More Income Equality or Not? An Empirical Analysis of Individuals' Preferences for Redistribution

Do people prefer a society with an extensive social welfare system with high taxes, or low taxes but lax redistributive policies? Although economists have for a long time investigated the trade-off mechanism between equity and efficiency, surprisingly little information is available about citizens’ preferences over the distribution of income in a society. The aim of this paper is reduce this shortcoming, investigating in an empirical study working with World Values Survey, what shapes individuals' preferences for income equality in Spain. We present evidence that not only traditional economic variables are relevant to be considered, but also factors such as ideology, political interest, fairness perception about others or trust in institutions, are key determinants to understand preferences towards redistribution and equality. Furthermore, we also find that regional conditions affect the citizens’ preferences for income equality. Higher income inequality leads to stronger preferences for equality. On the other hand, there is the tendency that higher social expenditures reduce the preferences for income equality.redistribution, inequality, welfare state, social capital, regional conditions

Crystal Structure of Imaginal Disc Growth Factor-2

Imaginal disc growth factor-2 (IDGF-2) is a member of a recently described family of Drosophila melanogaster-soluble polypeptide growth factors that promote cell proliferation in imaginal discs. Although their precise mode of action has not been established, IDGFs cooperate with insulin in stimulating the growth of imaginal disc cells. We report the crystal structure of IDGF-2 at 1.3-A resolution. The structure shows the classical (betaalpha)(8) barrel-fold of family 18 glycosyl hydrolases, with an insertion of an alpha + beta domain similar to that of Serratia marcescens chitinases A and B. However, amino acid substitutions in the consensus catalytic sequence of chitinases give IDGF-2 a less negatively charged environment in its putative ligand-binding site and preclude the nucleophilic attack mechanism of chitin hydrolysis. Particularly important is the replacement of Glu by Gln at position 132, which has been shown to abolish enzymatic activity in chitinases. Nevertheless, a modest conservation of residues that participate in oligosaccharide recognition suggests that IDGF-2 could bind carbohydrates, assuming several conformational changes to open the partially occluded binding site. Thus, IDGFs may have evolved from chitinases to acquire new functions as growth factors, interacting with cell surface glycoproteins implicated in growth-promoting processes, such as the Drosophila insulin receptor.Fil: Varela, Paloma F.. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Llera, Andrea Sabina. University of Maryland; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Mariuzza, Roy A.. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Tormo, José. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; Españ

Efficiency and elusion: both sides of public enterprises in Spain

The main objective of this research consists on analyzing regional públic sector enterprises (PSEs) in Spain. We describe a general view on Spanish Autonomous Communities (ACs) financial resources, in the context of the Stability and Growth Pact and Budgetary Stability Act. From 2002, such regulation imposes several constraints to ACs’ indebtness. In this paper, we find out about the roll of PSEs as an alternative way to traditional debt mechanisms. Thus, according to Eurostat criteria, PSEs’ debt can be taken off the public sector’s consolidated budget. Descriptive and econometric results confirm our expectations. ACs’ have used public enterprises to avoid the stringent financial rules. Additionally, it seems that low productivity ACs are accumulating more public debt outside the scope of consolidation. The paper concludes with some recommendations and policy implications

Investment determinants in self-consumption facilities: characterization and qualitative analysis in Spain

Self-consumption energy facilities are presented as viable and sustainable solutions in the energy transition scenario in which many countries are immersed. However, they rely on dispersed and private investments in the territory. Given the uneven growth in the number of self-consumption facilities in Europe, the main objective of this study is to identify and measure the investment determinants in self-consumption facilities. To this end, the main influential incentives and barriers are identified through the aggregate analysis of the regulatory framework for self-consumption in several European countries, and the empirical characterization of Spanish facilities as a multiple case study, to define the common features of the investments made. The technical, economic, and financial characterization of real self-consumption facilities in climatic zones of southern Europe is a significant contribution of the present work. There are few samples of this type in the studies published to date, which have mainly been prepared from case studies or statistical data without identifying particular facilities. Cost-related variables have been identified as the most important variables in private investment decisions, and potential influential factors on these variables that could be regulated have been pointed out as relevant. It is also worth highlighting the elaboration of an analytical framework based on this conceptual approach, which has been proven to be useful to depict regulatory scenarios and to compare the positioning for the development of self-consumption systems in different countries. A model that transfers the influence of the determining factors to the deployment of self-consumption under specific regulatory scenarios has been developed and applied to the case of Spain. As a general reflection, to increase the adoption of this kind of technology and encourage consumers to make private investments, policies for renewable energy must consider self-consumption and microgeneration as the main axis, by increasing the availability of energy when necessary. For instance, the promotion of energy storage from these kinds of facilities could receive priority treatment, as well as rewarding the electricity surplus in the interests of security of supply in a period of energy transition towards a new, more sustainable model. Incentive schemes, aids to compensate for the additional costs resulting from the battery storage or easing restrictions in terms of contracted power would foreseeably increase the rates of adoption of the technology, favoring its faster development in terms of research and development and product innovation

Healthcare network operation in Iquique after the 2014, Pisagua earthquake

On April 1st, 2014, the 8.2 Mw Pisagua earthquake affected the population in the north of Chile and generated disruption of services in the region. The largest effects of the earthquake were observed in the city of Iquique, capital of the Tarapaca Region, where more than 80% of the population of the region lives. This research describes the response of the public healthcare network of Iquique after the earthquake, and aims to identify the principal factors contributing to the network resilience during the early response and recovery phase after the earthquake. Despite the large magnitude of the earthquake, the observed structural damage was minor in the five healthcare centers considered (i.e., the regional hospital and 4 Primary Healthcare Attention Centers, PHACs). However, disruption of services in the healthcare network was large and due mainly to the collapse of non-structural components. Overall, the proper response of the healthcare network of Iquique was heavily supported by the PHACs, which largely provided first-aid, containment, and low-complexity attention to the population, allowing the hospital to focus on more complex procedures. The findings of this study suggest that the resilience of the healthcare network system, besides the robustness of the network’s facilities and their critical units, is also highly dependent on the interrelations and interactions between them in early post-earthquake recovery phases

Energy vulnerability composite index in social housing, from a household energy poverty perspective

In Europe, the proportion of social housing is high, and such houses tend to be inhabited by below average-income households, which are particularly vulnerable to energy poverty. This article proposes a new methodological approach for defining an index for household energy vulnerability assessment. This method can be used to improve the management of social housing. After establishing a heuristic framework for household energy poverty-which stems from different causes such as income, the characteristics of the residence, energy installations, and the energy-consumption habits of household members-multi-criteria analytical methods, based on the aggregation of indicators which reveal the conditions leading to energy poverty, have been applied, and effective means of intervention are proposed. The method is also applied to a sample of social houses and thus validated as a useful tool in decision-making processes which concern the management of social housing from a household energy-poverty perspective