Globalization, Migration and Development: The Role of Mexican Migrant Remittances

This note starts from the premise that, in current debates on the impact of globalization on economic development, the role of international migration has been under-emphasized. In an effort to contribute toward filling that gap, it presents evidence suggesting that remittances sent by international migrants are associated with improved developmental outcomes. Using a cross-section of all Mexican municipalities (over 2400) in the year 2000, it shows that an increase in the fraction of households receiving international remittances is correlated with better schooling and health indicators, and with reductions in poverty. These results are confirmed when we look at migration propensity instead of remittance flows. The econometric exercises control for the likely endogeneity between remittances and migration variables, on the one hand, and developmental outcome variables, on the other.Remittances, migration, globalization, development, Mexico

Traditional Rural Environment and Sustainable Architecture: A Case Study in Moratalla (Murcia, Spain)

This paper attempts to demonstrate the relationship between sustainability and vernacular architecture, being focused on a specific research carried out in the old part of Moratalla, a town in Murcia (Spain). This study has been possible thanks to the collection of 265 field records with in situ data so that quality and quantity can be measured. All these are distinctive parameters of vernacular architecture of the centre in the middle ages, what teaches us an important lesson of how traditional construction is environmentally friendly and sustainable, thus leading to more practical bioclimatic architecture. The current study relies on an agreement between the catholic university of Murcia (ucam) and the town council of the aforementioned town (moratalla), what gives an idea of its importance. Some recommendations have been included at the end of the paper to be taken into account by municipal legislation so that our building heritage can be preserved and maintained

The Spatial Distribution of Human Capital: Can It Really Be Explained by Regional Differences in Market Access?

This paper checks for the robustness of the estimate of the impact of market access on the regional variability of human capital, derived from the NEG literature. The hypothesis is that the estimate of the coefficient of the measure of market access is actually capturing the effect of regional differences in the industrial mix, and the spatial dependence in the distribution of human capital. Results for the Spanish provinces indicate that the estimated impact of market access vanishes and becomes non-significant once these two elements are included in the empirical analysis.

The regional distribution of unemployment. A microeconomic perspective

Regional disparities in unemployment rates are large and persistent, particularly in some economies such as Spain. Previous contributions to the literature have provided evidence on their magnitude and evolution, as well as on the role of some economic, demographic and environmental factors in explaining the gap between low and high unemployment regions. Most of these studies have used an aggregate approach. That is, they have not accounted for the individual characteristics of the unemployed and the employed in each region. This paper aim at filling this gap, as it addresses the analysis of regional differentials in unemployment rates by using the information from the Spanish wave of the Labour Force Survey. An appropriate decomposition of the regional gap in the average probability of being unemployed allows us to tell the contribution of differences in the regional distribution of individuals’ characteristics from that attributable to a different impact of these characteristics on the probability of unemployment. The results suggest that the well-known disparities in regional unemployment are not just the result of regional heterogeneity in the distribution of individual and job characteristics. Non-negligible differences in the probability of unemployment remain after controlling for that type of heterogeneity, as a result of differences across regions in the effect of the individual characteristics. Among the factors considered in the analysis, regional differences in the individuals’ endowment of human capital, and in its effect, play an outstanding role.

Comparison of Thematic Maps Using Symbolic Entropy

Comparison of thematic maps is an important task in a number of disciplines. Map comparison has traditionally been conducted using cell-by-cell agreement indicators, such as the Kappa measure. More recently, other methods have been proposed that take into account not only spatially coincident cells in two maps, but also their surroundings or the spatial structure of their differences. The objective of this paper is to propose a framework for map comparison that considers 1) the patterns of spatial association in two maps, in other words, the map elements in their surroundings; 2) the equivalence of those patterns; and 3) the independence of patterns between maps. Two new statistics for the spatial analysis of qualitative data are introduced. These statistics are based on the symbolic entropy of the maps, and function as measures of map compositional equivalence and independence. As well, all inferential elements to conduct hypothesis testing are developed. The framework is illustrated using real and synthetic maps. Key word: Thematic maps, map comparison, qualitative variables, spatial association, symbolic entropy, hypothesis tests

The distribution of the economic activity in the Mediterranean axis. Identification of cluster by sectors of economic activity.

Agglomeration economies play an important role in the explanation of the development and regional growth. For this reason, there exists a growing interest in the analysis of standards of co-localisation of the economic activities. This topic has been dealt with from different approaches using a good number of technical statistics. Our proposal is to present some of the more well-known statistics usually used in epidemiology, with the objective of identifying spatial clusters of companies dedicated to the same economic activity. As such, this paper analyses the geographic distribution of economic activity throughout the Mediterranean to the smallest possible level of spatial integration (post code level). Firstly, by using exploratory analysis tools of spatial data we identify patterns of localisation of economic activity including both industrial and service areas. Secondly, by using the statistics of T. Tango (1995) and M. Kulldorff (1997) we identify clusters of businesses in distinct subsectors of activity. The information is obtained from the 'Sistema Anual de Balances Ibéricos' (SABI) database and using the National Classification of Economic Activities NCEA code to a 2 digit level. Our results highlight that great differences exist in the production geographic concentration in all sectors. Additionally, the results from our analysis also reveal that well defined groups exist within the economic sectors.

The Olson - Putnam Controversy: Some Empirical Evidence

This paper explores the causal link between associationism and general trust. First we study the principal components that constitute social capital. Then we contrast a structural model identifying the relations between the relevant variables in the so-called Olson-Putnam aporia. The results of the empirical test on the determinants of social capital allow us to conclude that the extension of horizontal networks maintains a direct relation with this form of capital, but not those of vertical type.Associationism Olson-Putnam controversy Social Capital Trust.

The Geographic Concentration of Population and Income in Europe: Results for the Period 1984-1999

In this paper we use the Gini index to analyze the spatial concentration of income and population across European Union regions over the period 1984-1999. The results of our analysis show an slow but increasing pattern of geographic concentration of population and income. The critical threshold where the effects of the geographic concentration become remarkable is when we reach the 45-50% band of the richest population.EU regions

Planificación participativa del desarrollo turístico: la experiencia en el estado de Puebla, México

En este artículo se presenta el ejercicio de planificación realizado en el Estado de Puebla. Participaron activamente en talleres y mesas de trabajo, 118 actores relacionados directamente con el Turismo de Naturaleza. Se realizó una encuesta que alcanzó la distribución de 2.500 cuestionarios, con la participación de 22 universidades y 30 consejos municipales de turismo. Se vincularon 6 universidades con trabajo académico, lo que sumó a la información sobre temasde garantías de calidad, indicadores y comercialización del Turismo de Naturaleza en el Estado. Se realizaron 3 talleres con 11 mesas de trabajo que abordaron temas sobre promoción y comercialización, planificación, operación, gestión y gobernanza del Turismo de Naturaleza. Se realizaron dos giras de trabajo en donde se entrevistó a profundidad a21 actores. El resultado final fue el Plan Estatal de Turismo de Naturaleza para el Estado de Puebla 2007-2020

CONTRATACIÓN DE LAS INSTITUCIONES EDUCATIVAS PÚBLICAS, PROBLEMAS Y SOLUCIONES

El presente artículo expone los resultados del trabajo de investigación llamado: Contratación de las Instituciones Educativas Públicas (IEP), Problemas y Soluciones. Se centra en el ámbito educativo nacional y en las dificultades que se presentan en los procesos de contratación estatal, como consecuencia de la falta de información en la apropiación de políticas y demás reglamentaciones nacionales concernientes a la contratación, esto ha causado diversidad de prácticas fundadas en la costumbre que desvían el objetivo del marco legal que el Ministerio de Educación Nacional (MEN) ha dispuesto para la contratación. El análisis de los resultados de encuestas y de los procesos de contratación estataldejan como conclusión la necesidad de proponer un diseñode un documento que guíe los procesos de contratación en las IEP a fin de dar cumplimiento alos fines esenciales del Estado, a través de la implementación de un manual de contratación que unifique la normatividad y los criterios en los procesos contractuales y de interventoría