Calidad de gobierno y crecimiento regional en la Unión Europea ampliada: componentes, evolución y efectos de desbordamiento espacial

This paper investigates the relationship between government quality and regional economic growth in 206 EU-28 regions during the period 2010-2017. We use the European Quality of Government Index (EQI), based on the pillars of quality, impartiality and corruption and provide results for both the aggregated index and its three components. We find a negative evolution of government quality across regions over the studied period. Overall, the econometric results, obtained via Ordinary Least Squares and Spatial Lag models suggest that improvements in the quality of government positively contribute to economic growth, although larger impacts are found for EU-15 regions in comparison with regions from countries that joined the European Union after 2004. Finally, we find that spatial spillovers matter, as a great proportion of the effect of government quality on growth is indirect. In that regard, when analyzing different components of government quality in the spatial models, a clear influence is found for corruption and impartiality, whereas results are weaker for the quality of public services.Este trabajo investiga la relación entre la calidad de gobierno y el crecimiento económico regional en 206 regiones de la UE-28 durante el período 2010-2017. Utilizamos el Índice Europeo de Calidad de Gobierno (EQI), basado en los pilares de calidad, imparcialidad y corrupción, y proporcionamos resultados tanto para el índice agregado como para sus tres componentes. Encontramos una evolución negativa de la calidad de gobierno en las regiones durante el período estudiado. En general, los resultados econométricos, obtenidos mediante Mínimos Cuadrados Ordinarios y modelos de retardo espacial sugieren que las mejoras en la calidad de gobierno contribuyen positivamente al crecimiento económico, aunque se identifican mayores impactos para las regiones de la UE-15 en comparación con las regiones de los países que se incorporaron a la Unión Europea después de 2004. Finalmente, los efectos de contagio espacial son importantes, ya que una gran proporción del efecto de la calidad de gobierno en el crecimiento es indirecto. En este sentido, al analizar los diferentes componentes de la calidad de gobierno en los modelos espaciales, se encuentra una influencia clara para la corrupción y la imparcialidad, mientras que los resultados son más débiles para la calidad de los servicios públicos

Can trust effects on development be generalized? A response by quantile

While the beneficial effects of social trust on economic performance have been largely recognized, we analyze whether these effects can be generalized for economies at different stages of economic development. Contrary to previous studies on this issue based on average effects (mostly considering ordinary least squares estimations), we follow a quantile regression approach that enables us to capture heterogeneous effects of trust for different development levels. By considering data for 80 countries, and using trust indicators from five different waves of the World Values Survey (WVS), our results by quantile indicate that trust is not relevant for the poorest economies, showing the existence of a social poverty trap. In addition, results suggest that the impact of trust on income decreases as an economy becomes richer. This would suggest not only that trust benefits cannot be generalized for all countries, as some previous studies have proposed, but also that the extent of its implications are heavily dependent on the level of development

Growth in a time of external imbalances

Globalization and financial integration have increased in the last three decades giving rise to cumulated large external imbalances. The question we address in this paper is whether economic growth can be affected by these external imbalances. We estimate an augmented growth equation with the external stock position of the countries measured by the net foreign asset position. Unlike previous literature, we use non- parametric methods that capture nonlinearities and heterogeneity, and apply them to a sample that includes 106 developed and developing countries for the period 1983- 2011. Contrary to the neoclassical theory, we find that improvements in the external position foster growth. However, our results are in line with current theoretical contributions, suggesting that the effect of the net foreign asset position on growth is heterogeneous across countries and that there is no universal mechanism. In particular, we find that the impact depends on characteristics of the countries such as institutional quality, openness and financial development

Is full banking integration desirable?

We analyze the links between banking integration and economic development for a sample of OECD countries. We measure banking integration considering indicators that merge not only openness but also connectedness with other banking systems. We plug these indicators into income regressions, also controlling for other relevant variables considered by the literature. In contrast to previous initiatives, this second stage explicitly takes into account the differing levels of economic development of the countries in our sample, since the benefits of enhanced banking integration might not be generalizable. To this end, we implement quantile regression, also considering the presence of endogenous regressors. Results show that bank connectedness is more important for economic development than bank openness, but the combined effect (i.e., banking integration) overall is positive and significant. The quantile regression models used in the second stage show that the effects are stronger for the poorest economies

La plataforma Socrative como herramienta de aprendizaje: Un a aplicación a la asignatura Métodos Cuantitativos

Los métodos cuantita tivos proporcionan una herramienta de análisis esencial y ap licable a la práctica totalidad de las ra mas de la economía, incluyendo la Economía P ública. El análisis de las políticas públicas, su eficacia y efici encia es de especial relevancia y , por tanto, es un elemento que debe ser trasladado tam bién a las aulas. La asignatura Métodos Cuantitativos impartida en los grados de Economía, Finanzas y Contabilidad y Administración y Dirección de Empresas de la Universitat Jaume I tiene un componente práctico de sta ca ble , en el que se incluyen e jercicios de la rama de Economía P ública, en tre otras. Este trabajo presenta la implementación de técnicas de mobile learning en el aula. En concreto, se estimula la competición en tre estudiantes mediante el uso de la plata forma Socrative . Los resultados muestran mejoras en la adquisición de conocimientos y en la participación de los alumnos en el desarrollo de las clases , así como una elevada aceptación y satisfacción entre el alumnado .Quantitative methods provide an essential tool of analysis in virtually al l branches in economics, including also Public E conomics . The analysis of public poli cies, their effectiveness and their efficiency is of special relevance, and therefore, an element that must be tr ansferred also to the classroom . The subject Q uantitative M ethods taught in the degrees of Economics, Finance and Accounting and Business Manag ement of the Universitat Jaume I has a remarkable practical component, which inclu des exercises in the branch of Public E conomics, among others. This paper describes the implementation of mobile learning methods in the class. In particular, students compet ition in class using the Socrative platform. The results suggest improvements in the acquisition of knowledge and in the parti cipation of the students in lessons , as well as a high rate of acceptance and satisfaction among students

On the drivers of successful crowdfunding: The case of the platform Verkami

This article analyzes the determinants of successful crowdfunding initiatives using a sample of 5,251 projects from the reward-based Spanish platform Verkami. In contrast to most of the literature that has measured success with a dichotomous variable, we approach success with a continuous one, namely the ratio of achievement, which is measured as the obtained resources over the total amount requested by the promoter. We consider a set of potential determinants of success, which are theoretically well-grounded and cover a variety of spheres related to project features. Results suggest that factors related to the signaling theories such as partnership, having previous experience and interaction with backers are positively associated with the achievement ratio, whereas no significant impact is found for the number of rewards. In addition, we find uneven effects for low and high ratios of achievement, identifying the key determinants in different project stages

Quality of government and economic growth at the municipal level: Evidence from Spain

This paper analyzes the relationship between government efficiency—an important dimension of quality of government—and economic growth at the municipal level in 1,820 Spanish municipalities during the period 2008–2015. At this level of disaggregation, the literature is virtually nonexistent due to severe data constraints. The efficiency of local government provides an accurate indicator of how good local authorities are in managing their budget. This variable is expected to be highly correlated with other more traditional quality of government indicators, such as corruption. After computing our measure, we then use it in a growth regression framework. We find a dominant positive effect of government efficiency on income per capita growth, which is robust to a wide variety of scenarios. Our findings also suggest that increases in local government quality are particularly rewarding for the poorest municipalities.Funding for open access charge: CRUE-Universitat Jaume

Does happiness drive tourism decisions?

This research examines the role that happiness plays in affecting tourism flows. While most previous studies are country-specific, our analysis is performed with panel data on 142 countries from 2005 to 2019. This allows us to implement a structural gravity model that includes both domestic and international tourism flows, which is a novel approach in this branch of the literature. Our empirical strategy enables us to correctly identify happiness when multilateral resistance terms are included. The results show that happiness at a destination is a significant tourist attractor, although the link follows an inverted U-shaped pattern. This suggests that tourists associate happiness with the quality of life at a destination but after a threshold, it becomes less important. Moreover, when cultural distance is greater, the effect of happiness on tourism arrivals is smaller. Therefore, tourists can better interpret happiness when origin and destination cultures are similar

Is the European Social Progress Index robust? Implications for the design of European Union regional Cohesion Policy

The European Social Progress Index (EU-SPI) is a composite index launched by the European Commission in 2016 to assesssocial progress. It is constructed using non-economic indicators, and is intended to serve as a tool for European regionalpolicies. This paper shows that the 2020 release of the index is robust to multiple alternative designs, and thus suitable forpolicymaking. The EU-SPI and gross domestic product per capita (GDPpc) are positively correlated, although they are in noway substitutes. Thesefindings suggest that the EU-SPI could complement the GDPpc as an instrument to determineeligibility and achieve a more citizen-oriented allocation of European Cohesion Policy fund

Regional well-being in the OECD

This paper analyses convergence in well-being across 395 OECD regions in the period 2000–2014 using data from the Regional Well-being Dataset. It is widely known that well-being is a concept that goes far beyond income. However, whereas papers analysing convergence on income abound, the literature considering convergence in well-being is vir- tually nonexistent, especially at the regional level. Convergence is approached following the distribution dynamics technique and conditional density estimation (CDE), well-established data-driven methods that allow for the assessment of the shape and the time evolution of the kernel distribution of well-being. Moreover, the paper also assesses the role of a set of potential well-being determinants. Results show great disparities across the OECD regions, and no signs of convergence in the studied period. On the contrary, regions polarised into two clubs of low and high well-being, and country level factors explain in a large extent the observed tendencies