Hedonic house prices without characteristics: the case of new multiunit housing

In this paper we propose an alternative to traditional hedonics for estimating new multiunit housing inflation, adjusting for quality changes. By relying on the within-site variation we control in a very general way for unobserved housing characteristics using site-specific effects. Precise location, transport, traffic, closeness to services, or construction quality are some of the unobserved but typically relevant housing characteristics that may bias estimated house price inflation, even when using hedonic methods. We also estimate standard hedonic equations and compare the results to those obtained with the alternative hedonic equations with site dummies. Our dataset is fairly rich in observable housing characteristics but, nevertheless, the quality-adjusted house price evolution is quite different in some cases. The data cover the construction of new housing in some of the large Spanish cities and in the smaller towns on the outskirts of the capital during part of the 1990s. JEL Classification: C43, E31, O47, R31

A Comparative Study of The Portuguese and Spanish Labour Markets

Spain faces the highest unemployment rate among the European Union countries (22.2%), and Portugal one of the lowest (7.3%). However, superficially, these two countries share common labour market features: they both have the most stringent job security rules in the OECD, the architecture of their bargaining systems appears identical, and the generosity of their unemployment insurance systems seems, after 1989, roughly comparable. In this paper we address this puzzle by providing a systematic comparison of the Portuguese and Spanish labour markets. We find that, at a closer look, there are differences in unemployment benefits (non-existent in Portugal until 1985, and less generous nowadays, with the replacement ratio as a percentage of much lower wage level in Portugal), differences in wage flexibility (minimum wages by category established by collective agreements are set at a lower relative level in Portugal, giving employers more room for manoeuvre than in Spain), and, in practice higher firing costs in Spain. We conclude that a key factor in explaining the difference in Portuguese and Spanish unemployment rates since the late seventies is the wage adjustment process. In turn, the wage adjustment in the two countries may have been influenced by the unemployment benefit system and, to a lesser extent, by the degree of job protection.

Aproximació a Guillem Colom

Guillem Colom Feml (1890-1979) coltivo tutti i generi letterari, ad eccezione della novellistica. Scrisse poesia, teatro, saggi, traduzioni e un libro di memorie (Entre el caliu i la cendra: "Tra la brace e la cenere"). Occorre situare la sua opera nella "Scuola maiorchina" e, piú esattamente, nella "Generazione del 1917", tra quella schiera di intellettuali piú vicina al Novecento. Questo articolo e, percio, una rivisitazione dei suoi libri e della sua poesia. In questo contesto Guillem Colom scrisse poesia lirica e due poemi epici: Aguiles "Aquile" ed El Comte Mal "I1 Conte cattivo". Questa ultima sua opera puó essere interpretata anche come una poesia politica che esprime I'avversione del poeta all'oppressione nazionale dei catalani