Income satisfaction and deprivation in Spain

The first objective of our paper is to identify the determinants of income satisfaction in Spain, with one of these being relative deprivation, and the second is to measure this relative deprivation, in both monetary and satisfaction terms. To that end, we use data from the eight waves of the Spanish section of the European Community Household Panel (1994-2001). With respect to the first objective, we estimate models for categorical variables in order to test whether subjective satisfaction measures depend on relative deprivation, as well as on other determinants. As for the second objective, we first calculate inequality and polarization indices and then we specifically analyze whether the Spanish tax-benefit system helped to reduce individual deprivation. Our results suggest that the more unequal the income distribution is in a group, the less income satisfied is the individual. Moreover, being unemployed is one of the main determinants of deprivation, although public transfers help to reduce individual deprivation. When we observe the amount of public transfers received, deprivation is reduced up to a certain threshold, beyond which it continues to decline, but at a lower rate

Killing by lung cancer or by diabetes? The trade-off between smoking and obesity

As the prevalence of smoking has decreased to below 20%, health practitioners interest has shifted towards the prevalence of obesity, and reducing it is one of the major health challenges in decades to come. In this paper we study the impact that the final product of the anti-smoking campaign, that is, smokers quitting the habit, had on average weight in the population. To these ends, we use data from the Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System, a large series of independent representative cross-sectional surveys. We construct a synthetic panel that allows us to control for unobserved heterogeneity and we exploit the exogenous changes in taxes and regulations to instrument the endogenous decision to give up the habit of smoking. Our estimates, are very close to estimates issued in the ’90s by the US Department of Health, and indicate that a 10% decrease in the incidence of smoking leads to an average weight increase of 2.2 to 3 pounds, depending on choice of specification. In addition, we find evidence that the effect overshoots in the short run, although a significant part remains even after two years. However, when we split the sample between men and women, we only find a significant effect for men. Finally, the implicit elasticity of quitting smoking to the probability of becoming obese is calculated at 0.58. This implies that the net benefit from reducing the incidence of smoking by 1% is positive even though the cost to society is $0.6 billions.

A residential energy demand system for Spain

Sharp price fluctuations and increasing environmental and distributional concerns, among other issues, have led to a renewed academic interest in energy demand. In this paper we estimate, for the first time in Spain, an energy demand system with household microdata. In doing so, we tackle several econometric and data problems that are generally recognized to bias parameter estimates. This is obviously relevant, as obtaining correct price and income responses is essential if they may be used for assessing the economic consequences of hypothetical or real changes. With this objective, we combine data sources for a long time period and choose a demand system with flexible income and price responses. We also estimate the model in different sub-samples to capture varying responses to energy price changes by households living in rural, intermediate and urban areas. This constitutes a first attempt in the literature and it proved to be a very successful choice

Behavioural loyalty towards store brands

This paper applies a consumer brand choice model to measure store brand (SB) loyalty. The aim of this paper is to examine whether SB loyalty is different across categories, and we focus on risk perception as an explanatory variable. The model is estimated using ACNielsen Spanish household scanner panel data on two laundry detergent categories over a 2 year period for more than 1107 households. Loyalty, price, socio demographics and shopping behaviour variables are included. The discrete choice model formulation is the logit modelThis research was supported by Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia Dir. Gral. de Investigación, Grant SEJ2004-00672Publicad

Major Reforms in Electricity Pricing: Evidence from a Quasiexperiment

The global energy mix is being redefined, and with it the power industry’s cost structure. In many countries, electricity-pricing systems are being revamped so as to guarantee fixed-cost recovery, often by raising the fixed charge of two-part tariff (TPT) schemes. However, consumer misperception of TPTs threatens to undermine the policy’s outcome and puts the sector’s much-needed transformation in jeopardy. We conduct a quasi-experiment with data from a major electricity price reform recently implemented in Spain and find robust evidence that consumers are failing to distinguish between fixed and marginal costs. As a result, the policy goal of cost recovery is not being achieve

Does persistence in using R&D tax credits help to achieve product innovations?

Despite the generosity of its tax system, Spain is far from EU countries in terms of R&D spending and innovation outcomes. A policy instrument commonly used to foster firms’ R&D investment are tax incentives. The use of this instrument is not generalized in firms spending on R&D, and only a fraction of firms are regular claimants. This paper investigates whether persistence in using tax credits is positively related to product innovations, beyond R&D investments. We consider that firms investing in qualified R&D and using tax credits regularly are likely to be firms aiming at innovating. By contrast, occasional tax credit users may be firms investing in R&D for different reasons, such as exploiting a business opportunity, or reducing their corporate tax burden, so that they may not prioritize innovating. Using a sample of Spanish manufacturing firms spanning 2001–2014, we first estimate persistence using a duration model accounting for firm observed and unobserved heterogeneity. Our results are consistent with negative duration dependence, indicating that the probability of ceasing in claiming tax credits decreases with the passage of time. Second, we estimate a count-data model and find that the number of product innovations positively depends on tax credit persistence only for SMEs

Estudios sobre las decisiones de retiro, la sostenibilidad del sistema de pensiones en España y la viabilidad financiera del Sistema Nacional de Dependencia

En este estudio abordamos varias decisiones que toman los individuos en los momentos inmediatamente anteriores y posteriores al retiro y sus implicaciones para la sostenibilidad del sistema de pensiones y la viabilidad del Sistema Nacional de Dependencia. A partir de las Encuestas Continuas de Presupuestos Familiares, las Encuestas de Población Activa, la Encuesta de Deficiencias y Estado de Salud, las Encuestas de Apoyo a los Mayores, las Encuestas de Salud o los datos españoles del Panel de Hogares de la Unión Europea se abordan cuestiones de indudable relevancia y necesidad que se van a derivar de los actuales y previsibles cambios sociales y económicos propios de nuestras sociedades. En concreto, aspectos sobre las decisiones que se toman en los últimos años de vida activa y también en los años de la jubilación están llamados a sufrir importantes modificaciones, y su conocimiento puede facilitar el normal y óptimo desarrollo de los procesos vitales, políticos y sociales que tengan como fin el asegurar un bienestar máximo para todos.

Economics of environmental taxes and green tax reforms

Environmental taxes and green tax reforms are increasingly seen as powerful tools for promoting a transition to sustainable economies [...

La evaluación de políticas públicas en España: Aprendizaje y práctica institucional

La evaluación de políticas públicas en un tema fundamental en cualquier país democrático. En el caso de España esta importancia queda reflejada en varios textos legales como la Constitución Española o la Ley General Presupuestaria. El reconocimiento de dicha importancia no debe ser un fin sino un principio. Los responsables políticos se han encargado de forma continuada de realizar el control del gasto público de acuerdo a los criterios que dicta la normativa citada, pero la evaluación de impacto no ha tenido hasta el momento el papel que la misma parece conferirle. Es, por tanto, necesario dar un paso más al control legal o formal e incluir el punto de vista económico en la evaluación de forma que se constituya dentro del sector público y de forma natural como un juicio a sus intervenciones de acuerdo a los resultados y a los impactos que tengan así como a las necesidades que satisfagan, siempre teniendo en cuenta que las decisiones se adoptan con unos objetivos. Habiéndose avanzado recientemente tanto en el diseño institucional como en algunas aplicaciones, queda mucho camino por recorrer para que la evaluación constituya un verdadero instrumento de apoyo a la toma de decisiones en España. Y para recorrer bien ese camino es necesario primero contar con la transparencia del sector público. Proporcionar la información adecuada es un primer paso necesario no suficiente para cumplir con el principio de transparencia que ha de guiar la actuación de todo decisor de lo público. La descripción de la situación actual y algunas propuestas de desarrollo futuro han tratado de completar una visión tanto del estado actual de la situación en España cuanto de las potencialidades que algunos métodos e instrumentos proporcionan.AbstractPublic policy evaluation is a fundamental issue in any democratic country. Public authorities tried to give this range to evaluation both in the Spanish Constitution as well as in the General Budgetary Law. This acknowledgement should be the beginning of practice and transparency in using public funds. However, impact evaluation is far from getting its expectations. Ex-ante or ex-post auditing is a general and wide recognized practice but impact evaluation had not any effect in the past on the design or change of public policies. We aim in this paper for the necessary use of evaluation as a further step to legal or formal controls in a way such that it should be part of a natural activity in the future of our public sector. Since public policies are implemented according to pre-defined objectives, we should worry about their fulfillment. Spain has institutional design able to conduct impact evaluation so, these institutions need the support of politicians. The complete use of public policy evaluation constitutes a necessary condition for the transparency in the action of the public responsible to be true. Moreover, public policy evaluation could constitute an effective instrument in the decision making process. Another necessary condition is to put all the information available for citizens and analysts. We provide in this paper a descriptive study of the current situation of public policy evaluation in Spain as well as some possibilities at hand for giving a more important role to it in the future.