Local human capital and productivity: an analysis for the Spanish regions

In the last decade, different studies have empirically tested the existence or not of a positive relationship between local human capital stock and regional productivity. The most usual finding has been a positive correlation among them. However, different authors do not agree when explaining this result. On one hand, a first group of authors argue that this relationship is related to the presence of external economies associated to human capital. On the other hand, a second group believe that the reason to find this positive relationship is the complementarity between human and physical capital. The objective of this paper is to analyse the possible existence of a positive relationship between the human capital stock of the Spanish provinces (NUTS III regions) and their productivity and, next, to test if this relationship can be explained by the presence of external economies. This is done using data from the Family Budget Survey (EPF) on individual wages, education and experience for the 50 considered Spanish provinces.

Overeducation and Local Labour Markets in Spain

The objective of this paper is to analyze the influence of individual variables and some characteristics related to spatial mobility in regional labour markets on overeducation in Spain. With this aim, we use microdata from the Spanish Budget Family Survey to estimate a logit model for overeducation probability taking into account the problem of selection bias and the presence of data of different levels (individuals and territory). The obtained results permit us to conclude that the size of local labour markets and the possibility of extending the job search to other labour markets through commuting are relevant factors to explain overeducation in the Spanish labour market. In spite of the differences in terms of labour market institutions, our results are very similar to the ones obtained for other countries.educational mismatch, Spain, multilevel, commuting, job mismatch, differential overeducation

Overeducation and local labour markets in Spain

One aspect that has not been widely considered by the literature on the topic is differential overeducation, the existence of differences among men and women in terms of overeducation as a result of the geographical restrictions of married woman when searching for job. In this context, Büchel y Van Ham (2002) have highlighted the relevance of spatial mobility in regional labour markets (basically commuting) as an explanatory factor of women differential overeducation, but also of global overeducation.The objective is this paper is to test the influence of individual variables and some characteristics of regional labour markets related with spatial mobility on overducation in the Spanish Economy. With this aim, we use microdata from the Encuesta de Presupuesto Familiares 1990-91 (Budget Family Survey). The results permits us to conclude that the size of local labour markets and the possibility of increasing the job search to other labour markets through commuting are relevant factors to explain overducation in the Spanish labour market.

The Portability of Human Capital and Immigrant Assimilation: Evidence for Spain

The existing literature on immigrant assimilation has highlighted the imperfect portability of human capital acquired by immigrants in their country of origin (Chiswick, 1978; Friedberg, 2000). This would explain the low levels of assimilation upon arrival in the new country, as well as the wide initial earnings gap. Recent studies (Chiswick and Miller, 2007 or Green, Kler and Leeves, 2007, among others) have dealt with this issue from the perspective of over-education. This study analyses the portability of immigrants’ human capital into the Spanish job market according to their geographic origin. It also aims to compare the most notable empirical regularities found in the aforementioned studies with the situation in Spain. The results obtained indicate differing degrees of the transferability of human capital depending on geographic origin, as transferability is greater for countries that are highly developed or have a similar culture or language and lower for developing countries and those with more distant cultures. The evidence is relatively disparate for the two components of human capital as although it is particularly clear for schooling, it is less so for experience. The results also confirm that in Spain immigrants suffer from over-education, in both incidence and intensity, implying a higher relative wage penalty and a greater negative impact on immigrants from the second group of countries. As an immigrant’s stay in Spain advances, a process of assimilation does exist, except for Asians and, in some circumstances, those from Sub-Saharan Africa, though the pace is very slow.immigration, over-education, wages, assimilation

Occupational Mobility of Immigrants in a Low Skilled Economy: The Spanish Case

We analyze the occupational mobility of immigrants between their origin countries and Spain and its determinants. We use microdata from the Encuesta Nacional de Inmigrantes to compute an internationally harmonized occupational status index (ISEI) that permits to quantify and properly analyze this kind of mobility. The obtained evidence shows that, in general, immigrants experience a strong occupational downgrading in Spain when compared to their origin countries. This fact is due to the strong downgrading they experience when entering the Spanish labour market and their low improvement in the following years.immigration, occupational mobility, Spain

Immigrant Wages in the Spanish Labour Market: Does the Origin of Human Capital Matter?

The aim of this paper is to analyse the role played by the different components of human capital in the wage determination of recent immigrants within the Spanish labour market. Using microdata from the Encuesta Nacional de Inmigrantes 2007, the paper examines returns to human capital of immigrants, distinguishing between human capital accumulated in their home countries and in Spain. It also examines the impact on wages of the legal status. The evidence shows that returns to host country sources of human capital are higher than returns to foreign human capital, reflecting the limited international transferability of the latter. The only exception occurs in the case of immigrants from developed countries and immigrants who have studied in Spain. Whatever their home country, they obtain relatively high wage returns to education, including the part not acquired in the host country. Having legal status in Spain is associated with a substantial wage premium of around 15%. Lastly, the overall evidence confirms the presence of a strong heterogeneity in wage returns to different kinds of human capital and in the wage premium associated to the legal status as a function of the immigrants' area of origin.immigration, wages, human capital

Study for obtaining the energy certificate in a hockey club building located in Terrassa

The main objective of this project is to carry out an energy certification of Club Egara, located in Terrassa, in order to improve the energy efficiency of the club. Two energy certifications have been planned, a basic one and an exhaustive one, which will be conducted using the CE3X software, a specialized program for energy certifications. After comparing the certifications with the actual energy consumption of the building, several alternatives will be analyzed that can contribute to improving the energy efficiency of the building