A bandwagon with a purpose: The independence of Catalonia

The recent events in Catalonia have sparked an intense and often constructive discussion on the reasons that underpin Catalonia’s claim for independence, and Europe’s need to seriously discuss the need to regulate ‘internal enlargement’. Yet, the complexity of the situation has sometimes given way to inaccurate interpretations of what is happening and, especially, of why a majority of Catalans have gradually embraced the option of independence to the detriment of other options that were more popular some years ago. Last week Jose Javier Olivas posted an article on the LSE Blog Euro Crisis in the Press which provides, in my view, one of these inaccurate interpretations that nurture the increasing lack of commonality of ideas, preferences and values that nations such as the Spanish one are expected to have (see Alesina and Reich, 2013)

Independence and the distribution of resources within Spain will once again take centre stage in Catalonia’s elections

Catalonia will hold parliamentary elections on 27 September, with a number of Catalan politicians presenting the elections as an effective vote on the territory’s independence from Spain. Mireia Borrell Porta writes that two issues in particular are at the heart of the debate over independence: fiscal redistribution within Spain and Catalan identity. She notes that while the Spanish government has rejected the idea that the elections are a de facto vote on independence, the result will go some way to indicating the views of Catalan voters on the issue

Do family values shape the pace of return to work after childbirth? LEQS Discussion Paper No. 96/2015 July 2015

This paper evaluates the effect of a parental leave policy reform in Germany in 2007 - aimed at incentivizing an earlier return to work - on the return to work of mothers with different family values background. Using a regression discontinuity design and an epidemiological approach to family values, the findings suggest that the pace of return to work after childbirth is not independent of family values background. The paper finds that, firstly, the pre-reform pace of return to work was slower for mothers with traditional family background than for their counterparts with liberal family background. Secondly, the reform has accelerated the pace of return to work mainly for mothers with traditional family background, thus leading to overall convergence between mothers with different family values background. Importantly though, the magnitude of convergence differs across education levels. Mothers with vocational and – to a lesser extent - low education, display high levels of post-reform convergence with their counterparts with liberal family background. This is in stark contrast with the post-reform divergence on the pace of return to work experienced by highly educated mothers with different family values background. In other words, highly educated mothers with traditional family background do not react to the policy in a significant way, whereas those with liberal family background display a strong reaction. One explanation put forward by this paper is that education might be perceived differently depending on family values background. Mothers with traditional family background may use the educational system either as way to enhance their cultural investment or even as a marriage market, and therefore will not be very sensitive to changes in economic incentives. Instead, mothers with liberal family background may use the educational system as a way to enhance their human capital, therefore being more sensitive to changes in economic incentives

The 'mighty girl' effect: does parenting daughters alter attitudes towards gender norms?

We study the effect of parenting daughters on attitudes towards gender norms in the UK; specifically, attitudes towards the traditional male breadwinner norm in which it is the husband's role to work and the wife's to stay at home. We find robust evidence that rearing daughters decreases fathers' likelihood to hold traditional attitudes. This result is driven by fathers of school-aged daughters, for whom the effects are robust to the inclusion of individual fixed effects. Our estimates suggest that fathers' probability to support traditional gender norms declines by approximately 3%age points (8%) when parenting primary school-aged daughters and by 4%age points (11%) when parenting secondary school-aged daughters. The effect on mothers' attitudes is generally not statistically significant. These findings are consistent with exposure and identity theories. We conclude that gender norm attitudes are not stable throughout the life-course and can significantly be shaped by adulthood experiences

Is ‘employment during motherhood’ a ‘value changing experience’?

We study whether the experience of ‘employment during motherhood’ (EDM) exerts an effect on attitudes towards the welfare effects of EDM, which proxy gender norms with regards to employment. We examine unique evidence from a large, representative, and longitudinal data set that collects attitudinal data over about a decade in the United Kingdom. We draw on an instrumental variable (IV) strategy that exploits variation in local labour markets using a Bartik instrument for employment to address the potential endogeneity of EDM experience in explaining attitudes. We find that both childless women who work and mothers who do not work are more likely to agree with the statement that ’pre-school children suffer if their mothers work’, which we interpret as more traditional gender values. However, this is not the case for women who work and have children. These findings suggest that motherhood confirms individuals’ priors, and suggest that EDM is a value preserving rather than a value changing experience. These results suggest that the so-called ‘motherhood penalty’ in employment trajectories cannot be fully explained by a change in attitudes after giving birth

Catalonia’s referendum: four views on whether the vote should go ahead

The Catalan government has announced plans to hold a referendum on independence from Spain on 1 October. However, the Spanish government has argued that such a referendum would be unconstitutional and it is still unclear whether the vote will take place. We asked four academics to give their views on whether the vote should be held, and what it would potentially mean for Catalonia and Spain. Mireia Borrell Porta: Rajoy has left the Catalan government with no other option than to call a unilateral independence referendum Jose Javier Olivas: Does the Catalan independence movement really ‘love democracy’? Francesc Trillas: A yes/no self-determination referendum could be the cause of great division among Catalan citizens Toni Rodon Casarramona: It’s time to give Catalonia the chance to decide on its futur

Our five most read articles on the Catalan independence referendum

With the planned Catalan independence referendum intended to be held today (1 October), this is a list of our five most read articles on the referendum

La evaluación del Servicio de Ayuda a Domicilio en Cataluña: un análisis con métodos mixtos

El objetivo del artículo es presentar la evaluación del Servicio de Ayuda a Domicilio (SAD) en Cataluña, una política pública compleja en la que intervienen diversos agentes y esferas de gobierno y que tiene por finalidad dar apoyo personal en el hogar a personas con dificultades de autonomía o situaciones de vulnerabilidad social. El SAD adquiere una relevancia estratégica ante los cambios sociales y, especialmente, el proceso de envejecimiento de la población. La evaluación analiza tres aspectos clave de la política desde su diseño e implementación y se ha realizado con métodos mixtos, cuantitativos y cualitativos. En primer lugar, analiza la coherencia del discurso y de la política; en segundo lugar, se centra en su implementación, con un enfoque en la variabilidad local de la cobertura e intensidad de servicio y las causas de ésta; y, en tercer lugar, analiza los cambios en los usos del SAD Social a raíz de la Ley de la Dependencia. El estudio pone de relieve la complejidad de las políticas sociales que se despliegan en diferentes ámbitos territoriales y las dificultades para abordar su diseño, aplicación y, especialmente, su evaluación

Experts react: Catalan elections

Catalonia held elections on 27 September, with the poll being framed by several parties as a de facto vote on Catalan independence. The final result produced a majority of seats in the Catalan Parliament for pro-independence parties, with these parties securing 47.8 per cent of the votes cast. We asked some of EUROPP’s contributors for their reaction to the result and what it means for Catalonia and Spain going forward. Jonathan Hopkin: “The elections have produced a very complex outcome” Luis Moreno: “The Spanish elections in December will be crucial in determining what happens next” Alejandro Quiroga: “Artur Mas might have more pressing issues than the declaration of independence in the short term” Jose Javier Olivas: “Unilateral solutions, even when they seek to impose the ‘will of the majority’, are unlikely to deliver satisfactory results in the long run” Karlo Basta: “All sides have at least some leverage, and the true commitments of none are fully known, confounding any reliable predictions” Joan Costa Font: “The independence cause has attained an exceptional result, now it is time to either negotiate a referendum or, failing this, prepare for an orderly break up“ Mireia Borrell Porta: “A referendum has now become unavoidable

Increasing public childcare coverage in Catalonia: an effective solution to reduce the socio-economic participation gap?

This paper examines the impact of the Catalan 2004 law aimed at increasing public childcare coverage for under three years-old on the participation in formal childcare for families from different socio-economic backgrounds. To this purpose, it uses the ''Panell de Desigualtats Socials a Catalunya'' (PaD) database and exploits the uneven increase in public coverage across counties (comarques). The paper finds that while the policy alleviates the socio-economic participation gap between lower- and higher-income families, this one persists for certain sub-groups. More specifically, children whose parents have low education levels, or those from low-income families where the mother works part-time or is in charge of the house and children are significantly less likely to participate in formal childcare than their high-income counterparts