Trade Union Strength

Spanish trade unions enjoy an uncomfortable mix of high coverage and very low membership base. This state of affairs has arisen primarily because of state support for the collective representation system. Union organisation in terms of the core and its branches and system. Union organisation in terms of the core and its branches and union finances are also heavily influenced by the structure of representation. The limited facts on union membership, organisation and finance are fleshed out in this paper. The impact of unions on three economic outcomes is assessed: pay/employment flexibility; pay dispersion; productivity growth. Although the data are quite limited, there is some suggestion that whereas unions are able to resist the pressure for widening pay dispersion, they are associated with somewhat poorer productivity performance. However, this research throws up as many unanswered puzzles about unions in Spain, as it does answer the previously unanswered. There is clearly a need for a representative survey of firms or workplaces to investigate both this and other aspects of Spanish industrial relations.

Auctions for Infrastructure Concessions with Demand Uncertainty and Unknown Costs

Auction mechanisms commonly used in practice for awarding infrastructure concession contracts induce a bias towards the selection of concessionaires who are optimistic about demand, but are not necessarily cost-efficient. This helps to explain the frequent renegotiation of concessions observed in practice. This paper shows that the fixed-term nature of contracts is the key element for selection errors, and it proposes a better alternative mechanism based on flexible-term contracts. This new auction mechanism reduces the probability of selection errors and contract renegotiation, and it is simple enough to constitute a good option for concessions in sectors like transport and public utilities.concessions, auctions, renegotiation, infrastructure

Least Present Value of Net Revenue: a new auction-mechanism for highway concessions

This paper presents a new mechanism for awarding tolled-highways, based on the variable-term concept proposed by Engel et al (1997). These authors claim that a mechanism based on bids for least-present-value of revenue (LPVR) eliminates the risk of demand and simplifies renegotiations. However, if maintenance and operation costs are non-negligible, it is proven that, under LPVR, bidders need to estimate future traffic to make their offers, so the risk of demand is still present. Moreover, LPVR does not guarantee the selection of the best concessionaire. An alternative mechanism (least-present-value of net revenue, LPVNR) is proposed. The idea is to use bids that do not force firms to estimate future traffic. Under LPVNR, firms must make offers on: (i) total amount of revenue, net of maintenance costs; (ii) annual operation and routine-maintenance costs; and (iii) cost of road re-pavement. The concession is awarded to the firm with the lowest total expected cost, and the selection rule is adapted to the information available. The new mechanism is simple, does not impose additional efforts from firms, and eliminates the risk of demand more effectively. Although initially conceived for the road sector, the idea of LPVNR could easily be extended to other infrastructure sectors.Highways, roads, concessions, auctions

Medios y submedios en el sector intermareal de la ensenada de San Simón. Ría de Vigo (Pontevedra): secuencias sedimentarias características

La ensenada de San Simón, forma la parte más interna de la ría de Vigo. Su sector intermareal está constituido por dos medios sedimentarios bien diferenciados: un estuario y una llanura intermareal. El paso de uno a otro es de forma gradual e irregular. Los submedios que en ellos se desarrollan son: marisma salobre, llanura de Zostera, llanura interna de Arenicola, llanura arenosa y canales de drenaje, para la zona intermareal. Para la zona estuarina, los submedios quedan diferenciados en función de su dinámica: la mitad más interna con desarrollo de barras arenosas transversas y la más externa con barras arenosas linguoides y oblicuas. Se describen las secuencias teóricas en tres unidades características; borde del canal estuarino, rampa de flujo y llanura interm

Reducing wasting in young children with preventive supplementation: a cohort study in Niger

OBJECTIVE: To compare the incidence of wasting, stunting, and mortality among children aged 6 to 36 months who are receiving preventive supplementation with either ready-to-use supplementary foods (RUSFs) or ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Children aged 6 to 36 months in 12 villages of Maradi, Niger, (n = 1645) received a monthly distribution of RUSFs (247 kcal [3 spoons] per day) for 6 months or RUTFs (500-kcal sachet per day) for 4 months. We compared the incidence of wasting, stunting, and mortality among children who received preventive supplementation with RUSFs versus RUTFs. RESULTS: The effectiveness of RUSF supplementation depended on receipt of a previous preventive intervention. In villages in which a preventive supplementation program was previously implemented, the RUSF strategy was associated with a 46% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 6%-69%) and 59% (95% CI: 17%-80%) reduction in wasting and severe wasting, respectively. In contrast, in villages in which the previous intervention was not implemented, we found no difference in the incidence of wasting or severe wasting according to type of supplementation. Compared with the RUTF strategy, the RUSF strategy was associated with a 19% (95% CI: 0%-34%) reduction in stunting overall. CONCLUSION: We found that the relative performance of a 6-month RUSF supplementation strategy versus a 4-month RUTF strategy varied with receipt of a previous nutritional intervention. Contextual factors will continue to be important in determining the dose and duration of supplementation that will be most effective, acceptable, and sustainable for a given setting

Fibromyalgia detection based on eeg connectivity patterns

Objective: The identification of a complementary test to confirm the diagnosis of FM. The diagnosis of fibromyalgia (FM) is based on clinical features, but there is still no consensus, so patients and clinicians might benefit from such a test. Recent findings showed that pain lies in neuronal bases (pain matrices) and, in the long term, chronic pain modifies the activity and dynamics of brain structures. Our hypothesis is that patients with FM present lower levels of brain activity and therefore less connectivity than controls. Methods: We registered the resting state EEG of 23 patients with FM and compared them with 23 control subjects’ resting state recordings from the PhysioBank database. We measured frequency, amplitude, and functional connectivity, and conducted source localization (sLORETA). ROC analysis was performed on the resulting data. Results: We found significant differences in brain bioelectrical activity at rest in all analyzed bands between patients and controls, except for Delta. Subsequent source analysis provided connectivity values that depicted a distinct profile, with high discriminative capacity (between 91.3–100%) between the two groups. Conclusions: Patients with FM show a distinct neurophysiological pattern that fits with the clinical features of the disease.CN was funded through a Francisco Tomás y Valiente research fellowship (MIAS—UAM). This work is framed in the research project entitled “Criminal Law and Human Behaviour” (RTI2018- 097838-B-I00) granted by the Spain Ministry for Science, Innovation, and Universities of Spain (PI: Prof. Eduardo Demetrio Crespo). LSSR was funded by Boston Scientifi