Why did a housing bubble develop in Spain – and not in Italy

The international financial crisis, which started in the United States at the end of 2007, hit Europe soon afterwards. Its impact on the old continent has been e normous. A number of country -specific crises were triggered, especially in the European periphery. This essay will focus on two countries, which were affected particularly severely: Spain and Italy. In Spain, the global financial crisis was worsened by the burst of the housing bubble, which had inflated the cost of housing during the early 2000s. In Italy, in contrast, pre -existing problems with the management of high public debt, long -term stagnation in labour productivity and low government credibility made its economy vulnerable to the financial crisis. Though both countries had different experiences dealing with the global crisis, Italian and Spanish structural and economic features are largely comparable and both countries experienced an economic boom s ince the 2000s, especially in the housing sector. Yet, Italy did not witness a housing boom turning into a bubble and its consequences, a steep correction of housing prices – the “bust” – , whereas Spain is still recovering from it. This paper attempts to analyze the reason for this discrepancy

Impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on adolescent pregnancy and school dropout among secondary schoolgirls in Kenya

Introduction Secondary school closures aimed at limiting the number of infections and deaths due to COVID-19 may have amplified the negative sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and schooling outcomes of vulnerable adolescent girls. This study aimed to measure pandemic-related effects on adolescent pregnancy and school dropout among school-going girls in Kenya. Methods We report longitudinal findings of 910 girls in their last 2 years of secondary school. The study took place in 12 secondary day schools in rural western Kenya between 2018 and 2021. Using a causal-comparative design, we compared SRH and schooling outcomes among 403 girls who graduated after completion of their final school examinations in November 2019 pre-pandemic with 507 girls who experienced disrupted schooling due to COVID-19 and sat examinations in March 2021. Unadjusted and adjusted generalised linear mixed models were used to investigate the effect of COVID-19-related school closures and restrictions on all outcomes of interest and on incident pregnancy. Results At study initiation, the mean age of participants was 17.2 (IQR: 16.4–17.9) for girls in the pre-COVID-19 cohort and 17.5 (IQR: 16.5–18.4) for girls in the COVID-19 cohort. Girls experiencing COVID-19 containment measures had twice the risk of falling pregnant prior to completing secondary school after adjustment for age, household wealth and orphanhood status (adjusted risk ratio (aRR)=2.11; 95% CI:1.13 to 3.95, p=0.019); three times the risk of school dropout (aRR=3.03; 95% CI: 1.55 to 5.95, p=0.001) and 3.4 times the risk of school transfer prior to examinations (aRR=3.39; 95% CI: 1.70 to 6.77, p=0.001) relative to pre-COVID-19 learners. Girls in the COVID-19 cohort were more likely to be sexually active (aRR=1.28; 95% CI: 1.09 to 1.51, p=0.002) and less likely to report their first sex as desired (aRR=0.49; 95% CI: 0.37 to 0.65, p<0.001). These girls reported increased hours of non-school-related work (3.32 hours per day vs 2.63 hours per day in the pre-COVID-19 cohort, aRR=1.92; 95% CI: 1.92 to 2.99, p=0.004). In the COVID-19 cohort, 80.5% reported worsening household economic status and COVID-19-related stress was common. Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic deleteriously affected the SRH of girls and amplified school transfer and dropout. Appropriate programmes and interventions that help buffer the effects of population-level emergencies on school-going adolescents are warranted

The housing finance system in Italy and Spain: why did a housing bubble develop in Spain - and not in Italy?

The international financial crisis, which started in the United States at the end of 2007, hit Europe soon afterwards. Its impact on the old continent has been enormous. A number of country-specific crises were triggered, especially in the European periphery. This essay will focus on two countries, which were affected particularly severely: Spain and Italy. In Spain, the global financial crisis was worsened by the burst of the housing bubble, which had inflated the cost of housing during the early 2000s. In Italy, in contrast, pre-existing problems with the management of high public debt, long-term stagnation in labour productivity and low government credibility made its economy vulnerable to the financial crisis. Though both countries had different experiences dealing with the global crisis, Italian and Spanish structural and economic features are largely comparable and both countries experienced an economic boom since the 2000s, especially in the housing sector. Yet, Italy did not witness a housing boom turning into a bubble and its consequences, a steep correction of housing prices - the "bust" -, whereas Spain is still recovering from it. This paper attempts to analyze the reason for this discrepancy