Institutional diversity in the euro area: Any evidence of convergence?

In recent years differences in the institutional structure across euro area countries are becoming a cause of concern both for some individual Member States and for the functioning of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). From a global competitiveness perspective, we deal with the diversity in the institutional environment in the EMU. In particular, we assess whether the changes in the state of institutions provide convergence across euro area countries between 2006 and 2015. In addition, among the institutional indicators considered, we compute which institutional aspect contributes more to overall inequality in the state of institutions, as well as the contribution of each country to inequality considering as benchmark the country with the highest institutional quality. According to these country contributions, we highlight distinct patterns of convergence between ‘core’ and ‘periphery’ euro area countries and raise potential links between the institutional changes across euro area countries and both the differences in the intensity of the financial and economic crisis, and the policy responses in terms of fiscal consolidation applied by the respective national governments.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Does economic freedom increase income inequality? Evidence from the EU countries

Over the past decades there have been considerable changes in policies and institutions in favor of economic freedom in the EU countries. This trend coincides with widespread increases in income inequality in numerous member states. To what extent does economic freedom encourage inequality? This paper examines the relationship between economic freedom and income inequality in the EU countries using panel data for the 2000s. The empirical evidence suggests that economic freedom seems to entail greater income inequality. However, not all areas of economic freedom affect income distribution similarly. While government size and regulation appear to be robustly associated with income inequality, legal system and property rights, sound money, and freedom to trade internationally seem not to be significantly related with income distribution in the European context.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Disparities in entrepreneurship indicators across EU countries

The levels and characteristics of entrepreneurship differ widely across EU member countries due to diverse cultural, educational, economic-financial and institutional reasons. Taking as reference data provided by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), this paper analyzes the disparities in entrepreneurship indicators among the EU member countries in 2007 and 2013, highlighting the most significant changes occurred during the Great Recession. For this purpose, some of the major indices of inequality have been calculated, namely the Gini, Theil and Atkinson indices. In addition, the change in the Gini coefficient between these two years is additively decomposed into mobility and progressivity components, and growth incidence curves of some key indicators of entrepreneurial activity are estimated. Overall, we find that inequality among countries in most entrepreneurial attitude and aspiration indicators tends to diminish over the period 2007-2013. For all indicators the reduction is more generalized across the efficiency-driven economies than across the innovation-driven economies.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Incorporating Uncertainty and Cero Values into the Valuation of Protected Areas and Species

Under the Spanish conservation law, compensation is envisaged for the damage associated with all actions that reduce the quantity or quality of protected areas and species. This paper provides a tool to evaluate the monetary equivalent of this damage. We conduct a contingent valuation exercise to estimate the existence value related to protected areas and species in Aragon. This estimate is then reconsidered including the possibility of zero bids and also the possibility of uncertain preferences for non-familiar goods. Considering these two effects, mean values are reduced significantly giving support to previous recommendations of dividing by two contingent valuation estimates from dichotomous choice question formats.natural heritage, contingent valuation, Spike model, uncertainty, Land Economics/Use, B23, C24, C42, C52, D62, Q26,

Entrepreneurship and Economic Liberalization in the OECD Countries

Entrepreneurship displays remarkable differences across countries because of diverse factors. In this sense, it is frequently argued that economic liberalization encourages entrepreneurship. In this paper we address the extent to which economic freedom, understood as market economy oriented institutions and policies, matters for entrepreneurial activity through a panel data analysis for 78 countries during the period 2001-2012. We examine the relationship between the Fraser Institute’s economic freedom index and its five areas, and three entrepreneurial activity indicators from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, namely total entrepreneurial activity, necessity entrepreneurship and opportunity entrepreneurship. Economic freedom seems to increase opportunity entrepreneurship and decrease necessity entrepreneurship. Focusing on the OECD countries, we highlight that economic freedom is positively associated with entrepreneurship. In terms of entrepreneurship motivation, we find that a more flexible regulation of credit, labor and business, as well as entrepreneurial attitudes, may contribute to enhance opportunity entrepreneurshipUniversidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Examinig the roloe of economic liberalization in entrepeneurship: a cross-country study

In the last few decades some authors have underlined the role of institutions and policies for entrepreneurship. North (1990) underlines that entrepreneurs are the main agents of change and that organizations, such as firms set up by entrepreneurs, adapt their activities and strategies to fit the opportunities and limitations provided through formal and informal institutional frameworks. Baumol (1990) hypothesizes that entrepreneurial individuals channel their efforts in different directions depending on the quality of prevailing economic, political, and legal institutions. Sobel (2008) asserts that better institutions have both more productive entrepreneurship and also less unproductive entrepreneurship. He stresses that the best path to foster entrepreneurship is through institutional reforms that constrain or minimize the role of government. In this context, economic freedom may be seen as a significant aspect for entrepreneurial activity and it is frequently argued that economic liberalization encourages entrepreneurship. In this paper we address the extent to which economic freedom, understood as market economy oriented institutions and policies, matters for entrepreneurial activityUniversidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

The location of the Spanish technological centers

The Technological Centers have been created with the aim of being a supplier of different R&D's activities and services for those entreprises with a lack of material and financial resources to develop by themselves an innovation process. In most cases, these enterprises are SME's (Small and Medium Enterprises) placed in the area of influence of each Technological Center. Usually, these Technological Centers are located in strategic areas with specific characteristics like to be closed to the SME's (one of the valued highly characteristics by them), a good access to qualified staff and the existence of a good innovation environment. So, this situation has promoted that many decisions about the creation of the Technological Centers have depended on the distance between these and the SME's-clients. The purpose of this work will be the study about where are stablished the Spanish Technological Centers and it will be analysed if the metropolitan areas have been a key factor in their creation. First, we will analyse the spacial distribution of the possible SME'sclients of the Technological Centers (the Spanish industry). We also study how the Technological Centers are integrated in the national and regional goverment Technological Policy.

Who takes the cake Effects of ECB monetary policy across income classes

This work provides evidence on the effects of monetary policy on the income class structure via stimulating economic activity and employment in Eurozone countries over the period 2007Q32016Q1. Based on European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) data, we compute the share of the market income perceived by each income class (lower, lower-middle, upper-middle, and upper) for the states that originated the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU11). We analyse the impact of monetary policy impulses under a Bayesian Vector Autoregressive approach and find that a monetary easing shock involving a decrease in nominal interest rates tends to increase the income share of middle classes at the expense of a smaller income share of the upper class, while, the lower class is not significantly affected. Our findings highlight the identified effects are mostly triggered by short-term interest rates cuts as long as they tend to vanish as the monetary policy proxy is located further in the yield curve. This suggests that the egalitarian impacts of monetary policy on market income distribution are to a lesser extent driven by decisions modifying longer-term interest rates.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Multidimensional poverty in the EU: rethinking AROPE through a multi-criteria analysis

At risk of poverty or social exclusion rate (AROPE) constitutes the pivotal indicator of living conditions and poverty in the European Union. Nevertheless, as a multidimensional poverty measure, it has some drawbacks that significantly reduce its utility. In this paper, we propose an alternative multi-criteria approach that provides some innovations for the computation of multidimensional poverty in the European countries. We first propose a normalization formula for each dimension by using a double point of reference. We then put forward alternative aggregation functions that permit diverse degrees of substitutability across dimensions. This new formulation allows us to go beyond focusing merely on the rate of people classified as AROPE, making it possible to evaluate aspects such as the intensity of multidimensional poverty and how changes over time are distributed across population in terms of shared prosperity, as showed in an illustration for the EU28 countries.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

How does monetary policy affect the income class structure? Evidence from the Eurozone.

This work provides evidence on the potential effects of monetary policy on the income class structure via stimulating economic activity and employment in the Eurozone countries over the period 2007Q3-2016Q1. Based on European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) data, we compute the size of income classes (lower, lower-middle, upper-middle, and upper) for the stats that originated the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU-11) and analyse the impact of monetary policy impulses under a Bayesian Vector Autoregressive approach. We focus on the earnings heterogeneity and the income composition channel and find that a monetary easing shock involving a decrease short-term nominal interest rate has diverse effects on the different income classes, which seems to have led to a more equal income distribution. As theoretically argued by these monetary policy transmission mechanisms, our results confirm the GDP growth and the decrease in unemployment caused by the monetary policies implemented by the European Central Bank since the onset of the financial crisis have had a positive effect for those households located at the bottom of the income-class structure as well as for the middle class.Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec