Foreign direct investment and regional growth: An analysis of the Spanish case

The massive increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows following the Spanish integration with the now European Union (EU) in 1986, has been one of the most important features shaping the behaviour of the Spanish economy in the last twenty years. In this paper we will try to assess the impact of FDI on regional economic growth following Spain’s entry into the EU, using data for the 17 Spanish regions. The results support the important role played by FDI in promoting productivity growth, for those regions that received higher FDI inflows over the period analyzed.Economic growth, Foreign direct investment, Regions

Corporate criminal liability: similarities and differences between Spain and Philippines

This paper focuses on the topic of corporate criminal liability and the common and opposite aspects that regimes of Spain and The Philippines have. On the one hand, in Spain, criminal liability of legal persons has suffered a deep reform with the organic law 1/2015, after being introduced in year 2010. This reform has brought important modifications and news, as the creation of an exemption of liability through the adoption of compliance programs. On the other hand, corporate criminal liability is more limited in The Philippines, being criticized by the doctrine that, rather to impose this kind of liability to companies, natural persons as directors, officers or employees of the corporation are the only ones considered responsible for some crimes. The analysis of both regimes, the Spanish and the Philippines one, will comprise different aspects of the issue as the crimes for which companies can be criminally liable, the ways to require to them criminal liability or their exemption of it and the possible sanctions that can be imposed. The comparative study will bring out the positive and the negative points of both regimes.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Spain and the Philippines in the protection of the right to a reasonable time in criminal proceedings

The subject of this work deals with the right of every person, provided in Article 6.1 of the European Convention on Human Rights, to a hearing within a reasonable time, specifically in criminal proceedings. This right, which in Spain enjoys constitutional protection in Article 24.2 and gives rise to a reduction of the penalty through the application of a mitigating circumstance, provided in article 21.6 of the Criminal Code, also constitutes an object of protection in the Philippines through Article III Section 14 of its Constitution or through the Speedy Trial Act, among other regulations. The legal configuration of this right in both legal systems has been specially conditioned by case-law but in different senses. Thus, on the one hand, in Spanish law the mitigation applicable to the penalty was introduced into the Criminal Code in 2010 on the basis of a consolidated case-law practice, influenced by the requirements contained in the judicial decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, which pay attention to the circumstances of the specific case, instead of requiring predetermined deadlines. On the other hand, the protection of this right in the Philippine Law, and in particular, the case-law of the Supreme Court, has closely followed the case-law of the United States to interpret the constitutional right to speedy trial, in addition to constitutionally demanding deadlines which the courts must respect. In conclusion, the present paper intends to compare the two systems, to firstly determine whether in both cases this issue is addressed from the same approach, since in the Spanish case the term used is ‘reasonable time’ while in the Filipino ‘speedy trial’; secondly, to study the requirements of both legal systems; and, thirdly, to evaluate them to consider whether, in both cases, the protection of this procedural guarantee of great relevance is ensured.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

COORDINATION OF FISCAL POLICIES IN A MONETARY UNION

This paper examines how the member countries of a monetary union react to country-specific shocks and to shocks from the rest of the world, when the budget deficit is the only policy instrument available. We develop a three-country model in which countries show different preferences regarding objectives, and face asymmetric disturbances. Two of the countries form a monetary union where an independent central bank controls monetary policy, and fiscal policy is determined by fiscal authorities at the national level. In this framework, we analyze in strategic terms how authorities can deal with monetary, real and supply shocks using fiscal policy with stabilizing purposes. Finally, we discuss the welfare aspects of the optimal solution and extent to which a coordinate fiscal policy may influence the performance and evolution of the monetary union.Monetary union, fiscal policy, policy coordination

DETERMINANTS OF OUTSOURCING PRODUCTION: A Dynamic Panel Data Approach for Manufacturing Industries

The present paper investigates the determinants of outsourcing production using a panel of 93 Spanish manufacturing industries for the period 1993-2002. Outsourcing is measured as production tasks which are contracting out to independent suppliers, a more direct and suitable indicator. After controlling for unobserved heterogeneity and simultaneity, our results show a high persistence of the outsourcing intensity. Moreover, outsourcing of production is positively related to unit labour costs, skills requirements and national ownership.Outsourcing, Manufacturing Industries, Subcontracting, Unit Labour Costs

On the Desirability of Coordinated Supply-side Intervention: Does a Monetary Union Matter?

This paper examines the desirability of coordinated supply-side intervention within a monetary union, given the constraints on monetary and fiscal policy. The author considers an economic framework featuring independent monetary policy. In general, coordinated intervention is most useful against shocks that require distinct policy responses in each separate economy.monetary union, supply-side policies, policy coordination

On the Desirability of Supply-Side Intervention in a Monetary Union

This paper examines the desirability of supply-side intervention within a monetary union, given the constraints on monetary and fiscal policy, and compares it with an economic framework characterized by the independence of monetary policy. To this end, we first develop a simple two-country model in order to analyse in strategic terms how the authorities can deal with monetary, real and supply shocks, and the extent to which supply-side intervention may be useful to deal with these shocks. Next, we study whether the formation of a monetary union could be beneficial when there is coordination over labour market intervention.Monetary union, supply-side policies, policy coordination.

Looking for Simple Common Schemes to Design Recognizer P Systems with Active Membranes That Solve Numerical Decision Problems

Earlier solutions to decision problems by means of P systems used many counter objects to control the synchronization of different stages in a computation (usually as many counters as the stage must last in the worst case). In this paper we propose a way to replace those counters with some spacial objects for each stage. Furthermore, following the ideas presented in [1], in order to have a common scheme to attack numerical problems, all instances of a problem with the same size are solved by the same P system (which depends on the size) given an input which describes the corresponding instance of the problem. We illustrate these ideas with a cellular solution to the Subset-Sum problem

VULNERABILITY TO SHOCKS IN EMU: 1991-2004

In this paper we analyze the nature of the shocks hitting the EMU member countries over the period 1991-2004, as well as for the two subperiods before and after 1999, i.e., the start of EMU. To this end, we first evaluate the relative importance of symmetric vs. asymmetric shocks, and then extract their temporary component. Our final aim would be assessing the vulnerability of the EMU countries to temporary and asymmetric shocks, which would be the most harmful case for the operation of a monetary union.Monetary union, EMU, asymmetric shocks, temporary shocks

INSURANCE MECHANISMS AGAINST ASYMMETRIC SHOCKS IN A MONETARY UNION: A PROPOSAL WITH AN APPLICATION TO EMU

In this paper we propose a simple, automatic insurance mechanism designed to cope with asymmetric shocks in a monetary union, which could be used as starting point of a more elaborated policy instrument. The mechanism would use as indicator of the occurrence of a shock the changes in the unemployment rate of the countries belonging to the union, and would be financed through a fund built from contributions of these countries as a percentage of their tax receipts. The fund would be distributed among the countries affected by a negative asymmetric shock according to the proportion in which every one of them would have been affected by the shock. Our proposal is illustrated by means of an empirical application to the case of EMU.Monetary union, asymmetric shocks, insurance function