Does urban sprawl increase the costs of providing local public services? Evidence from Spanish municipalities

This paper examines the impact of urban sprawl, a phenomenon of particular interest in Spain, which is currently experiencing this process of rapid, low-density urban expansion. Many adverse consequences are attributed to urban sprawl (e.g., traffic congestion, air pollution and social segregation), though here we are concerned primarily with the rising costs of providing local public services. Our initial aim is to develop an accurate measure of urban sprawl so that we might empirically test its impact on municipal budgets. Then, we undertake an empirical analysis using a cross-sectional data set of 2,500 Spanish municipalities for the year 2003 and a piecewise linear function to account for the potentially nonlinear relationship between sprawl and local costs. The estimations derived from the expenditure equations for both aggregate and six disaggregated spending categories indicate that low-density development patterns lead to greater provision costs of local public services.Urban sprawl, local public spending.

Sprawl, blight and the role of urban containment policies. Evidence from US cities

US post-war suburbanization has reshaped the spatial pattern of growth in many metropolitan areas, with population and employment shift toward the suburbs resulting in the urban decay of central cities. This being the case, the adoption of adequate anti-sprawl policies should lead to a reduction in city blight. Availability of detailed blight measures at the city level enables us to undertake a novel empirical analysis to test this hypothesis. The empirical specification presented here identifies the specific impact of more stringent anti-sprawl policies adopted at the metro-level, proxied by the adoption of urban containment policies, on city blight. Results indicate that the adoption of such policies have effectively contributed to the reduction of downtown deterioration

Ensayos sobre la expansión urbana y finanzas públicas locales

Tesis inédita de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Departamento de Economía Aplicada VI (Hacienda Pública y Sistema Fiscal), leída el 15/02/2013Depto. de Economía Aplicada, Pública y PolíticaFac. de Ciencias Económicas y EmpresarialesTRUEunpu

Influence of soil parameters on ectomycorrhizal diversity in montado ecosystems

Mestrado em Engenharia Florestal e dos Recursos Florestais - Instituto Superior de AgronomiaThis study characterized the composition and the diversity of macrofungal communities associated with four plots of montado situated in Grândola Hills, Southern Portugal, and evaluated the influence of soil parameters on ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity and abundance. Phosphorus, potassium, total nitrogen, organic matter concentrations and soil pH were the parameters determined. Differences in soil chemical features were found between studied plots. A total of 132 species of macrofungi were found in the study area being Laccaria, Russula and Cortinarius the most abundant genera. Also dissimilarities on macrofungal communities, particularly, on abundance and diversity, were registered among plots. The influence of soil parameters on ectomycorrhizal diversity and abundance was studied in the plots with values of biological spectrum higher than one, and in particular for the most frequent species Laccaria laccata, Cortinarius trivialis, Russula amoenolens and Russula subfoetens. Results showed that ectomycorrhizal diversity is negatively correlated with the increasing of extractable phosphorus concentration, and the abundance of ectomycorrhizal species responds differently to soil chemical characteristics. The present study allows us to understanding the influence of some soil features on ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity and abundance. Finally, the effects of management practices on ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity in this Mediterranean ecosystem are discussed

Personal income and its distribution in Spanish municipalities

This resource describes a data source for local personal income and its distribution in Spanish municipalities

The drivers of local income inequality: a spatial Bayesian model-averaging approach

This is an Accepted Manuscript version of the following article, accepted for publication in Regional Studies 53.8 (2019): 1207-1220. It is deposited under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly citedThis study analyzes the drivers of local income inequality in Spain. It derives a novel data set of inequality metrics for a sample of municipalities over the period 2000–06. Spatial Bayesian model selection and model-averaging techniques are used in order to examine the empirical relevance of (1) spatial functional forms, (2) spatial weight matrices and (3) a large set of factors that could affect inequality. The findings suggest that local inequality is mainly explained by human capital, economic factors and local politics. In addition, the use of Bayesian geographically weighted regressions provides evidence in favour of spatially heterogeneous effect

Formación de profesores post Bolonia: los desafíos de un proceso en dos etapas

En los últimos años, las políticas de formación de profesores se han convertido en un foco de interés para gobernantes, investigadores y profesionales de la educación. En Portugal, como en otros países europeos, la reestructuración de la formación de profesores estuvo marcada por las políticas, directrices y tendencias de la Comisión Europea, adecuándolas a las especificidades propias de la cultura e historia nacionales. Actualmente, la formación de profesores para los primeros años (0-12) se realiza en instituciones de enseñanza superior, bajo una estructura de dos etapas, constituida por el primer ciclo (licenciatura en Educación Básica) y el segundo ciclo (maestros en educación de infancia y/o ciclo de Enseñanza Básica), con una duración de 4,5 a 5 años. Esta organización en dos etapas ha traído nuevos desafíos a la coherencia y consistencia de los cursos de formación, sobre todo, por lo que respecta a la articulación de la formación académica con la formación práctica. Los problemas generados se vuelven especialmente relevantes en el 6º semestre de la licenciatura en Educación Básica, periodo de transición entre la conclusión de una etapa y el inicio de otra. En este artículo, relatamos el recorrido realizado en la organización de la formación en Educación Básica en una escuela superior de educación en Portugal. El proyecto duró 4 años e incidió en la orientación, organización y procesos de apoyo a la iniciación a la práctica profesional en el 6º semestre del curso. En este proceso, la participación e implicación de los estudiantes, a través de la evaluación de la formación, fue el rasgo fundamental y distintivo

Atividades investigativas, formação de professores e ensino da Geografia (dos 6 aos 12 anos)

Na Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa, na formação inicial de professores do Ensino Básico (6 a 12 anos), as Unidades Curriculares (UC) de didática da Geografia preconizam o desenvolvimento de competências para a prática de atividades investigativas metodologicamente sustentadas, e potenciadoras de experiências inovadoras a partir da sala de aula. Pretendemos, com este estudo, contribuir para esta reflexão, analisando: os programas das UC do curso de mestrado que habilitam para a docência; os trabalhos realizados pelos estudantes que ilustram as competências investigativas por estes desenvolvidas

Is there an optimal size for local governments? A spatial panel data model approach

This is an Accepted Manuscript version of the following article, accepted for publication in Regional Studies 54.7 (2020): 958 - 973. It is deposited under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly citedThe paper presents a framework for determining the optimal size of local jurisdictions and whether it varies depending on the geographical heterogeneity of the territory. To that aim, it first develops a theoretical model of cost efficiency that takes into account spatial interactions and spillover effects among neighbouring jurisdictions. The model solution leads to a spatial Durbin panel data specification of local spending as a non-linear function of population size. The model is tested using a large local data set over the period 2003–11 for an aggregate measure of public spending. The empirical findings suggest a ‘U’-shaped relationship between population size and the costs of providing public services. A second step investigates the role of geographical characteristics such as elevation and terrain ruggedness in the determination of the optimal jurisdiction size. The results reveal that optimal city size decreases with elevation and increases with ruggednessThis work was supported by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Spain) [grant number ECO2016-76681-R

Expansionary zoning and the strategic behaviour of local governments

This is an Accepted Manuscript version of the following article, accepted for publication in Regional Studies 54.3 (2020): 388 - 402. It is deposited under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly citedThis paper analyses the extent to which local land supply is the result of strategic interaction among nearby local governments. In a setting of limited tax instruments to raise revenues and interjurisdictional competition for mobile residents, municipal authorities are provided with the economic incentives to convert land from rural to urban uses, hence promoting urban growth. Using data on a large sample of Spanish municipalities for the period 2003–11 and a modified Cournot-style competition model, we report evidence in support of this hypothesis. The results suggest that local incumbents do not make policy decisions in isolation, and reaction functions arise because the mobile tax base reacts to the regulatory measures that modify land uses in each municipalit