Emigration and human capital : who leaves, who comes back and what difference does it make?

This paper studies the loss of human capital that emigration generates in the country of origin. To that end I estimate the human capital distribution of emigrants had they not migrated. Unlike previous studies, I take into account the selection of migrants in terms of unobserved characteristics that affect their productivity. Wages in Mexico of those migrants who come back home after being abroad for some time will be crucial to learn something about the selection of non-returning migrants in terms of unobserved productivity. To test whether returning migrants' wages contain any useful information, I follow two steps. First, I use the model of Borjas and Bratsberg (1986) to show that, regardless of the cause for coming back, the distribution of abilities of non-returning migrants is more similar to the distribution of temporary migrants than to that of non-migrants. Moreover, I test some implications of the model in the data. Second, I show that returning migrants' wages reflect their pre-emigration productivity and are not affected by possible human capital gains derived from the decision to emigrate. Taking into account all this evidence, I use returning migrants' wages in Mexico upon return to estimate the distribution of human capital of non-returning migrants had they not migrated. I show that emigrants come form the middle part of the distribution of human capital in the origin country. I find evidence that taking unobserved human capital factors into account is relevant for the dispersion of the estimated distribution as well as for each of its quantiles. Moreover, it does not greatly affect the aggregate mean of human capital. [resumen de autor

Population at risk of poverty or social exclusion in Spain, according to the European Council

Artículo de revistaThis article describes the concept of population at risk of poverty or social exclusion that is used to quantify the targets set in this respect for the countries of the European Union. Drawing on this definition, the article analyses how poverty in Spain has evolved. It also examines the factors that have contributed to poverty levels in Spain still being above the official targets for 2020 and the average of the rest of the countries of the European Union. Lastly, some aspects of the definition are identified that suggest that the concept of economic poverty should be addressed from several complementary standpoints

Ageing, productivity and employment status

Artículo de revistaThe article analyses how labour market participation and the type of work performed change with age. Drawing on data from the OECD’s Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), it is documented that as people age they gradually lose certain skills relating to their ability to do physical work or use new technologies, or their literacy and numeracy skills. By contrast, as they build up experience, older workers develop better planning skills and a greater ability to supervise the work of others and respond to setbacks. However, the transition between these tasks is not problem-free, especially in certain sectors, such as agriculture, small retail trade, hotels and restaurants and domestic help, which in Spain are more likely to have a higher concentration of older workers with a lower level of education than in the rest of the euro area. In this respect, larger firm size, flexible working environments, retirement schemes with certain specificities relating to skills required in different occupations and an increase in continuing training would all be conducive to a lower decline in productivity and a higher degree of employability of older workers. This is particularly important in Spain’s current demographic context of a gradually ageing population

National productivity boards

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Cyclical migration patterns

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Wage inequality in Spain : recent developments

This paper analyses wage inequality in Spain from 1995 to 2002. Inequality has decreased slightly in this period although the fall has not been constant over the whole distribution. We use non-parametric techniques to distinguish the effect on inequality of changes in the composition of the labour force and changes in relative returns. We focus mainly on three factors that have varied substantially between 1995 and 2002: female participation, educational attainment and changes in the tenure level. On one hand, changes in the composition of the labour force would have increased inequality had the structure of wages not changed in relation to the 1995 level. Changes in education and especially tenure would have been responsible for most of the higher dispersion. On the other, changes in relative returns between 1995 and 2002 are predominant and are responsible for the lower dispersion observed in the latter year. Changes in the returns to education and age are important factors underlying this decrease in inequality. [resumen de autor

Micro evidence of the brain gain hypothesis : the case of Cape Verde

Does emigration really drain human capital accumulation in origin countries? This paper explores a unique household survey purposely designed and conducted to answer this specific question for the case of Cape Verde. This is allegedly the African country suffering from the largest "brain drain", despite also having a fast-growing stock of human capital. Our micro data enables us to propose a novel, explicit test of "brain gain" arguments according to which the possibility of own future emigration positively impacts educational attainment in the origin country. The innovative empirical strategy we propose hinges on the ideal characteristics of our survey, namely on full histories of migrants and on a new set of exclusion restrictions. Our results point to a very substantial impact of the “brain gain” channel on the educational attainment of those who do not emigrate. Alternative channels (namely remittances, family disruption, and general equilibrium effects at the local level) are also considered, but do not seem to play an important role. Our findings are robust to the choice of instruments and the empirical mode

Box 6. Job opportunities and supply and demand mismatches for places on vocational training courses

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Heterogeneity of the impact of the Spanish programme of incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles

Artículo de revistaPromoting e-mobility in the transport sector is essential for the transition to a low-emission economy. One of the goals of the Spanish programmes of incentives for efficient and sustainable mobility (MOVES) is to encourage the general public and firms to purchase electric vehicles. This article analyses the impact of the MOVES II programme, launched in June 2020, on electric vehicle registrations, based on the microdata provided by the Directorate General for Traffic. The results suggest that the impact has been very uneven across Spain’s regions. Specifically, from its launch up to December 2020, the programme appears to have increased the percentage of new electric vehicle registrations in Asturias, Madrid, Navarre and the Balearic Islands, and on average in the provinces of Catalonia, by an average of at least 1 percentage point. By contrast, the average impact on electric vehicle registrations by province in each of the other regions may be statistically zero

2021 Survey of Small Enterprises’ Financial Literacy: main results

Este documento analiza las competencias financieras de las empresas españolas de menos de 50 trabajadores (pequeñas empresas) a partir de una encuesta elaborada por el Banco de España entre marzo y mayo de 2021, que se engloba dentro de un proyecto desarrollado por la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE): International Network on Financial Education (OCDE/INFE). La encuesta incluye una serie de preguntas con el objetivo de medir las competencias financieras de las empresas (conocimientos, actitudes y comportamientos financieros), así como la tenencia de instrumentos financieros, el impacto de la crisis del COVID-19 sobre su actividad o el nivel de digitalización de la empresa. Estas preguntas deben de ser contestadas por el propietario de la empresa, siempre que tome alguna decisión financiera en relación con aquella. Los principales resultados de la encuesta apuntan a que, en general, en España los propietarios de las empresas con menos de 20 trabajadores y las empresas de servicios de alojamiento y hostelería, construcción y otros servicios personales (grupo heterogéneo de ramas, que incluiría empresas de educación, reparaciones o lavandería, entre otras) presentan unos conocimientos financieros bajos en comparación con las empresas de entre 20 y 49 trabajadores y con las del resto de los sectores. En cuanto a las actitudes financieras, los propietarios de las empresas de más de 10 trabajadores presentan una mayor tendencia a establecer objetivos financieros a largo plazo respecto a los propietarios de empresas de menos de 10 trabajadores. Algunos comportamientos financieros están menos generalizados en las empresas de menor tamaño (y especialmente en las de menos de 5 trabajadores), como, por ejemplo, disponer de estrategias en caso de robo y considerar opciones de distintos proveedores de productos o de servicios financieros. Finalmente, las pequeñas empresas españolas, independientemente de su tamaño, sobresalen por el bajo porcentaje de propietarios que han pensado en la financiación de su jubilación. El uso de los instrumentos de capital y de otras formas de financiación más recientes como los bonos sostenibles, los business angels o la financiación participativa) es marginal en las pequeñas empresas españolas. Asimismo, es limitado en estas empresas el empleo del seguro de daños materiales, y principalmente del de interrupción de negocio. No se observan diferencias importantes en los conocimientos, actitudes y comportamientos financieros según el género del propietario de la empresa. Además, en general, las competencias financieras medias en las pequeñas empresas mejoran con el nivel educativo tan solo si el propietario tiene formación concreta en temas relacionados con la empresa, la economía o las finanzas. Otras características que se asocian positivamente con las capacidades financieras, independientemente del nivel educativo, son disponer de 10 años de experiencia empresarial o tener un progenitor empresario. El impacto de la crisis del COVID-19 en el nivel de facturación, en los beneficios y en la deuda fue bastante similar en empresas con distintos grados de competencias financieras. Sin embargo, los efectos negativos en el empleo y en la liquidez fueron algo menores para los cuartiles más altos de competencias financieras de los propietarios. Adicionalmente, mayores conocimientos financieros estuvieron asociados a una probabilidad superior de solicitar y de obtener un nuevo préstamo o de beneficiarse de un aval público. Las empresas con menores conocimientos financieros sí utilizaron en mayor medida transferencias de renta, así como moratorias de alquiler. Finalmente, existe una relación positiva entre competencias financieras y mayor nivel de digitalización en la empresa con anterioridad a la pandemia. Sin embargo, no existe correlación de competencias financieras y un incremento de las actividades digitales tras el COVID-19.This paper analyses the financial competencies of Spanish enterprises with fewer than 50 employees (small enterprises) based on a survey conducted by the Banco de España between March and May 2021 as part of a project launched by the OECD (International Network on Financial Education, OECD/INFE). The survey includes a series of questions aimed at measuring firms’ financial competencies (financial knowledge, attitudes and behaviour) and the financial instruments held by them, the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on their activity and their level of digitalisation. It is the owners of the firms who should answer these questions insofar as it is they who make financial decisions in relation to their firm. The main results of the survey suggest that, in Spain, owners of enterprises with fewer than 20 employees have little financial knowledge compared with those of enterprises with between 20 and 49 employees. The same is true of firms in the accommodation and food service activities, construction and other personal service sectors (a heterogeneous group of sectors which would include firms in education, repairs or laundry services, among others) compared with firms in other sectors. In terms of financial attitudes, owners of firms with more than ten employees have a greater tendency to set long-term financial goals than owners of firms with fewer than ten employees. Some financial behaviours (such as having strategies in place in the event of theft or considering different options for their financial product and service providers) are less widespread among smaller firms, especially those with fewer than five employees. Lastly, the percentage of Spanish small enterprises, regardless of size, whose owners have thought about how to finance their retirement is remarkably low. The use of capital instruments and other more recent types of financing (such as sustainable bonds, business angels or crowdfunding) is marginal in small Spanish enterprises. Likewise, the use of property and, particularly, business interruption insurance is limited among these firms. There are no discernible, significant differences in financial knowledge, attitudes and behaviours in terms of the gender of the business owner. Also, in general, the average financial competencies in small enterprises improve with the level of educational attainment only if the owner has specific training in business, economics or finance. Other characteristics positively associated with financial competencies, irrespective of educational attainment, are having ten years of entrepreneurial experience or having an entrepreneur for a parent. The impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the level of turnover, profits and debt was quite similar for firms with different degrees of financial competencies. However, the negative impact on employment and liquidity was somewhat lower for the higher quartiles of owners’ financial competencies. Additionally, higher financial knowledge was associated with being more likely to apply for and obtain a new loan or benefit from a public guarantee. Firms with less financial knowledge did make greater use of income transfers and rental moratoria. Lastly, there is a positive correlation between financial competencies and a higher level of digitalisation in the firm pre-pandemic. However, there is no such correlation between financial competencies and digital activities following COVID-19