena de valor para sus innovaciones no tecnológicas. Además, pueden aprovechar la dimensión y su ubicación en el departamento de San Salvador para promover la innovación de producto, mientras la madurez de la empresa es una desventaja. Con base en los resultados anteriores, el papel que pueden jugar las políticas públicas de ciencia, tecnología e innovación (CTI) y las estrategias comerciales de CTI en el sistema de innovación de la industria de alimentos y bebidas salvadoreña es enorme.This paper presents a quantitative analysis of the external and internal determinants that affect the innovation dynamics of a low-tech sector in a less developed economy; the food & beverage (F&B) industry in El Salvador. The empirical framework relies on a multivariate probit analysis applied to data from El Salvador’s First National Innovation Survey 2013. The results show that R&D activities, use of industrial protection by F&B industry firms as well as relationships between firms and knowledge agents are useful for technological innovations while the qualifications of firms’ workforce and the relationships between firms and value chain agents prove useful for non-technological innovations. In addition, firms can take advantage of their size and location in the department of San Salvador to promote product innovation, whereas firms’ maturity is seen to be a disadvantage. Based on the results to emerge, the role that public science, technology and innovation (STI) policies as well as STI business strategies can play in the Salvadoran agri-food industry innovation system is seen to be huge

Las estrategias para la innovación tecnológica en Castilla y León

La innovación tecnológica es un centro de atención para las empresas y para los gobiernos, constituyéndose en un fundamento para la consecución de un alto nivel de competitividad económica y de desarrollo económico. El sector público regional persigue esa finalidad mediante la puesta en marcha de intervenciones que logren la mejora de la capacidad innovadora del conjunto de agentes de su sistema de innovación, entre las que destacan la creación y consolidación de las infraestructuras tecnológicas. Los objetivos del trabajo son: conocer las posibilidades de las políticas públicas de innovación tecnológica; examinar la situación de Castilla y León y de sus políticas en este terreno; analizar la dinámica generada en el Parque Tecnológico de Boecillo. Los resultados sugieren que a través del desarrollo de infraestructuras tecnológicas regionales se consigue alcanzar un gran número de los objetivos que se proponen. Su concentración espacial en el recinto de un parque tecnológico es un elemento que favorece el logro de algunos de los objetivos con la generación de externalidades positivas, pero no es una garantía de que se aprovechen las sinergias que pueden existir entre dichas infraestructuras.Departamento de Economía Aplicad

Enterprise creation at a local scale - determining factors in the case of municipalities in Castilla y León

The behaviour of enterprises in terms of their spatial distribution is increasingly drawing the attention of regional science, due to the fact that regional economic development is the result of the complex interaction of various factors, key amongst which is entrepreneurial demography. Yet, as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has recognised, few empirical studies have addressed the link between new enterprises and economic change at a local scale, despite entrepreneurs constituting one means of creating employment and increasing local community wealth. Within this context, this paper pinpoints those factors that determine the birth of new enterprises at a local scale, focusing on towns in the Spanish Autonomous Region of Castilla y León. The information used was gathered from the approximately 15 000 companies set up between 2001 and 2003 in the 270 towns with over 1 000 inhabitants in the region, and whose creation as a company was published in the Official Journal of the Trade Register Office. The approach used is based on the link between entrepreneurial capacity and regional economic growth, prior to an analysis of regional differences in the setting up of companies within the Spanish economy. Subsequently, a detailed analysis is made of the factors that influence the creation of new enterprises in towns in Castilla y León, through the use of a regression model which, amongst other conclusions, attributes the emergence of enterprises to a large extent to the presence of agglomeration economies and urban growth

La evaluación del impacto social de la tecnología en España

Fil: Gómez González, Javier. Universidad de Valladolid (España)Fil: Durlan, Cristina. Universidad de Valladolid (España)Fil: Cáceres, Santiago. Universidad de Valladolid (España)Fil: Aleixandre, Guillermo. Universidad de Valladolid (España

Los factores determinantes del comportamiento innovador de las cooperativas: un análisis para el caso de Castilla y León

Las cooperativas tienen una larga trayectoria histórica en la economía española y han demostrado su capacidad para competir frente a las empresas tradicionales en el mercado. Para mantener esa capacidad, además de aprovechar las ventajas competitivas vinculadas con su idiosincrasia como empresas de la economía social, deben tener en consideración que la economía está crecientemente globalizada y, cada vez más, basada en el conocimiento, en especial, el de contenido tecnológico. Consecuencia de lo anterior, la capacidad innovadora aparece con un aspecto clave para hacer frente a sus competidores. En este artículo se caracteriza el comportamiento innovador de las cooperativas en Castilla y León y se analizan los factores internos y externos que afectan a su desempeño innovador, tomando como base los datos de una encuesta realizada a 581 cooperativas de la citada comunidad autónoma. Los resultados del análisis empírico realizado, que se lleva a cabo mediante regresión logística binaria multivariante sobre distintos tipos de innovación, permiten identificar la dimensión de las organizaciones, la existencia de planificación, las actividades de I+D y el capital humano como los principales factores determinantes