Quality in work and aggregate productivity

We explore the relationship between quality in work and aggregate productivity in regions and sectors. Using recent Spanish aggregate data for the period 2001-2006, we find that quality in work may be an important factor to explain productivity levels in sectors and regions. We use two alternatives definitions of quality in work: one from survey data and the other from a social indicators approach. We also use two different measurements of labour productivity to test the robustness of our results. The estimates are run using a simultaneous equation model for our panel of data, and find important differences between high tech and low tech sectors: a positive relationship between quality in work and productivity in the former case, and a negative relationship in the latter. Consequently, on the one hand we see that quality in work is not only an objective per se,but may also be a production factor able to increase the wealth of regions; on the other hand, at the aggregate level, we may also find that high productivity levels coincide with lower quality in work conditions.Productivity, Quality in Work, Simultaneous, Equation Models.

"Agglomeration, Inequality and Economic Growth"

The impact of income inequality on economic growth is dependent on several factors, including the time horizon considered, the initial level of income and its initial distribution. Yet, as growth and inequality are also uneven across space, it is also pertinent to consider the effects of the geographical agglomeration of economic activity. Moreover, it would also seem pertinent to consider not just the levels of inequality and agglomeration, but also the changes they undergo (i.e., their within-country evolution) and how these two processes interact with each other. By applying different econometric specifications and by introducing different measures of agglomeration at country level (specifically, urbanization and urban concentration rates), this study analyzes how inequality and agglomeration (both their levels and their evolution) influence economic growth in function of the country’s level of development and its initial income distribution. Our results suggest, in line with previous studies, that while high inequality levels are a limiting factor for long-run growth, increasing inequality and increasing agglomeration have the potential to enhance growth in low-income countries where income distribution remains relatively equal, but can result in congestion diseconomies in high-income countries, especially if income distribution becomes particularly unequal.Agglomeration, urbanization, urban concentration, congestion diseconomies, inequality, growth JEL classification:O1, O4, R1

Defining housing market areas using commuting and migration algorithms.Catalonia (Spain) as an applied case study.

In the literature on housing market areas, different approaches can be found to defining them, for example, using travel-to-work areas and, more recently, making use of migration data. Here we propose a simple exercise to shed light on which approach performs better. Using regional data from Catalonia, Spain, we have computed housing market areas with both commuting data and migration data. In order to decide which procedure shows superior performance, we have looked at uniformity of prices within areas. The main finding is that commuting algorithms present more homogeneous areas in terms of housing prices.

Is football an indicator of development at the international level? (WP)

[spa] El objetivo de este trabajo es examinar si el fútbol puede ser considerado como un indicador de desarrollo a nivel internacional. Se ha diseñado un modelo econométrico empírico con el fin de analizar el desarrollo en términos de niveles de PIB per cápita y del crecimiento del PIB. Se utiliza información transversal y temporal. Los resultados sugieren que la clasificación FIFA de las selecciones nacionales se puede utilizar para complementar nuestra comprensión del desarrollo multidimensional en aquellos países donde la disponibilidad de la información no es tan buena como los investigadores quisieran.[eng] The aim of this paper is to examine whether football can be considered an indicator of development at the international level. An empirical econometric model is designed in order to analyse development in terms of both levels of GDP per capita and GDP growth. Cross-sectional and time series information is used. The results suggest that FIFA rankings of national teams can be used to complement our understanding of multidimensional development in those countries where the availability of information is not as good as researchers would like

Quality of life and urban size

Optimal City Size Theory has been superseded by new paradigms, such as the supply-oriented dynamic approach or the city network. Nevertheless, several aspects remain to be considered. First, the quality of life concept, which in many models enters into utility functions of households, can be addressed in a different way. Secondly, the bi-directional relationship between amenities and disamenities on the one hand and city size on the other needs to be considered. Both these points are empirically tested with instrumental variables in a local dynamic framework, the 314 municipalities belonging to the province of Barcelona (Spain), in the period 1991-2000.

REGIONAL AND URBAN SCIENCE IN FRANCE: RANKINGS OF AUTHORS AND INSTITUTIONS AND PUBLICATION PATTERNS DURING THE NINETIES

This article analyses the evolution experienced by research in urban and regional science in France between 1991 and 2000, comparing these changes with wider international trends. Nine of the leading international journals of regional and urban studies were used in drawing up rankings of countries, authors and institutions and in exploring publication patterns. We examine the strategy adopted by the French in establishing themselves within the world's top five in regional and urban research and report a number of interesting findings when comparisons are drawn internationally.REGIONAL AND URBAN SCIENCE, BIBLIOMETRICS, RANKINGS

Research networks and scientific production in Economics, The recent Spanish Experience.

This paper studies Spanish scientific production in Economics from 1994 to 2004. It focuses on aspects that have received little attention in other bibliometric studies, such as the impact of research and the role of scientific collaborations in the publications produced by Spanish universities. Our results show that national research networks have played a fundamental role in the increase in Spanish scientific production in this discipline.Bibliometric techniques, scientific production in Economics, research networks.

The institutional vs. the academic definition of the quality of work life. What is the focus of the European Commission?

In recent years, we have seen how the quality of work life has been focused and defined by the European Commission (EC). In our study we compare the EC definition with the academic one and try to see how close they are. We also analyse the possibility of applying the institutional definition to the Spanish case through the development of specific indicators. Our main conclusions are that QWL is increasingly important for policy makers. In addition, it is essential to have objective indicators and to conduct surveys in order to reliably measure QWL.

Social representations of climate change among students from Helsinki region universities

Only abstract. Paper copies of master’s theses are listed in the Helka database (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Electronic copies of master’s theses are either available as open access or only on thesis terminals in the Helsinki University Library.Vain tiivistelmä. Sidottujen gradujen saatavuuden voit tarkistaa Helka-tietokannasta (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Digitaaliset gradut voivat olla luettavissa avoimesti verkossa tai rajoitetusti kirjaston opinnäytekioskeilla.Endast sammandrag. Inbundna avhandlingar kan sökas i Helka-databasen (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Elektroniska kopior av avhandlingar finns antingen öppet på nätet eller endast tillgängliga i bibliotekets avhandlingsterminaler.Social representations of climate change were examined among university students in three focus groups. The study is based on two different data sets: focus group interviews and the free-word association task. Altogether, 12 Finnish and international interviewees participated in the focus groups discussions and in the free-word association task. Word association procedures are a common method used in social representations research. This technique produces unfiltered, relatively context-free and spontaneous utterances thus providing a unique means to access and asses subjected meanings. Through this technique contents of social representations of climate change were identified. More than fifteen associations were generally accepted contents of climate change by the participants. The most mentioned associations include: natural disasters, politics of climate change, global warming and high emissions of CO2, environmental pollution, and renewable energy, greenhouse effect, developed vs. developing countries, sea level rising, Al Gore and melting glaciers among others. Focus group discussions usually provide an insight into the formation and change of social representations, beliefs, knowledge and ideologies that circulate in societies. The resulting material of focus groups is source of richness of ideas and interactions. The textual material was analyzed based on themes and content. These analyses indicates that social representations of climate change are composed of eight central themes: knowledge about climate change causes, effects of climate change, personal views and perceptions of climate change, the way in which the mass media reports/portrays climate change, proposed solutions, appreciations of modern human beings, and other global concerns related to climate change. Each theme was made of several topics that emerged during the focus group discussions. The central finding of the study is that social representations of climate change seem to exist among university students of Helsinki region Universities. There is a shared understanding of climate change among the participants, and the term has entered everyday life and is part of many people’s daily conversation. Social representations make the unfamiliar familiar; it is from common experiences and memories that people draw the images, language, and gestures required to deal with the unfamiliarities that come along with uncertainties. People’s reliance on the familiar as the preferred reference point is a universal phenomenon