Growth, convergence and public investment : a bayesian model averaging approach [WP]

The aim of this paper is twofold. First, we study the determinants of economic growth among a wide set of potential variables for the Spanish provinces (NUTS3). Among others, we include various types of private, public and human capital in the group of growth factors. Also, we analyse whether Spanish provinces have converged in economic terms in recent decades. The second objective is to obtain cross-section and panel data parameter estimates that are robust to model speci¯cation. For this purpose, we use a Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) approach. Bayesian methodology constructs parameter estimates as a weighted average of linear regression estimates for every possible combination of included variables. The weight of each regression estimate is given by the posterior probability of each model.L'objectiu d'aquest estudi és doble. Primer, estudiem els factors determinants del creixement econòmic entre un ampli ventall de possibles variables per a les províncies espanyoles. Entre aquests determinant s'inclouen difrents tipus de capital privat, públic i humà. A més, s'analitza si les províncies espanyoles han convergit en termes econòmics. El segon objectiu és l'obtenció d¿estimacions, transversals i amb dades de panell, robustes a l'especificació del model utilitzant una metodologia bayesiana, la qual construeix els paràmetres estimats com una mitja ponderada dels estimadors lineals de totes les possibles combinacions de models donades les variables tingudes en compte. La ponderació de cada paràmetre estimat bé donada per la probabilitat a posteriori de cada model

What drives investment in telecommunications? The role of regulation, firms’ internationalization and market knowledge

The aim of this paper is to classify the firms operating in the European telecommunications market according to their degree of internationalization and market knowledge, and to test the effects of this classification and the existence of access regulation on infrastructure investment in European broadband markets. To do so, we construct a (unique) data set for the 27 European countries for the period 2002 to 2009. We estimate, by means of panel data techniques (and instrumental variables to control for any potential endogeneity problem), an investment equation for all firms and separate equations for entrant and incumbent firms. Our results show no significant relation between regulation and total investment. The variables capturing the degree of internationalization and market knowledge have a positive and significant effect on total investment, being a positive and significant effect on entrants’ investment, but no significant impact on that of incumbent firms. This result indicates that, under the current regulatory framework, the firms that invest most are entrants with international experience, while the expansion of incumbents into other countries does not affect their investments in their home countries.Telecommunications, regulation, investment, internationalization, knowledge

Regulatory federalism and industrial policy in broadband telecommunications

We analyse the impact of regulation, industrial policy and jurisdictional allocation on broadband deployment using a theoretical model and an empirical estimation. Although central powers may be more focused and internalize interjurisdictional externalities, decentralized powers may internalize local horizontal policy spillovers and use a diversity of objectives as a commitment device in the presence of sunk investments. The latter may, for instance, alleviate the collective action problem of the joint use of rights of way and other physical infrastructures. In the empirical exercise, using data for OECD and EU countries for the period 1999-2006, we examine whether centralization promotes new telecommunications markets, in particular the broadband access market. The existing literature, in the main, claims it does, but we find no support for this claim in our data. Our results show that indicators of national industrial policy are a weakly positive determinant of broadband deployment and that different measures of centralization are either irrelevant or have a negative impact on broadband penetration.Regulation, industrial policy, decentralization, broadband

Identifying the Socioeconomic Determinants of Crime in Spanish Provinces

In this paper we study, having as theoretical reference the economic model of crime (Becker, 1968; Ehrlich, 1973), which are the socioeconomic and demographic determinants of crime in Spain paying attention on the role of provincial peculiarities. We estimate a crime equation using a panel dataset of Spanish provinces (NUTS3) for the period 1993 to 1999 employing the GMM-system estimator. Empirical results suggest that lagged crime rate and clear-up rate are correlated to all typologies of crime rate considered. Property crimes are better explained by socioeconomic variables (GDP per capita, GDP growth rate and percentage of population with high school and university degree), while demographic factors reveal important and significant influences, in particular for crimes against the person. These results are obtained using an instrumental variable approach that takes advantage of the dynamic properties of our dataset to control for both measurement errors in crime data and joint endogeneity of the explanatory variables.demographics, socioeconomic factors, panel data, crime

Healthy, educated and wealthy : Is the welfare state really harmful for growth?

In this paper, we study how public and private expenditures in health and education affect economic growth by their influence on people's health, abilities, skills and knowledge. We consider a growth accounting framework in order to test whether welfare expenditures more than offset the efficiency losses caused by distortionary taxation, and whether the effects of public expenditure on economic growth differ from those of private expenditure. Our empirical analysis is based on a panel of 19 OECD countries observed between 1971 and 1998. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the contribution of welfare expenditures more than compensates for the distortions caused by the tax system; and the estimated positive impact is stronger for health than for education. We also find some evidence that public expenditure influences GDP growth more than private expenditure.- En este trabajo se estudia cómo el gasto público y privado en sanidad y educación afectan el crecimiento económico a través de su influencia en la salud, las habilidades y el conocimiento de los individuos. Se considera un modelo de contabilidad del crecimiento para verificar si los beneficios de los gastos sociales compensan las pérdidas de eficiencia generadas por la imposición; y si los efectos del gasto público difieren de los efectos del gasto privado. El análisis empírico se basa en un panel de 19 países de la OCDE estudiados entre el periodo de 1971 y 1998. Los resultados son consistentes con la hipótesis que afirma que la contribución del gasto social compensa las distorsiones causadas por los impuestos; y que el impacto positivo del gasto en sanidad es superior al observado para la educación. También se observa que el gasto público tiene un efecto superior sobre el crecimiento del PIB que el gasto privad

Productive efficiency and regulatory reform: The case of vehicle inspection services.

Measuring productive efficiency provides information on the likely effects of regulatory reform. We present a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) of a sample of 38 vehicle inspection units under a concession regime, between the years 2000 and 2004. The differences in efficiency scores show the potential technical efficiency benefit of introducing some form of incentive regulation or of progressing towards liberalization. We also compute scale efficiency scores, showing that only units in territories with very low population density operate at a sub-optimal scale. Among those that operate at an optimal scale, there are significant differences in size; the largest ones operate in territories with the highest population density. This suggests that the introduction of new units in the most densely populated territories (a likely effect of some form of liberalization) would not be detrimental in terms of scale efficiency. We also find that inspection units belonging to a large, diversified firm show higher technical efficiency, reflecting economies of scale or scope at the firm level. Finally, we show that between 2002 and 2004, a period of high regulatory uncertainty in the sample’s region, technical change was almost zero. Regulatory reform should take due account of scale and diversification effects, while at the same time avoiding regulatory uncertainty.Productive Efficiency, Regulatory Reform, Vehicle Inspections.

Evaluación continua en grupos masificados: aplicación a la materia de fiscalidad

Grup d’Innovació Docent en Economia dels Impostos (GIDEI

The impact of continuous assessment on a temporal perspective: the results of a pioneering experiment at the University of Barcelona (Spain)

This study completes the works by Gallardo, Montolio and Camós (2010) and Gallardo and Montolio (2011) and brings new evidence on the impact of continuous assessment on students' results. We use a complete dataset with information regarding both the subjects taught and the results obtained by students at the Public Administration and Management Diploma Course of the University of Barcelona (Spain) that was a pioneering experiment at this university in implementing the guidelines of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) back in 2004

Evaluating the impact of public subsidies on a firm's performance: A quasi-experimental approach

Many regional governments in developed countries design programs to improve the competitiveness of local firms. In this paper, we evaluate the effectiveness of public programs whose aim is to enhance the performance of firms located in Catalonia (Spain). We compare the performance of publicly subsidised companies (treated) with that of similar, but unsubsidised companies (non-treated). We use the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) methodology to construct a control group which, with respect to its observable characteristics, is as similar as possible to the treated group, and that allows us to identify firms which retain the same propensity to receive public subsidies. Once a valid comparison group has been established, we compare the respective performance of each firm. As a result, we find that recipient firms, on average, change their business practices, improve their performance, and increase their value added as a direct result of public subsidy programs.Public policy, evaluation studies, firm performance, propensity Score Matching.

Fiscal decentralisation, private school funding, and students’ achievements. A tale from two roman catholic countries

The objective of the paper is to study the disciplining role of both market forces and regional governments own resources in the provision of educational services. The historical evolution of school regulation in Italy and Spain (in particular regarding the funding of private schools run by Roman Catholic Church, and the role of regional governments financing education) created different institutions in terms of both dimensions, private funds and regional governments funds. We take advantage of these institutional diversities to estimate the disciplining role of different sources of funds in the context of educational production function using PISA data. Our results provide support to these accountability drivers. Moreover, we find evidence on the role played by a national standardised test in providing adequate incentives to improve schools’ performance.Public and private schools, accountability, fiscal federalism