Tourism and Economic Growth in Latin American Countries: A Panel Data Approach

We consider the relationship between tourism and economic growth for Latin American countries since 1985 until 1998. The analysis proposed is based on a panel data approach and the Arellano-Bond estimator for dynamic panels. We obtain estimates of the relationship between economic growth and growth in tourists per capita conditional on main macroeconomic variables. We show that the tourism sector is adequate for the economic growth of medium or low-income countries, though not necessarily for developed countries. We then invert the causality direction of the analysis. Rather than explaining economic growth, we try to explain tourism arrivals conditional on GDP and other covariates such as safety, prices and education level, and investment in infrastructures. We employ a generalised least squares AR(1) panel data model. The results provide evidence that low-income countries seem to need adequate levels of infrastructures, education and development to attract tourists. Medium-income countries need high levels of social development like health services and high GDP per capita levels. Finally, the results disclose that price of the destination, in terms of exchange rate and PPP is irrelevant for tourism growth.Tourism, Economic growth, Panel data

Tecnocreatividad

Artículo para la sección Tribuna de adComunic

La crisis del 2001 según el relato de Néstor Kirchner y Cristina Fernández

El objetivo de este trabajo es acercarse a las lecturas que Néstor Kirchner y Cristina Fernández hacen de la figura de la crisis argentina del 2001 en sus discursos presidenciales. La finalidad es evaluar la importancia de esta imagen en la construcción del kirchnerismo en cuanto sujeto de enunciación, así como la de los diferentes destinatarios implícitos en sus discursos. Al mismo tiempo, se busca analizar la evolución de las representaciones en torno a la crisis conforme al paso del tiempo.Para ello se va a evaluar desde una perspectiva cuantitativa y cualitativa la representación discursivaque Néstor Kirchner y Cristina Fernández hacen del 2001. Así, en la primera parte de este estudio se seleccionó la totalidad de los fragmentos discursivos referentes a la crisis del 2001 disponibles en el universo de los 662 discursos de la presidenta Cristina Fernández y los 446 discursosde Néstor Kirchner registrados en el sitio de Presidencia de la Nación.A continuación, se aisló el total de 336 párrafos de Néstor Kirchner y 206 de Cristina Fernández en los que de forma explícita o implícita se hace mención a la crisis. Posteriormente, estos fueron ponderados en función a la importancia de lo expuesto en relación a crisis del 2001, así como del momento en el que fueron pronunciados, llegando así a una muestra representativa de 94 párrafos de Néstor Kirchner y 78 de Cristina Fernández.En la siguiente etapa de estudio, estos párrafos seleccionados fueron sometidos a un estudio cualitativo siguiendo la metodología del análisis de los discursos políticos enmarcada en los postulados de la teoría de los discursos sociales y analizados en función a su distribución en el tiempo. De forma simultánea, a lo fines de contextualizar los discursos, este análisis cualitativo se complementó con un análisis cronológico descriptivo del marco temporal y espacial en el que los discursos fueron pronunciados.Se considera que los objetivos propuestos al principio de esta investigación fueron alcanzados, tanto en lo relativo a las variables cualitativas como cuantitativas sujetas a estudio. Por lo tanto, las diferentes dimensiones de análisis realizadas, así como su interrelación e interpretación aportan elementos centralespara una futura descripción y sistematización global del dispositivo de enunciación kirchnerista

Case Study: Impacts of trade liberalization on poverty and inequality in Argentina: policy insights from a non-parametric CGE Microsimulation analysis

This paper studies the economic, poverty, and income inequality impacts of both world and domestic trade reform in Argentina, with a special focus on export taxes. Argentina offers an interesting case study as the only large agricultural exporter that has, at many points in its history, applied export taxes to several of its agricultural products. The paper combines results from a global economy-wide model (World Bank?s LINKAGE model), a national CGE model, and microsimulations. The results suggest that full liberalization of world trade (including subsidies and import taxes, but not export taxes), both for agricultural and non-agricultural goods, reduces poverty and inequality in Argentina. However, if only agricultural goods are included, indicators for poverty and inequality do not improve and even deteriorate somewhat. This is particularly the case if export taxes are eliminated.Poverty; trade liberalization; agricultural policy; Argentina; export taxes.

Study about the Problem of Dropping of Subjects by Students During an Academinc Year at the University.

In university studies, it is not unusual for students to drop some of the subjects they have enrolled in for the academic year. They start by not attending lectures, sometimes due to neglect or carelessness, or because they find the subject too difficult, this means that they lose the continuity in the topics that the professor follows. If they try to attend again they discover that they hardly understand anything and become discouraged and so decide to give up attending lectures and study on their own. However some fail to turn up to do their final exams and the failure rate of those who actually do the exams is high. The problem is that this is not only the case with one specific subject, but it is often the same with many subjects. The result is that students arent’s productive enough, wasting time and also prolonging their years of study which entails a great cost for families. Degree courses structured to be conducted and completed in three academic courses, it may in fact take up to an average of six or more academic courses. In this paper, we have studied this problem, which apart from the waste of money and time, produces frustration in the student, who finds that he has not been able to achieve what he had proposed at the beginning of the course. It is quite common, to find students who do not even pass nor 50% of the subjects they had enrolled in for the academic year. If this happens repeatedly to a student, it can be the point when he considers dropping out altogether. This is also a concern for the universities, especially in the early courses. In our experience as professors, we have found that students, who attend lectures regularly and follow the explanations, approach the final exams with confidence and rarely fail the subject. In this proposal we present some techniques and methods carried out to solve in possible, the problem of lack of attendance to lectures. This involves "rewarding students for their assistance and participation in lectures". Rewarding assistance with a "prize" that counts for the final mark on the subject and involving more participation in the development of lectures. We believe that we have to teach students to use the lectures as part of their learning in a non-passive way. We consider the professor's work as fundamental in terms of how to convey the usefulness of these topics explained and the applications that they will have for their professional life in the future. In this way the student see for himself the use and importance of what he is learning. When his participation is required, he will feel more involved and confident participating in the educational system. Finally we present statistical results of studies carried out on different degrees and on different subjects over two consecutive years. In the first year we assessed only the final exams without considering the students attendance, or participation. In the second year, we have applied the techniques and methods proposed here. In addition we have compared the two ways of assessing subjects

Enseñanza interactiva en la ingeniería Iiformática

Las nuevas tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC) propician que la información sea más fácil de conseguir, de transmitir y esté al alcance de todos. Además Internet, a la que podríamos llamar “La biblioteca moderna de Alejandría”, proporciona información variada sobre cualquier tema, con disponibilidad “24x7”. Esto es beneficioso para la educación universitaria en particular, quien se ve además reforzada con plataformas educativas como por ejemplo “Moodle”, la cual puede ser un contenedor de tecnologías punteras aplicadas a la educación con: vídeos, presentaciones, enlaces, sugerencias del profesor, etc. Nosotros pensamos que todo lo anterior ha influido en que los alumnos universitarios tiendan a no asistir a las clases presenciales con la misma asiduidad de hace pocos años. Éstas aparecen medio vacías, mientras nuestros jóvenes universitarios se vuelven anárquicos, estudiando cuándo y dónde quieren. Sin embargo, la tasa de suspensos y de abandono en la enseñanza superior aumenta. Para dar respuesta a esta situación, nos surge la idea de motivar a los alumnos para que asistan a las clases y de utilizar las nuevas TIC para que aprendan. Plasmamos esto en un proyecto de innovación educativa con tres criterios principales: Trabajar en clase. No poner deberes para realizar fuera del aula. No hacer exámenes finales. Nuestro objetivo es aprovechar al máximo las horas lectivas (tiempo docente) desde un enfoque totalmente práctico. Hacemos nuestra la frase de Séneca: “Largo es el camino de la enseñanza por medio de teorías, breve y eficaz por medio de ejemplos”. Este artículo recoge la metodología llevada a cabo en dicho proyecto de innovación y su aplicación en una asignatura optativa, de cuarto curso, dentro del Grado de Ingeniería de Software de una universidad pública española. Finalmente, se realiza un análisis sobre los beneficios y carencias detectadas en su aplicación. ABSTRACT: The new information and communication technologies (ICT) offer easier information to obtain, to transmit and it will be available to everyone. Besides Internet, what we could call "The modern library of Alexandria" provides a variety of information on any topic, and with full availability "24x7". This is a particularly beneficial to the university education, which is reinforced by educational platforms like for example "Moodle", that can be a container of advanced technologies applied to education with: videos, presentations, links, suggestions from the teacher, etc. We think all the circumstances above have influenced that university students tend to not attending classroom with the same assiduity than few years ago. These classrooms appear half-empty, while our young university students become an anarchic aptitude, studying by their own when and where they want. However, the failure rate and dropout in higher education increases. To give an answer to this situation, we arise the idea of motivating students to attend classroom and to using new technology so that they learn. We shape this in an educational innovation project, which is founded on three main criteria: Working in class; Not ordering homework to perform outside the classroom; Not doing final exams. Our aim is to maximize teaching time from a very practical approach. We agree with the words of Seneca: "Long is the way of teaching through theory, short and effective by examples." This article describes the methodology carried out in this innovation project and its application in an optional subject, in the last year, within the Software Engineering Degree of a Spanish public university. Finally, we do an analysis on the benefits and shortcomings identified by the way of application

An advance in infinite graph models for the analysis of transportation networks

This paper extends to infinite graphs the most general extremal issues, which are problems of determining the maximum number of edges of a graph not containing a given subgraph. It also relates the new results with the corresponding situations for the finite case. In particular, concepts from ‘finite’ graph theory, like the average degree and the extremal number, are generalized and computed for some specific cases. Finally, some applications of infinite graphs to the transportation of dangerous goods are presented; they involve the analysis of networks and percolation thresholds.Unión Europea FEDER G-GI3003/IDI

Adiciones al catálogo florístico de la provincia de Soria, III. Ampliaciones corológicas en el Sistema Ibérico y Valle del Ebro

Se presentan 39 taxones correspondientes a plantas vasculares raras no mencionadas previamente en el catálogo florístico de la provincia de Soria, como Apium inundatum, Camphorosma monspeliaca subsp. monspeliaca, Colchicum triphyllum, Crupina crupinastrum, Blakstonia imperfoliata, Isoetes setaceum, Helianthemum marifolium, Najas marina, etc. Seis de ellos constituyen una novedad para la flora de Castilla y León, tales como Centaurea boissieri subsp. pinae, Colchicum triphyllum, Erysimum ruscinonesis Gypsophila pilosa y Helianthemum mariifolium. Algunos son muy escasos en el territorio de Castilla y León o incluso en la Península Ibérica, y se encuentran amenazados o protegidos. Para todos ellos se aporta una ampliación de su área de distribución conocida o una mejora en su demarcación.Additions to the Floristic Catalogue of the Province of Soria (Spain), III: Chorologic extensions at the Iberian System and Ebro Valley. Here we present 39 taxa corresponding to rare vascular plants which had not previously been recorded for Soria province, such as Apium inundatum, Camphorosma monspeliaca subsp. monspeliaca, , Colchicum triphyllum, Crupina crupinastrum, Blackstonia imperfoliata, Isoetes setaceum, Helianthemum marifolium, Najas marina, etc. Six out of these aforementioned ones, mean a novelty for the flora of Castilla y León region, such as Centaurea boissieri subsp. pinae, Colchicum triphyllum, Erysimum ruscinonesis, Gypsophila pilosa, and Helianthemum mariifolium. Some of them are very scarce in Castilla y León region or even in the Iberian Peninsula, and are threatened or protected. For all of them enlarge previously known distribution areas are enlarged or their delimitations are improved