The underground economy in times of crisis: an analysis of undeclared work in Europe

Este estudio analiza el trabajo no declarado como pieza fundamental en la economía sumergida en la UE-28, haciendo especial énfasis en su cuantificación y evolución, estructura, variabilidad por países y determinantes. Con este objetivo, se aplican métodos de regresión lineal y modelos de elección discreta con variable dependiente binaria sobre la base de los microdatos correspondientes a los Eurobarómetros especiales dedicados al análisis del fenómeno del trabajo no declarado en los años 2007 y 2013. Los resultados muestran la importancia que tienen sobre el trabajo no declarado (i) el grado de aceptación individual del propio fenómeno; (ii) la percepción del riesgo de sanciones; (iii) la situación laboral del sujeto; y (iv) la propia situación macroeconómica. Las implicaciones de estos resultados para el espectro de políticas disponibles para combatir la economía sumergida son también discutidas en este trabajo.This study analyzes undeclared work as a key portion of the shadow economy in the EU-28, with special focus on its incidence, dynamics, structure, differences across countries and underlying determinants. To this end, linear regression and binary discrete choice models are applied to microdata drawn from 2 special Eurobarometers which are designed to explore undeclared work phenomenon in the years 2007 and 2013. Our results stress the importance of (i) the individual assessment of irregular and individualistic behaviours; (ii) the perceived risk of being detected undertaking paid undeclared work; (iii) the occupation; and (iv) the aggregated conditions, as determinants of undeclared work. The implications of these results for the existing policy options for dealing with the shadow economy are also discussed

Escribir para aprender: una aplicación para la asignatura Macroeconomía Intermedia

This study describes and evaluates a teaching experience that combines the use of financial press with the ‘writing to learn’ method, within the subject Intermediate Macroeconomics. The subject belongs to a field of economics which is characterised by a particularly high degree of mathematical abstraction and in which the accurate assimilation of theoretical content thus becomes essential. Thanks to the establishment of a collaboration agreement, students are offered the chance to publish press articles related to economic issues in a special supplement of El Periódico de Huelva. When comparing the academic performance of students who did or did not participate in the experience, the results appear to confirm the positive effects of using methods that promote active learning, such as the one used in this experienceUniversidad de Huelva: Proyectos de Innovación e Investigación para la mejora de la Docencia UniversitariaDepartamento de Economía General y Estadístic

Trayectoria infantil del vocalismo español: aplicación de la teoría universalista de Jakobson y propuesta alternativa

A fin de indagar sobre la adquisición infantil del vocalismo en español, adoptamos dos perspectivas: 1ª) La teoría universalista de Jakobson y su aplicación al vocalismo del español: versión tradicional de la teoría de Jakobson. 2ª) Adaptación de la teoría de Jakobson a los datos empíricos aportados por diversos autores sobre la progresión infantil del vocalismo en español: versión renovada de la teoría de Jakobson. La versión tradicional y la renovada coinciden en el punto de partida –la vocal /a/- y en la prioridad de las vocales palatales sobre las velares, mientras que difieren en la adquisición de los grados de abertura. La secuencia conjunta, que integra la versión tradicional y la renovada, muestra de manera gráfica dos tramos específicos: las vías 1 y 2, que se corresponden con tipos de lengua. A su vez, cada vía incluye dos desdoblamientos, que responden a tipos de usuario. Se ha pasado, pues, de una universalidad teórica impuesta por Jakobson a una universalidad práctica o efectiva, en cuanto que tal secuencia conjunta implica una notable flexibilidad por disponer de diversos itinerarios paralelos.In order to investigate the child´s acquisition of vocalism in Spanish, we adopt two perspectives: 1st) The Jakobson’s universalist theory and its application to the Spanish vocalism: traditional version of the Jakobson’s theory. 2nd) Adaptation of the Jakobson´s theory to the empirical data provided by several authors about the children’s progression of vocalism in Spanish: renewed version of the Jakobson’s theory. The traditional and renewed version coincide at the starting point -the vowel /a/- and the priority of the palatal vowels over the velar ones, while they differ on the acquisition of degrees of opening. The joint sequence, which integrates the traditional and renewed versions, shows graphically two specific sections: ways 1 and 2, which correspond to types of language. In turn, each way splits in two, which correspond to user types. Therefore, we have gone from a theoretical universality imposed by Jakobson to a practical or effective universality, since that joint sequence involves remarkably flexibility because of having several parallel itineraries.A fin d´étudier l´acquisition de l´enfant des voyelles en espagnol, nous adoptons deux perspectives: 1er) la théorie universaliste de Jakobson et son application aux voyelles espagnoles: la versión traditionnelle de la théorie de Jakobson. 2e) l´adaptation de la théorie de Jakobson à des données empiriques fournies par divers auteurs sur la progression des voyelles chez les enfants espagnols: la version renouvelée de la théorie de Jakobson. La traditionnelle et renouvelée version sont d´accord pour le point de départ –la voyelle /a/– et la priorité des voyelles palatales sur vélaires, tout en différant sur l´acquisition de degrés d´ouverture. La séquence commune, qui intègre la versión traditionnelle et rénovée, montre graphiquement deux sections spécifiques: pistes 1 et 2, qui correspondent à des types de langue. À son tour, chaque canal comprend deux divisions, qui répondent à des types d´utilisateurs. Il est arrivé, par conséquent, d´une universalité théorique imposée par Jakobson à une universalité possible ou efficace, en ce qu´une telle séquence commune implique une flexibilité considérable en ayant plusieurs voies parallèles

Desarrollo de la articulación del signo en los mensajes infantiles de dos palabras: génesis de la su articulación sintáctica

En la lengua hablada del niño y con referencia exclusiva al español, queremos estudiar el desarrollo de la articulación del signo o primera articulación. A tenor de la información extraída de un artículo previo, la articulación del signo surge en el tercer estadio de la subetapa holofrástica a través de la subarticulación morfológica, pues el mensaje-palabra se articula en monemas. Ahora queremos centrarnos en la subetapa de dos palabras para perseguir el desarrollo de la articulación del signo a través de la subarticulación sintáctica, que implica a su vez una reformulación de la subarticulación morfológica: un mensaje incluye dos palabras (subarticulación sintáctica) y una palabra incluye dos monemas (subarticulación morfológica).The origin of the articulation of the sing -or first articulation- is studied in the child's spoken language, with reference only to Spanish. According to the findings of a previous paper, the articulation of the sign originates at fhe third phase of the holophrastic substage by means of morphologic subarticulation, since the word-message is articulated in monemes. Now the focus is set on the two word subastage to track the development of sing articulation through syntactic subarticulation, which also leads to reformulate the morphologic subarticulation: a message includes two words (syntactic subarticulation) and a word includes twu monemes (morphologic subarticulation).Dans la langue parlée de l'enfant et en rappot exclusif avec l'espagnol, nous voulons étudier le développement de l'articulation du signe ou premiére articulation. D'aprés l'information extraite d'un article préalable, l'articulation du signe surgir dans le troisiéme stade de la subétape holophrastique á travers la subarticulation morphologique, puisque le subétape message-mot s'articule en monemes. Maintenant nous voulons nous focaliser sur la subétape de deux mots pour pousuivre le dévelopement de l'articulation du signe a travers la subarticulation syntaxique, qui implique á son tour une reformulation de la subarticulation morphoñogique: un message incluí deum mots incluí deux monemes (subarticulation morphologique)

The moderating role of IPR on the relationship between country-level R&D and individual-level entrepreneurial performance

Using recent data drawn from the European Working Conditions Survey for 32 European countries, we explore the relationship between country-level expenditures on R&D, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), and individual-level entrepreneurial performance as measured by earnings. Our results show that both R&D expenditures and IPR are positively associated with earnings (and hence the quality) of individual entrepreneurs. However, we also find an intriguing moderation effect in the sense that IPR reduces the positive relationship between country R&D and entrepreneurial earnings. This suggests that too strict IPR legislation may hamper the diffusion of knowledge created by R&D. Hence, governments need to carefully consider the level of IPR they want to install, especially in countries with high R&D expenditures.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad: Proyectos ECO2017-86305-C4-2-R y ECO2017-86402-C2-2-R. Junta de Andalucía: Grupo de investigación SEJ-487 (Spanish Entrepreneurship Research Group – SERG). Universidad de Huelva: Estrategia de Política de Investigación y Transferencia.Departamento de Economía General y Estadístic

The choice to become self-employed and the decision to hire employees

My thesis consists of three chapters. In the rst chapter, The choice to become self-employed: acknowledging frictions, I develop and calibrate a search model of self- employment that is quantitatively consistent with the unemployment, paid employment and self-employment rates, the transitions between those states and the observed dis- tribution of earnings in self-employment and paid employment. I first report evidence indicating that many individuals choose self-employment as a route out of unemployment. Using data from the European Community Household Panel (ECHP; Eurostat), I find that the proportion of unemployed entering self-employment is higher that the proportion of paid employed entering self-employment. Then I find that the earnings of the self- employed coming from unemployment are lower than the earnings of the paid employed coming from unemployment. Moreover, I find that the self-employed coming from unemployment earn less than those coming from paid employment. This evidence cannot be captured by existing theoretical models of self-employment that assume a perfectly competitive environment in the labor market and ignore market frictions such as unemployment. I construct a model of self-employment where I allow for on-the-job search in both paid employment and self-employment. Workers receive job offers from a wage distribution and business ideas from an income distribution. The model captures the fact that the self-employed earn less in median and in mean than the paid employed and that the distribution of self-employment earnings exhibits greater variation. Unemployed individuals choose self-employment with associated low incomes because their option values in self-employment are better than those in unemployment. Self-employment is a transitory state for these workers who see in self-employment a door to paid employment. The model is then used to analyze the e¤ects of some policies that encourage self-employment. In the second chapter, How does employment protection legislation in uence hiring and ring decisions by the smallest firms? (joint with J.M. Millán, C. Román and A. van Stel), we examine the impact of employment protection legislation (EPL) on hiring decisions by own-account workers and ring decisions by very small rms (1-4 employees). Using data from the EU-15 countries, our results show that the strictness of employment protection legislation is negatively related to both these types of decisions, and hence, to labor mobility among the smallest firms. This new evidence may be useful for governments aiming to create a more enabling macro-environment for employment and productivity growth. Finally, in the third chapter Unraveling the relationship between the business cycle and the own-account worker s decision to hire employees (joint with J.M. Millán, C. Román and A. van Stel), We study the role of the business cycle in the individual decision of own-account workers to hire employees. Using panel data from the European Community Household Panel for the EU-15 countries, we show that own-account workers are less likely to hire employees during recessions. Next, we focus on identifying the underlying mechanisms of this negative relationship, while bearing in mind that liquidity constraints and unemployment are more common during recessions. First, we observe how liquidity constraints reduce the probability of transitioning from own-account worker to employer. Second, we nd that non-higher educated own-account workers who were formerly unemployed are less likely to take on employees compared to those who were formerly in paid employment. This lower likelihood does however not seem to apply to formerly unemployed own-account workers who enjoyed tertiary education. These results suggest that formal education and former work experience are important assets for own-account workers which increase the probability that they create new jobs. This new evidence may be useful for governments aiming to stimulate employment growth.Mi tesis consta de tres capítulos. En el primer capítulo, The choice to become self- employed: acknowledging frictions , elaboro y calibro un modelo de búsqueda con autoempleo que es consistente cuantitativamente con las tasas de desempleo, empleo asalariado y autoempleo, las probabilidades de transición entre estos estados y las distribuciones de ganancias en el autoempleo y el empleo asalariado. Primero reporto evidencia que indica que un gran número de individuos elige el autoempleo como una vía de escape al desempleo. Usando datos del Panel de Hogares de la Unión Europea (ECHP; Eurostat), hallo que los desempleados son más propensos que los empleados asalariados a entrar en el autoempleo. También hallo que las rentas de los autoempleados que vienen del desempleo son menores que las rentas de los empleados asalariados que vienen del desempleo. Es más, los autoempleados que provienen del desempleo ganan menos que aquellos que provienen del empleo asalariado. Los modelos teóricos de autoempleo que asumen un entorno per- fectamente competitivo en el mercado laboral e ignoran la existencia de fricciones como es el caso del desempleo, no son capaces de capturar esta evidencia. Construyo un modelo de autoempleo donde permito búsqueda de empleo mientras se está trabajando tanto en el empleo asalariado como en el autoempleo. Los trabajadores reciben ofertas de trabajo e ideas de negocios. El modelo captura el hecho de que los autoempleados ganan menos en media y en mediana que los empleados asalariados y que la distribución de ganancias de los autoempleados presenta una varianza mayor. Los desempleados eligen el autoempleo aunque sus ingresos sean bajos porque sus alternativas en el autoempleo son mejores que en el desempleo. El autoempleo es un estado transitorio para aquellos trabajadores que lo consideran como una entrada al empleo asalariado. Después, el modelo se usa para analizar el efecto de algunas políticas que promueven el autoempleo. En el Segundo capítulo, How does employment protection legislation in uence hiring and ring decisions by the smallest fi rms? (junto con J.M. Millán, C. Román and A. van Stel), examinamos el impacto de la legislación de protección al empleo sobre las decisiones de contratación por parte de los autónomos y las decisiones de despido por parte de las pequeñas empresas (1-4 trabajadores). Usando datos de los países de la EU-15, nuestros resultados muestran que la rigurosidad de de la legislación de protección al empleo está relacionada negativamente con ambos tipos de decisiones, y por tanto, con la movilidad laboral entre las empresas más pequeñas. Esta nueva evidencia podría ser útil para los gobiernos que pretenden crear un entorno macroeconómico para el empleo y el crecimiento de la productividad. Finalmente, en el tercer capítulo Unraveling the relationship between the business cycle and the own-account worker s decision to hire employees (junto con J.M. Millán, C. Román and A. van Stel), estudiamos el papel del ciclo economico en la decisión individual por parte de los autónomos de contratar trabajadores. Usando datos de los países de la EU-15, mostramos que los autónomos son menos propensos a contratar trabajadores durante las recesiones. A continuación, nos centramos en identi car los mecanismos subyacentes a esta relación negativa, mientras tenemos en cuenta que las restricciones de liquidez y el desempleo son más comunes durante los periodos de recesión. Primero observamos cómo las restricciones de liquidez reducen la probabilidad de transitar de autónomo a empleador. Segundo, hallamos que los autónomos que no possen educación superior y que previamente fueron desempleados son menos propensos a contratar trabajadores que aquellos que previamente fueron empleados asalariados. Sin embargo, esta menor probabilidad no parece ser aplicable a los autónomos previamente desempleados con educación terciaria. Estos resultados sugieren que la educación formal y la experiencia laboral previa son recursos importantes para los autónomos ya que incrementan la probabilidad de que creen nuevos puestos de trabajo. Esta nueva evidencia podría ser útil para los gobiernos que pretenden estimular el crecimiento del empleo

Decide to digitalize! Barriers, drivers and the entrepreneurial cognition perspective

This article introduces the special issue Decide to Digitalize! Barriers, Drivers and the Entrepreneurial Cognition Perspective. Nine research papers have been selected to reach two primary research aims: first, to understand how entrepreneurs, cognitively, make strategical decisions in order to be more competitive in the technology sector; second, to investigate how digital technologies and ICTs are being used in the context of SMEs and entrepreneurship.Consejería de Economía, Hacienda y Fondos Europeos - Junta de Andalucía (proyecto UHU-1265299)Departamento de Economía General y Estadístic

Trademarks and their association with Kirznerian entrepreneurs

Although trademarks are the most widely used form of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) by firms across all economic sectors worldwide, this indicator is a much less exploited information resource in empirical analysis compared with patents. Our work addresses this gap by investigating the relationship between trademark registration and entrepreneurial activity using data for 33 European countries. Our empirical results show a positive and significant relationship between the share of the self-employed workforce in a given country that can be considered ‘entrepreneurial’ –which we associate with the share of Kirznerian entrepreneurs– and trademark registration at the country level. These results have important implications for scholars, practitioners and policy makers, which are discussed in this work.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad: Proyectos de I+D+i ECO2017-86305-C4-2-R y ECO2017-86402-C2-2-R. Junta de Andalucía: Grupo de investigación SEJ-487 Spanish Entrepreneurship Research Group – SERG. Universidad de Huelva: Estrategia de Política de Investigación y Transferencia.Departamento de Economía General y Estadístic

Disability and health problems as barriers to employment in Spain

The labour inclusion of people with disabilities is one of the objectives of labour and social policies. Indeed, this group is perceived increasingly less as a group of people with physical and social limitations and more as people with goals and challenges that can be overcome with appropriate social and institutional support (Livermore et al., 2000). However, advances in this field are insufficient, according to data available from the Spanish Statistical Office. As an example, the employment rate of people with disabilities in 2016 was 25.1%, which is a 2.5-point increase since 2014; this rate is still 40 points below the employment rate of people without disabilities. Despite such limited progress, the number of studies on the relationship between disability and economic activity in Spain is scarce, and these studies have some limitations. Many are simply descriptive analyses. Other conditional analyses mainly examine labour participation, without distinguishing between the heterogeneous groups that coexist within each of these two situations: participation (e.g., self-employed, paid employees, unemployed) and nonparticipation (e.g., student, home workers, early retired individuals). Finally, most of them are based on relatively obsolete data

Disability and Health Problems as Barriers to Employment in Spain

This paper explores the role of different types of limitations, diseases and health problems on both the probability of working and the probability of belonging to different groups (entrepreneurs, civil servants, other paid employees, unemployed, inactive individuals and students). To this end, we apply binary and multinomial non-ordered discrete choice models to microdata drawn from the 2014 European Health Interview Survey for Spain. Our main results show that the probability of having a job is lower for those individuals with mental limitations or health problems. When distinguishing between groups, we see that neither physical nor mental limitations affect the probability of being a civil servant