A case study of agri-food systems in rural Spain: Impacts, responses and institutional lessons

[Abstract]Galicia is one of Spain's leading regions regarding agricultural and livestock production. In the light of the COVID-19 crisis, the permeability to the economic shocks of these sectors led to an unprecedented recession, given the heterogeneity of their characteristics, resulting in widespread losses. The main objective of this article is to ana- lyze the impact of COVID-19 in the agricultural and livestock sectors in Galicia and, at the same time, identify the degree of affectation in each of these sectors, determine the impact of the pandemic in each province and study the institu- tional responses to the COVID-19 crisis. For this purpose, financial analysis of these sectors will be carried out through a sample of 998 companies. The results show a variation in operating income of –16.41% in the agricultural sector and –9.15% in the livestock sector in Galicia, although they are mixed across the different provinces of the region. Despite the articulation of a network of public aids and the adoption of new commercialization strategies, there are sub-sectors with high losses, such as the ornamental plant industry and the subsector dedicated to the production of beef.Supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (MCIN) (Project No. RTI2018-099225-B-100), Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria of the Xunta de Galicia (Grants No. ED481A-2018/341, ED481B2018/095, ED431C2018/48, and ED431E2018/07

Multilevel governance, PV solar energy, and entrepreneurship: the generation of green hydrogen as a fuel of renewable origin

In Spain, the institutional framework for photovoltaic energy production has experienced distinct stages. From 2007 to 2012, the feed-in-tariff system led to high annual growth rates of this renewable energy, but after the suppression of the policy of public subsidies, the sector stagnated. In recent years, green hydrogen, an innocuous gas in the atmosphere, has become a driving force that stimulates photovoltaic energy production. Since 2020, encouraged by the European energy strategies and corresponding funds, Spain has established a regulation to promote green hydrogen as a form of energy resource. Adopting the new institutional economics (NIE) approach, this article investigates the process of changing incentives for the energy business sector and its impact on photovoltaic energy production. The results show an increase in the number of both projects, approved or on approval, and companies involved in green hydrogen, that are planning to use photovoltaic energy in Spain, thus engendering the creation of a new photovoltaic business environment based on innovation and sustainability.Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431C2018/48Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431E2018/07Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481B2018/095Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. RTI2018-099225-B-10

Exploring the ecological efficiency as the path to resilience

The permanent changes in society affect, among other, the environment. This is why environmental efficiency plays a very important role, being quantified in different forms. In our paper we have developed a composite index of ecological efficiency taking into account two dimensions, environmental pollution and resource consumption, each one being characterized by specific indicators. Thus, using this index, the aim was to evaluate and rank the level of greening of each country in Europe. Crises over time, including the health crisis caused by coronavirus, have focused to resilience, so we have highlighted whether it is significantly influenced by the ecological efficiency index. In addition, we analyzed whether ecological efficiency is related to investments in a country, financial, material and technological potential

Environmental protection between social responsibility, green investments and cultural values

In a well functional and competitive economy all the entrepreneurs are aware of the importance of protecting the environment, development of local communities and the good relations with stakeholders. The necessity imposed by a sustainable development has many influences on the company’s activities because in order to equilibrate their profit`s motivation with their social and environment implications. This article is focused on the way of different investors integrated in their strategies the environment preoccupations. The actions of companies are shaped by different stakeholders like consumers, public authorities, shareholders, international organizations and other entities

Environmental protection between social responsibility, green investments and cultural values

In a well functional and competitive economy all the entrepreneurs are aware of the importance of protecting the environment, development of local communities and the good relations with stakeholders. The necessity imposed by a sustainable development has many influences on the company’s activities because in order to equilibrate their profit`s motivation with their social and environment implications. This article is focused on the way of different investors integrated in their strategies the environment preoccupations. The actions of companies are shaped by different stakeholders like consumers, public authorities, shareholders, international organizations and other entities

Transformations of European agricultural sector, market and model under the influence of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)

The European agricultural sector is, for the last decades, a subject to a quite extensive and important transformations imposed by the new paradigm`s changing of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), especially the influences of complex phenomena such as integration and globalization of markets under pressure impose by changes in the global economy. From this perspective, the agriculture is not only a traditional economic sector designed to ensure the food safety and food security, but also a complex one; the agriculture becoming multifunctional in rural communities and diversification of the pluriactivities. In this article are analyzed some of the major transformations of this sector, form the perspective of the European agricultural market and European agricultural model under the CAP`s influence

Transformations of European agricultural sector, market and model under the influence of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)

The European agricultural sector is, for the last decades, a subject to a quite extensive and important transformations imposed by the new paradigm`s changing of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), especially the influences of complex phenomena such as integration and globalization of markets under pressure impose by changes in the global economy. From this perspective, the agriculture is not only a traditional economic sector designed to ensure the food safety and food security, but also a complex one; the agriculture becoming multifunctional in rural communities and diversification of the pluriactivities. In this article are analyzed some of the major transformations of this sector, form the perspective of the European agricultural market and European agricultural model under the CAP`s influence

Analysis on the impact of investments, energy use and domestic material consumption in changing the Romanian economic paradigm

The main aim of the paper is to assess the impact of fix capital, energy use and domestic material consumption in changing the inland Romanian economic paradigm, from an economic perspective, using the intensive form of the Cobb-Douglas function. In order to identify various connections of economic growth, sustainable development, energy usage has determined the application of the vector error correction (VEC) model and the implied error correction term (ECT). This method was chosen based on the premise that it has a high degree of applicability and it can be used in order to revile significant aspects terms of indicator significance and displays. The results obtained during the research confirm that both in Romania and at EU-28 level there are determinant and significant elements shaping a proactive economic policy

The relation between foreign direct investments and some economic indicators. The case of Romanian economy

Foreign direct investments (FDI) are a force that shapes the world economy. Stocks and flows of FDI (inward and outward) are indicators followed with great attention by national and international entities and they are correlated with other macroeconomic indicators to detect trends at regional, national and international levels and to determine the degree of development of a country. The dramatically changes that occurred in world economy in the last 30 years have generated major changes on the motivations of foreign investors, the emergence of new types of economic agents that generate foreign direct investments and new international regulations regarding FDI. In this article, the authors analyzed the relations between FDI, import, export and GDP for Romania economy for the period 1990-2014. The research methodology applied is based on the Augmented Dickey-Fuller statistic test and the Granger causality test, the datasets for the variables included in the study have been drawn from official data sources, the UNCTAD database and the National Statistics Institute of Romania’s database (TEMPO). To present their results, the authors have used graphical and table-based instruments, which provides better understanding of the research outputs. Also, the study is placed within the context and historical landmarks of the Romanian economy, the results and conclusions emphasize the effects of certain actions and events on the indicators and correlations analyzed

Quality management and social responsibility in the context of sustainable development

The authors have analyzed two major determinants of sustainable development: quality management and social responsibility. The sustainable development is a concept used not only by researchers in domains like economics or ecology, but also by managers of different types of organizations that try to transpose this concept in real life. Many organizations like corporations, public institutions or small and medium enterprises promote the goals of sustainable development in their activity through various instruments like social responsibility's programs or the use of different standards. So, the aim of this article is to analyze the relationship between quality management, social responsibility and sustainable development