War and Economics: Spanish Civil War Finances Revisited

This paper reviews how the Spanish civil war was financed. We present new evidence to show that the two combatant parties, the Republican government and the Franco administration followed similar financial strategies. In both cases money creation, rather than new taxes or the issue of debt, was the main mechanism used to cover the expenses of the war. We argue, contrary to the established knowledge, that both sides consumed a similar amount of domestic and foreign resources. We also argue that the Spanish Republic did not lose the war because of a lack of means. International factors, such as the Non-Intervention agreement promoted by France and Great Britain, and the military setbacks of the Republican army during the first year of the war, were decisive for Franco’s victory in 1939.Spain, civil war, financial resources

Searching for the scale of homogeneity

We introduce a statistical quantity, known as the $K$ function, related to the integral of the two--point correlation function. It gives us straightforward information about the scale where clustering dominates and the scale at which homogeneity is reached. We evaluate the correlation dimension, $D_2$, as the local slope of the log--log plot of the $K$ function. We apply this statistic to several stochastic point fields, to three numerical simulations describing the distribution of clusters and finally to real galaxy redshift surveys. Four different galaxy catalogues have been analysed using this technique: the Center for Astrophysics I, the Perseus--Pisces redshift surveys (these two lying in our local neighbourhood), the Stromlo--APM and the 1.2 Jy {\it IRAS} redshift surveys (these two encompassing a larger volume). In all cases, this cumulant quantity shows the fingerprint of the transition to homogeneity. The reliability of the estimates is clearly demonstrated by the results from controllable point sets, such as the segment Cox processes. In the cluster distribution models, as well as in the real galaxy catalogues, we never see long plateaus when plotting $D_2$ as a function of the scale, leaving no hope for unbounded fractal distributions.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures, MNRAS, in press; minor revision and added reference

Agglomeration and labour productivity in Spanish industry: a long-term analysis

This paper analyzes the relationship between spatial density of economic activity and interregional differences in the productivity of industrial labour in Spain during the period 1860-1999. In the spirit of Ciccone and Hall (1996) and Ciccone (2002), we analyze the evolution of this relationship over the long term in Spain. Using data on the period 1860-1999 we show the existence of an agglomeration effect linking the density of economic activity with labour productivity in the industry. This effect was present since the beginning of the industrialization process in the middle of the 19th century but has been decreasing over time. The estimated elasticity of labour productivity with respect to employment density was close to 8% in the subperiod 1860-1900, reduces to a value of around 7% in the subperiod 1914-1930, to 4% in the subperiod 1965-1979 and becomes insignificant in the final subperiod 1985-1999. At the end of the period analyzed there is no evidence of the existence of net agglomeration effects in the industry. This result could be explained by an important increase in the congestion effects in large industrial metropolitan areas that would have compensated the centripetal or agglomeration forces at work. Furthermore, this result is also consistent with the evidence of a dispersion of industrial activity in Spain during the last decades.agglomeration economies, regional disparities, spanish economic history

Diseño hidráulico de un canal de evacuación de aguas pluviales en el término municipal de Alzira (Valencia)

[ES] El objetivo del TFG es abordar el diseño y evaluación de funcionamiento hidráulico de un canal para drenaje urbano en el término municipal de Alzira, para evitar las inundaciones provocadas por las escorrentías procedentes de los barrancos de La Casella, Vilella y L'Estret. Se analiza en primer lugar la problemática existente en la zona, en relación a las inundaciones locales provocadas por las cuencas citadas en el área urbana de Alzira, con afecciones de diversa índole en la población, mobiliario urbano y edificaciones. Para ello se realiza una descripción detallada del entorno urbano en cuestión, así como las correspondientes estimaciones de lluvias de diseño y escorrentías asociadas, para eventos hidrológicos de diversos periodos de retorno, en las cuencas adyacentes. Posteriormente se plantean las alternativas basadas en una canalización urbana en lámina libre capaz de evacuar las escorrentías los caudales de cálculo. Se pretende verificar el correcto funcionamiento del diseño propuesto calculando en detalle el régimen de flujo estacionario espacialmente variado, detallando los calados previsibles en un conjunto de secciones del canal para distintos inputs hidrológicos.[EN] The objective of this work is to address the design and evaluation of the hydraulic operation of a channel for urban drainage, in the town of Alzira (Valencia). The purpose is the prevention of flooding caused by runoff from the urban catchments of La Casella, Vilella y L'Estret. Firstly, the existing urban drainage problems in the area are analyzed, in relation to the local floods caused by the aforementioned basins. For this, a detailed description of the urban environment is made, as well as the corresponding estimates of design rainfall and associated runoff, for hydrological events of various return periods. Subsequently, the alternatives based on an urban open channel, capable of evacuating runoff estimated in previous hydrological studies, are proposed. It is intended to verify the correct operation of the proposed design by calculating in detail the spatially varied stationary flow regime taking place. And checking the depths in relevant sections.Pons Martinez, V. (2022). Diseño hidráulico de un canal de evacuación de aguas pluviales en el término municipal de Alzira (Valencia). Universitat Politècnica de València. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/181052TFG

The Relationship Between Family-Environmental Processes and Academic Achievement Among Three Hispanic Groups in the United States

The purpose of this study was to examine (1) whether differences in academic achievement exist among students of three Hispanic groups in the United States, (2) whether such differences are related to student achievement processes, and (3) whether differences in both student academic achievement and achievement processes are related to their parents\u27 background characteristics. The three Hispanic groups of students that were studied were Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Central/South American. Two student achievement processes were examined: their time spent on homework and their educational-occupational aspirations. The three parental achievement processes investigated were their press for English, press for independence and educational-occupational aspirations for their child. Finally, two background characteristics of the parents were studied: their time residing in the United States and their level of academic attainment. The model that guided this investigation was developed from Marjoribanks\u27 (1976) Social-Environmental theory and was tested using path analysis procedures. It was found that the proposed family environmental model could explain 56 percent of the variance in the students\u27 Reading achievement and 59 percent of the variance in their Mathematics achievement. The results showed that paternal achievement processes played a larger role than maternal processes in the academic achievement of these Hispanic students. In addition, it was found that these students\u27 educational-occupational aspirations were related to their academic achievement, and that their homework time was affected by their educational and occupational aspirations. In comparisons among the three Hispanic groups, Cuban fathers displayed significantly higher levels of press for English, press for independence and educational-occupational aspirations than Central/South American fathers. The latter fathers in turn showed higher levels of each of these three family processes than Puerto Rican fathers. The results were interpreted as supportive of the Social-Environmental view of academic achievement and as indicative of important differences in family achievement processes among the three Hispanic groups that were studied. Educational implications for remediation programs were discussed

Scaling-up climate services with users in Latin America

Latin America farmers are highly vulnerable to climate variability, with crop losses observed throughout the region on a virtually annual basis. For instance, as indicated by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Program (WFP), the 2014–2017 drought conditions in Central America affected over 3.5 million people in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. At the same time, local stakeholders and farmers generally have limited access to existing climate and forecast information, do not have sufficient capacities to understand the climate information and/or mechanisms to relate this information to the impact that climate variations can generate at a local level. This precludes the translation of information into actionable knowledge, and therefore into action. In this study, we describe a process through which scientists and strategic partners have co-developed, tested and scaled out an approach to assess, co-produce, translate and transfer climate information to enable agricultural decision making –the Local Technical Agroclimatic Committees (LTAC). LTACs allow open and clear dialogues about climate variations at multiple timescales, how these can affect crops, and the design of measures to reduce crop loss, particularly providing agronomic recommendations to farmers. We systematically describe the process of evidence generation, creation, partner engagement, scaling up, and monitoring of the approach throughout Latin America. Currently, 35 LTACs exist in 9 Latin American countries, engaging more than 250 public and private institutions, increasing the resilience and food security of an estimated 330,000 farmers, and potentially transforming how Latin American farmers manage climate risk. The study illustrates changes in institutional and farmers' capacities to co-produce, translate and use climate information and explores how better climate and crop prediction models can effectively underpin this process. We show how strategic alliances with farmer organizations, national public, and private and regional climate outlook forums help deliver improved and accurate climate information to users. Finally, we document how LTACs and their integration with other local-scale processes have led to changes in farmers’ management practices to take better advantage of good climatic conditions or avoid losses

Prosodic cues enhance infants’ sensitivity to nonadjacent regularities

In language, grammatical dependencies often hold between items that are not immediately adjacent to each other. Acquiring these nonadjacent dependencies is crucial for learning grammar. However, there are poten-tially infinitely many dependencies in the language input. How does the infant brain solve this computational learning problem? Here, we demonstrate that while rudimentary sensitivity to nonadjacent regularities may be present relatively early, robust and reliable learning can only be achieved when convergent statistical and per-ceptual, specifically prosodic cues, are both present, helping the infant brain detect the building blocks that form a nonadjacent dependency. This study contributes to our understanding of the neural foundations of rule learning that pave the way for language acquisition