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This article outlines the public architecture of social services in Spain from the perspective of the constitutional guarantee of the provision of local social services. For this, the Spanish Constitution is analyzed, as well as the 17 laws of social services corresponding to the different Autonomous Communities. It is therefore a comparative regional study in which the local authority is the essential unit to deploy social services, responding to the principles of universality, proximity, and decentralization; mandated by Spanish legislation. These and other complementary laws establish universal access to social services for all citizens, determine the territorial structure, the competences of the different administrations, rights holders, typologies of services and benefits and their articulation to ensure the quality of life and social welfare of all citizens.

Background: The objective of this analysis is to evaluate tobacco use and the level of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) knowledge among the general adult population in Spain and to compare these results to those obtained in the 2011 survey. Methods: A cross-sectional, observational, epidemiological study was conducted by telephone interviews and stratified by sex, age, and setting. The study design was identical to that of the study conducted in 2011. Results: Of a total of 89,601 phone contacts, there were 6534 respondents. The average age was 61.5 years. With respect to smoking, 30.9% reported being former smokers and 14.7% were current smokers, 63.6% of whom reported having attempted to quit. Among the current smokers, 19.7% claimed to use electronic cigarettes, although 88% believe these pose a health risk. No significant differences were found in smoking prevalence or frequency of attempts to quit according to residential setting (rural/urban). The highest prevalence of current smoking in men was recorded in the 55–64 years age range (31.6%), while in women it was from 45 to 54 years (34.6%). Smoking has decreased with respect to 2011, from 21.1% to 16.1% in men and from 17.9% to 13.2% in women, with a clear variability according to region. Of the population surveyed, 32.5% had spontaneous knowledge about COPD, with significant geographic variability. The most frequent sources of information about the disease were social media and the Internet (39.6%), followed by the media (35.2%). Conclusions: The prevalence of tobacco use in adults has considerably decreased and there is greater knowledge about COPD in Spain, although there is significant variability according to region, which could explain the geographic variability in the prevalence of COPD. Strategies are needed to increase COPD education and awareness and to reinforce smoking prevention measures among women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In modern democratic states, citizen participation is promoted through representative channels. In recent years, at the different institutional and political levels in Spain, some classic parameters of democracy have been called into question, such as citizen representation, deliberation, and the responsibility of the rulers towards the citizens. This crisis coincides with a decline in bipartisanship in Spain and the appearance of new parties. Some of this parties championed the regeneration of democracy, committing themselves to encouraging transparency and citizen participation in public management. As local entities are the institutions closest to citizens, both transparency and participation become key elements to comply with these parameters, providing the technologies of information and communication (ICT) with new tools such as websites and portals, which can contribute to strengthening them. This research aims to analyze the use of these channels to promote transparency and citizen participation, by the municipalities of 4 autonomous communities (Catalonia, the Community of Madrid, the Valencian Community, and the Region of Murcia), placing special emphasis on how the left-right axes and old-new parties could influence, along with the population size of the municipalities. The method used consists of a categorical content analysis, based on the Infoparticipa Map indicators and two linear regression models using ordinary least squares. The results and conclusions of the study show that the size of the population and the autonomous community are determining factors in the transparency indices. In addition, the political formations aligned to the left of the ideological spectrum, together with some of the new parties, influence the greater transparency and participation of the websites of the municipalities governed by them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Angiostrongylus vasorum (A. vasorum) is the causal agent of canine angiostrongylosis, an emerging disease in Europe. In Spain, A. vasorum mainly affects wild animals (red foxes and wolves), although studies in domestic dogs are scarce but show evidence of an expansion of the disease. The aim of this study was to analyze the presence of A. vasorum in domestic dogs throughout Spain, taking into account that there were still provinces where this canine infection has not been studied. Blood samples from 5544 domestic dogs were collected from January 2020 to March 2022. These samples were tested for the presence of circulating A. vasorum antigens. The overall prevalence of canine angiostrongylosis in Spain was 1.39%. No significant differences were found for sex and age, but significant differences were found for habitat. Infected domestic dogs were reported in most Spanish provinces, with lower prevalence observed for inland provinces and higher prevalence observed for provinces along the coast, where climatic factors seem to be determinant in the establishment of the parasite. Canine angiostrongylosis is an emerging disease caused by Angiostrongylus vasorum, mainly affecting wild carnivores and dogs. In Spain, there are studies reporting infections in foxes, wolves, and badgers in different regions of the country. However, there are hardly any publications on its prevalence in dogs. The aim of this study was to complete and update the epidemiologic map of A. vasorum in dogs in Spain. A total of 5619 canine blood samples from all autonomous cities and provinces of Spain were collected and tested for the presence of circulating A. vasorum antigens. The overall apparent prevalence of canine A. vasorum infection in Spain was 1.39%. No significant differences were found for sex or age, but significant differences between outdoor and indoor/outdoor dogs were found. A high prevalence was also observed in the northern third of the country, where an oceanic climate prevails, being humid and rainy and where abundant vegetation can be found, thus favoring the proliferation of intermediate hosts. The results suggest that A. vasorum canine infections are heterogeneously present in a large part of the territory, demonstrating its expansion throughout the country, and therefore, awareness and prevention campaigns for this disease should be promoted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews, analyzes, and discusses the existing data since 2003, from different sources, on the number of psychologists who are specialists in clinical psychology working in the Spanish National Health System (SNS). The data must be taken with great caution due to the diversity of sources and methodology used, but it is concluded that the total estimated number of Specialist Psychologists in Clinical Psychology plus «PESTOS» [specialist psychologists without an official qualification] who work in the SNS may be around 2,600-2,800, with a ratio per 100,000 inhabitants of around 5.58, and vast differences among the autonomous communities. In the last 15 years, the average increase in the ratio of psychologists per 100,000 inhabitants has been slightly more than one psychologist. It is recommended to carry out detailed studies to find out not only how many specialists in clinical psychology there are in each autonomous community, but also the levels and the type of units in which they are located.

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for governments and health administrations at all levels to have an open data registry that facilitates decision-making in the planning and management of health resources and provides information to citizens on the evolution of the epidemic. The concept of “open data” includes the possibility of reutilization by third parties. Space and time are basic dimensions used to structure and interpret the data of the variables that refer to the health status of the people themselves. Hence, the main objective of this study is to evaluate whether the autonomous communities’ data files regarding Covid-19 are reusable to analyze the evolution of the disease in basic spatial and temporal analysis units at the regional and national levels. To this end, open data files containing the number of diagnosed cases of Covid-19 distributed in basic health or administrative spatial units and temporal units were selected from the portals of the Spanish autonomous communities. The presence of infection-related, demographic, and temporal variables, as well as the download format and metadata, were mainly evaluated. Whether the structure of the files was homogeneous and adequate for the application of spatial analysis techniques was also analyzed. The results reveal a lack of standardization in the collection of data in both spatial and temporal units and an absence of, or ambiguity in, the meaning of the variables owing to a lack of metadata. An inadequate structure was also found in the files of seven autonomous communities, which would require subsequent processing of the data to enable their reuse and the application of analysis and spatial modeling techniques, both when carrying out global analyses and when comparing patterns of evolution between different regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Papers: Revista de Sociologia is the property of Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Law 3/2007, regulating the rectification of a person's official sex, is still in force in Spain. Although it does not demand reassignment surgery, it pathologizes the reassignment process, among other shortcomings. Since its enactment, 14 of Spain’s 17 Autonomous Communities (Regions) have legislated on the subject, mostly on the basis of self-determination, in an attempt to compensate for the perceived deficiencies in national legislation. This paper analyses and compares the legislative approach to gender identity and the rights of Trans people at a national and regional level.

The present paper measures quality of life through a set of dimensions included in the following partial indicators of objective well-being: demography, economic endowment, academic training, employment, health, cultural goods, environment, housing habitability, security and family. Additionally, and independently, subjective well-being is studied to measure the degree of happiness of the population. As a result, a quality of life indicator is obtained that combines both objective and subjective indicators. The methodology used corresponds to that provided by Pena Trapero through the distance measure DP2, which has been widely used in many empirical studies on well-being and quality of life. Among the results obtained, it is worth noting that happiness diminishes as per capita income grows, and that prosperity, understood as social welfare, can be achieved without relying exclusively on material growth. Thus, the Spanish development model must be revised since the material objectives and economic growth do not guarantee the happiness of the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the territorial configuration of Spain between 1978 and 1983. The article investigates whether the scope of autonomy granted to the regions inhabited by “the historical nationalities” fulfilled their need of being independent from the central government in Madrid. The article also examines the impact of regionalization on the awakening of local awareness and identification within communities in which it had not existed before. The creation of the Autonomous Communities also affected the party system of Spain in which the major role was played by the regional parties, especially in the construction of the electoral system to Cortes Generales. This allowed strong nationalist groups to become represented in the parliament, enhancing the impact of regionalization on the increase in self-awareness and making the regions fight over their interests in the national arena.

This article suggests a thought and analysis the mismatch between the implementation of the State of Autonomies and the scarce cooperation and collaboration between Autonomous Communities in the face of a set of contemporary urban and territorial phenomena that clearly goes beyond regional political–administrative limits and in turn define new territorial areas of intermediate scale. First, the paper contextualises the fit of interregional cooperation in the Spanish legislation and points out the possible factors conditioning the scarce use of this instrument (collaboration agreements and cooperation agreements between Autonomous Communities). Second, the initiatives and files collected in the Senate database are analysed and characterised. This analysis evidences the insufficient degree of interregional cooperation. The paper ends with a discussion in regard to the importance of this instrument for responding to common problems and establishing development projects in cross–border territories.

Copyright of Sprawy Miedzynarodowe / International Affairs is the property of Instytut Studiow Politycznych PAN and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The presence of culturally diverse students in the classrooms of educational centers suggests that the autonomous communities with educational powers in Spain address the issue in a rather complex way. The case that concerns us in this text centers on the legislative and organizational analysis of four autonomous communities in Spain: Cantabria, Asturias, Andalusia, and Valencia. Each of the territories analyzed has distinct characteristics in terms of the approaches taken in relation to this type of student body, derived not only from the number of such students present in the classrooms, but also from other criteria of an ideological nature and educational or pedagogical positioning given this reality. We move from a macro analysis to a more concrete one that tries to define what, who and how the autonomous communities and the educational centers coordinate this process. This leads us to the consideration of at least three elements that are related to this decision-making process: the legislation that results from this reality, the specific organization of the educational centers, and the structures that have been created ad-hoc to respond to diversity. The process must be understood from a broad view of the situation that goes beyond that which is exclusively school-based. We must not forget that this is a matter of human rights, of democratically agreed-upon values, and of establishing appropriate conditions so that rights and values can be made possible within educational contexts. Without forgetting this macro perspective, the analysis includes the way in which communities present the cultural project and how this is manifested in the official curriculum in the form of practices that are determined by the construction of an image of childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The depth and persistence of the Great Recession that started in 2008 had a considerable impact on income distribution and inequality. Therefore, studies of living standards and evolution of income inequality are trend topics nowadays. Our goal was to estimate the impact of the economic crises on household expenditure and the trends and evolution of regional inequality. We applied our analysis to the Spanish case based on Household Budget Survey data from Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE, the National Statistics Institute) and the period of eleven years between 2006 and 2016. A model that showed good results in modelling income was the biparametric gamma model, which is further very useful to estimate inequality. First, we tested the validity of the model, which allowed us to obtain the inequality data. Second, we extended our analysis studying the evolution of inequality, as well as household living standards, by examining the impact of the Great Recession on household expenditures. For the second part of the paper, we conducted longitudinal and transversal studies. The main results show that, in general, expenditure inequality reduces during the period studied. Moreover, given that average spending decreases in most regions, the tendency is for them to equalize on the downside, especially for the period of the economic crisis (2008–2013).

In recent years, mechanisms have been activated in order to carry out political reforms in the Autonomous Communities, due to the greater fragmentation that exists in regional parliaments and the presence of political parties that support institutional reforms, aimed at deepening democratic regeneration. The aim of this paper is to join the main reflections and knowledge about the different types of open-lists and free-lists systems, and to examine the legal framework of the regional legislators for their adoption. To that end, this paper examines the different kinds of electoral lists, their advantages, disadvantages, effects and consequences of their use; the constitutional and legal framework that could limit its inclusion in the reforms of the autonomic electoral systems; as well as the main proposals that have already been formulated to introduce the preferential vote in the Autonomous Communities. The conclusions of the study suggest the viability of the introduction of the open-lists and free-lists systems in the autonomic electoral systems, given the current legal framework.

Bu makalede İspanya’ya özgü ulusaltı bütünleşme anlamında bir bölgeselleşme modeli olan özerk topluluklar sisteminin tarihsel arkaplanı, yasal çerçevesi ve siyasal bağlamı analiz edilmektedir. Bask milliyetçiliğine özel önem verilerek ele alınan bölgecilik, son dönemde Katalonya’da cereyan eden bağımsızlıkçı harekete gönderme yapılarak tartışılmaktadır. Ayrıca Avrupa Birliği’nin çeşitli belgelerde öne sürdüğü bölgesel özerk yönetimlerin İspanya’daki bölgesel demokrasinin gelişimine katkı yaptığı belirtilmektedir. İspanya’daki bölgeselleşme, 2017 yılında İspanya’nın Katalonya bölgesinde ortaya çıkan bağımsızlık referandumu tartışması nedeniyle güncelliğini koruduğu için önemlidir. Üniter devlet düzeyi içinde bölgeli devlet modelinin tarihsel milliyetler/bölgeler açısından (Bask Ülkesi’nde daha zayıf olmakla birlikte) İspanya ile bütünleşmeyi pekiştirdiği ve ayrılıkçılık hareketlerinin etkisini kırabildiği; ancak son dönemde yükselişe geçen Katalan milliyetçiliğinin bu bütünleşmeyi tartışmalı hale getirdiği sonucuna varılmıştır.

Copyright of Papeles del Psicólogo is the property of Consejo General de Colegios Oficiales de Psicologos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article quantifies personal income tax compliance by regions for the first time in Spain and identifies the factors explaining differences in tax compliance between regions, an aspect that has scarcely been analyzed in the literature. To this end, and in addition to the dynamic and spatial components considered by Alm and Yunus, this article considers the variables included in the classical tax evasion model of Allingham and Sandmo, as well as tax morale and political-institutional variables, including those linked to the country's fiscal decentralization. The results obtained confirm, on one hand, those reached in the very extensive literature studying tax evasion from the individual perspective (including the importance of the dynamic element) and, on the other, the relevance of the spatial component in explaining tax compliance, so that greater or lesser tax compliance is partly explained by factors such as the tax behavior of neighbors or how those neighbors are treated by the public sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is the characterisation of the Spanish autonomous communities as tourist destinations for Spanish trips, based on the activities carried out, using the principal component method. The Spanish tourist is not only motivated by the sun and beach. This paper aims to clarify how Spanish people consider other tourist destinations. We contrast how frequently other types of tourism are valued when choosing their destination within the Spanish geography. Inland tourism, sports tourism, entertainment as well as gastronomy are becoming increasingly important.

This article examines the territorial configuration of Spain between 1978 and 1983. The article investigates whether the scope of autonomy granted to the regions inhabited by "the historical nationalities" fulfilled their need of being independent from the central government in Madrid. The article also examines the impact of regionalization on the awakening of local awareness and identification within communities in which it had not existed before. The creation of the Autonomous Communities also affected the party system of Spain in which the major role was played by the regional parties, especially in the construction of the electoral system to Cortes Generales. This allowed strong nationalist groups to become represented in the parliament, enhancing the impact of regionalization on the increase in self-awareness and making the regions fight over their interests in the national arena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resumen: Este trabajo pretende dar una visión general del reconocimiento de la diversidad lingüística española que se deriva de la Constitución. Nos referimos exclusivamente a las lenguas autóctonas históricamente habladas en España; teniendo en cuenta, además, que una misma lengua puede recibir diversas denominaciones populares y oficiales. Partiendo de estas premisas, el trabajo estudia el reconocimiento que hace la Constitución Española de la diversidad lingüística en España en su artículo 3. Se subraya en el estudio que, en dicho artículo de la Constitución se establece que el castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado y que todos los españoles tienen el deber de conocerla y el derecho a usarla (art. 3.1), que las otras lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas comunidades autónomas, en función de la regulación que hagan sus estatutos (art. 3.2) y que España considera que la riqueza de las diferentes modalidades lingüísticas es un patrimonio cultural que deberá tener un respeto y una protección especiales (art. 3.3). El contenido de la Constitución, la jurisprudencia constitucional de las últimas cuatro décadas y los estatutos de autonomía y legislación lingüística autonómica, han asentado un reconocimiento de la diversidad lingüística española y de los derechos lingüísticos concretos de los hablantes de las distintas lenguas españolas fundamentado en el principio de jerarquía lingüística y no en los de seguridad lingüística e igualdad de derechos lingüísticos. El principio de jerarquía lingüística presupone considerar que existen unas lenguas que deben tener un reconocimiento legal y oficial superior a otras. Y, lo que es lo mismo, que los derechos lingüísticos de sus hablantes no tienen el mismo grado de reconocimiento. Llegándose a dar el caso que, en España, una misma lengua pueda llegar a tener diferentes niveles de reconocimiento legal-oficial y un número aún mayor de políticas lingüísticas que traten de convertir en una realidad substantiva todos o una parte de los derechos lingüísticos reconocidos formalmente a los hablantes de una lengua diferente del castellano en una comunidad autónoma. Así las cosas, se constata que legalmente una lengua (castellano) tiene una situación de preeminencia legal-oficial, seis lenguas españolas (catalán, gallego, vasco, occitano, aragonés y asturleonés) tienen algún tipo de reconocimiento oficial en parte del territorio en el que son habladas de manera autóctona, una lengua tiene reconocimiento político (tamazight), otra tiene un reconocimiento administrativo menor en Cataluña (caló), y tres lenguas autóctonas no tienen el más mínimo reconocimiento legal, político o administrativo (árabe, haquetia y portugués). El trabajo estudia detalladamente y de manera global la estructuración de la jerarquía lingüística en la legislación española derivada de la Constitución y concluye con una descripción de los seis niveles de jerarquía lingüística y de derechos lingüísticos que existen en España. Se defiende, finalmente, un cambio sistema lingüístico legalconstitucional que respete los principios de seguridad lingüística y el principio de igualdad de derechos lingüísticos de todos los ciudadanos españoles. Summary: 1. Introduction. The Constitution and the Spanish languages. 2. Language in the statutes of monolingual communities. 3. Linguistic diversity in multilingual communities with a single official language. 4. Communities with co-officiality. 5. Final considerations: a hierarchical recognition. 6. Bibliography cited. Abstract: This paper is an overview of the recognition of the Spanish linguistic diversity derived from the Constitution. We refer exclusively to the native languages historically spoken in Spain; about that is important to know that the same language can receive diverse popular and official denominations. With these premises, the work studies the recognition in the article 3 of the Spanish Constitution of the linguistic diversity in Spain. It is emphasized in the study that this article establishes that the Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State and that all Spaniards have the duty to know it and the right to use it (article 3.1), that the other Spanish languages would be official in the respective autonomous communities, depending on the regulation made by their statutes of autonomy (article 3.2 ), and that Spain considers the richness of the different linguistic modalities a cultural heritage that must have special respect and protection (article 3.3). The content of the Constitution, the constitutional jurisprudence of the last four decades and the statutes of autonomy and autonomous linguistic legislation, have established a recognition of the Spanish linguistic diversity and of the specific linguistic rights of the speakers of the different Spanish languages based on the principle of linguistic hierarchy and not in those of linguistic security and equality of linguistic rights. The principle of linguistic hierarchy considers that there are some languages that have to have a legal and official recognition superior to others. And, what is the same, that the linguistic rights of its speakers do not have the same degree of recognition. In Spain, the same language may have different levels of legal-official recognition and a lot of linguistic policies in the autonomous communities that try to be reality all or part of the linguistic rights formally recognized to speakers of a language other than Castilian. So it is verified that legally a language (Castilian) has a situation of legal-official preeminence, six Spanish languages (Catalan, Galician, Basque, Occitan, Aragonese and Asturian) have some type of official recognition in part of the territory where are spoken, one language has political recognition (Tamazight), another has a lower administrative recognition in Catalonia (Caló), and three indigenous languages do not have the least legal, political or administrative recognition (Arabic, Hachetia and Portuguese). The paper studies in detail the structure of the linguistic hierarchy in Spanish legislation derived from the Constitution and concludes with a description of the six levels of linguistic hierarchy and of linguistic rights that exist in Spain. Finally, it defends a legal-constitutional linguistic system that respects the principles of linguistic security and of equality of linguistic rights of all Spanish citizens.

Resumen: Este artículo pretende reflexionar sobre el eventual impacto que tiene en la legislación la situación de tensión competencial entre el Estado central y las Comunidades Autónomas, en un contexto de distribución de competencias como es el español en permanente definición. Para ello, y como caso de estudio, en él se examinan las relaciones Estado- Comunidades Autónomas en materia de legislación sobre protección social de los extranjeros durante los años de crisis económica, por visibilizarse especialmente en este marco esa tensión interterritorial. La idea de la que se parte es que el escenario de tensión competencial entre estos entes territoriales gobernados en muchas ocasiones por partidos políticos distintos genera una creciente disparidad de respuestas normativas entre las distintas Comunidades Autónomas, según el incentivo mayor o menor de cada una de ellas para desmarcarse de la política estatal. Y ello plantea la pregunta, sobre la que se construye este trabajo, de si en el marco constitucional, tal y como interpretado por el Tribunal Constitucional, hay siempre espacio para el grado de diversidad de respuestas legislativas autonómicas que genera esa carrera competencial entre entes territoriales distintos; o de si puede el Estado central impedir, mediante una definición más estricta de las bases, esa posibilidad de divergencia por parte de las Comunidades Autónomas (al margen de que esa competencia pueda redundar en una mejora de la protección de los derechos). Abstract: One important feature of the Spanish constitutional system of division of competence between the State and the Autonomous Communities is its open character. In certain areas, the State is competent to set the fundamental grounds of legislation, which will be later developed by the Autonomous Communities. In this way, the State is indirectly allowed to define the scope of intervention of the Autonomous Communities, although the Constitutional Court can later correct this definition. This article intends to explore the impact that this framework has on the content of the legislation. More specifically, it intends to analyse how the fight over the competence thus produced between State and Autonomous Communities has influenced the degree of social protection granted to aliens, being both the State and the Autonomous Communities competent to intervene in the field of immigration, and being this interterritorial tension particularly strong during the years of economic crisis. This article departs from the idea that the political tension between territorial powers generates a growing disparity of normative responses between Autonomous Communities, according to the bigger or smaller incentives these may have to distance themselves from the position defended by the State. And it then moves to the more specific legal question of whether the constitutional framework, as defined by the Constitutional Court, actually admits the resulting degree of variety of normative responses; or if, instead, the State can impose a stricter definition of the legislative grounds from which the Autonomous Communities depart in their normative intervention.

This paper examines the nature of intergovernmental relations (IGR) on immigrant integration in Spain, a relatively recent immigration country, with a focus on Catalonia. By means of qualitative document analysis and semi-structured interviews at both levels of government, the paper demonstrates that despite the formal existence of multilateral and institutionalized fora for intergovernmental relations, most intergovernmental relations on immigrant integration tend to be informal and bilateral. The paper also highlights that the conflictual nature of IGR on integration varies across sub-policy areas and over time. The paper contributes to strengthen existing hypotheses regarding institutional features (the distribution of competencies and the territorial organization of power) and party politics for explaining the patterns of IGR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces the topic of the internal coordination of regional and local social security schemes in Spain. In the field of social security, the constitutional framework imposes different solutions in terms of the division of competences between State and Autonomous Communities, depending on the branch of (public) social protection. In the provision of long-term social care, for instance, both the State and the Autonomous Communities participate. Healthcare services are mainly provided by the Autonomous Communities without prejudice to certain aspects of the role played by the State. Social assistance through cash benefits or social services are exclusively provided by the Autonomous Communities, with the deep participation of local entities, especially in the case of social services. The paper outlines the extent of devolution and decentralisation, and the adjudication of competence and financial arrangements. The final section addresses some specific questions in healthcare, long-term social care and social assistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops a methodological critique of a widespread measurement of national identity through surveys, the so-called "Linz-Moreno question" (LMQ) and of its epistemological foundation, the theory of "dual identity". We chose Spain as a case study for our research because of its internal variability in terms of identity feelings between its regions and the availability of quality data. We have divided the seventeen Spanish Autonomous Communities (ACs) into four groups, in accordance to their identity structure. We present two big groups of ACs, one including the ACs with primacy of nationwide nationalistic feelings, and the other one containing those ACs with significant presence of sub-state nationalisms. Then, we divide each of these categories into two, attending to the strength of their identity feelings. Using qualitative methodologies, we found differences in the reproduction process of nationalism for each group of ACs, what strengthens the validity of our classification. Finally, we tested our main hypothesis with a multinomial logistic regression that provides empirical evidence showing that the LMQ is not a good indicator of national identity for weakly nationalized ACs. We conclude that the dual identity theory hides relevant differences related to the hierarchy and nature of collective identities in modern societies. Consequently, we should problematize merely descriptive analyses of collective identities and begin to treat national identity as an ideological expression of nationalism. The critique of the LMQ presented in this article wants to contribute to a better measurement of identities in modern societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Socioeconomic factors define the acquisition of advanced digital skills. • The difference between students and inactive persons in advanced digital skills has diminished. • The unemployed improved their advanced digital skills during the pandemic. • In order to analyse digital skills it is necessary to use different geographical scales. • There is greater convergence in advanced digital skills at regional level than at provincial level. The increasing digitalisation of the economy, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, requires the population to have advanced digital skills. In a decentralised country such as Spain, it is necessary to identify the population's model of digital skills acquisition by taking geographical variables into account. To this end, the aim of this research is to analyse the impact of socioeconomic and geographical variables on the level of advanced digital skills of the Spanish population including two spatial levels: regional (Autonomous Communities) and local (provinces) from 2015 to 2021. An ordered probit model is used with microdata provided by the Spanish National Statistics Institute's Survey on Equipment and Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Households (ICT_H) for 2015, 2019 and 2021. The results of this study show that socioeconomic factors have a greater influence than geographical factors on the digital skills acquisition model. The model has undergone changes with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, with an increase of advanced digital skills among the employed and the unemployed compared to inactive persons. Moreover, the importance of educational level is corroborated and the importance of daily Internet use increased during the pandemic. There was also less regional than provincial dispersion in the probability of converging in digital skills with the region and province of Madrid. This study contributes the evolution over time of the model of digital skills acquisition with socioeconomic and geographical variables, identifying intra-regional differences and indicating whether there is spatial dependence between regional and local levels in Spain, with a view to reducing them in terms of sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite their relevance as a source of funding and their chaotic proliferation in recent times, the revenue from the power of Autonomous Communities to create their own taxes is almost testimonial. The regulation of these taxes, scattered and confused, has become a source of multiple legal and political conflicts, which resulted in not always clear and consistent jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court. For that reason, and keeping in mind the limitations that are arriving from the European Union, it is necessary to develop an updated study of that power, and it is the main objective of this work. In particular, an overview of its current status in the different Autonomous Communities will be provided (with special reference to Catalonia). Moreover, the determination of the main problems encountered and a first approach about its future will be done.

The main objective of this study is to analyse the unequal presence in other decentralised States of the power to initiate state laws that the article 87.2 of the Spanish Constitution assigns to the Assemblies of the Autonomous Communities, analysis that allows to conclude that not even any regional State recognises necessarily to his territorial autonomous entities legislative initiative before the central Parliament, not even the existence of a second territorial chamber is an obstacle in order that some Federations recognise his members states a capacity of legislative initiative before the federal Parliament. In addition, the upper chamber of the federal system often has minor legislative capacity that the lower chamber, and even, may suffer from little political relevance. On the one hand, the position of the States federated in the second territorial chamber is only that of a member, which does not allow them to dominate the decision to stimulate a federal law. On the other hand, It is evident that there exist federal States in which the legislative initiative of the member states before the national Parliament is perfectly recognized.

Resumen: Las Comunidades Autónomas pueden, porque así se lo autoriza el artículo 87.2 de la Constitución, iniciar leyes estatales tanto ante el Gobierno de la Nación como ante el Congreso de los Diputados. Sin embargo, los escasos trabajos que se ocupan de la iniciativa legislativa autonómica se centran casi exclusivamente en la segunda de las vías acogidas por aquel artículo, sin que prácticamente se haya llevado a cabo ningún comentario teórico que trate de dar sentido, hacer la crítica y elaborar unas ciertas garantías a la utilización de la vía ante el Gobierno. El ejercicio de esta modalidad de iniciativa legislativa regional abre todo un panel de cuestiones a tratar, algunas más sustantivas, como el saber el por qué de dicha previsión (¿para qué estimular la puesta en marcha de la ley ante un órgano que no es un legislador?), y otras estrictamente procedimentales (principalmente referidas a la tramitación que han de seguir, en el seno del Gobierno, las solicitudes de proyectos de ley remitidas por los parlamentos regionales), a todas las cuales el presente estudio trata de dar respuesta. Con el fin de ordenar todas estas cuestiones es útil distinguir dos fases claramente diferenciadas a través de las cuales se articula la actuación de este estímulo de la iniciativa legislativa gubernamental. La primera de estas fases tiene lugar en el seno de los parlamentos regionales de acuerdo con lo previsto en sus respectivos reglamentos parlamentarios, y se concreta en la aprobación por tales Cámaras de la remisión al Gobierno de una propuesta -articulada o no- de proyecto de ley. La segunda fase se desarrolla en el seno del Gobierno, el cual, si decide discrecionalmente atender la solicitud remitida por una Asamblea autonómica, iniciará el procedimiento de elaboración, aprobación y posterior remisión a las Cortes del proyecto de ley previsto en nuestro ordenamiento jurídico. De especial interés resulta, a este respecto, analizar las consecuencias de la incomprensible ausencia de un mínimo procedimiento que prolongue la actuación de la iniciativa autonómica con algún tipo de actuación necesaria a cargo del Gobierno de la Nación, lo cual viene a reducir la facultad atribuida por la Constitución a las Asambleas de las Comunidades Autónomas que nos ocupa a un “vacío” ayuno de toda entidad jurídica, razón por la cual nos permitimos proponer algunas medidas de lege ferenda con el fin de reintegrar este instituto a su verdadero sentido y a su más cierta eficacia. Abstract: The article 87.2 of the Spanish Constitution assigns to the Assemblies of the Autonomous Communities the power to initiate state laws, power that can exercise before the National Government or the Chamber of Deputies. However, few studies dealing with the regional legislative initiative focusing exclusively on the second of the routes received by that article. Practically it has not been carried out any theoretical commentary try to make sense, to criticize and develop a certain guarantees to the use of the road with the Government. The procedure for exercising the request to government bills opens some substantive problems (for example, why should stimulate the implementation of the law before a body which is not a legislator?), and others of a procedural nature (mainly concerning the processing to be followed within the Government requests for bills approved by regional parliaments), all of which this study try to respond. For this, it examines each of the two phases through which the exercise of this regional initiative articulates. The first phase takes place within regional parliaments in accordance with the provisions of their respective parliamentary rules in order that such chambers approve the referral to the State Government a proposed bill. The second phase develops within the Government, which, if it decides to grant the request submitted by a regional Assembly, it will initiate the procedure for preparation, approval and subsequent submission to the state Parliament of the bill. We examined its regulatory framework, the assumption of the regional impulse by the Government (the “previous pass” of the Council of Ministers), or the advantages can have this form of the regional legislative initiative against the other form of regional legislative. Of particular interest is analyzed the consequences of the incomprehensible absence of a minimum procedure to prolong the action of the regional initiative with some kind of action to be taken by the Government of the Nation, which has the result of reducing to a “vacuum” the statutory provision of article 87.2 of the Constitution, for which reason it is proposed here some further measures de lege ferenda that are desirable in order to this institution might better fulfil their purposes in an efficient manner. Title: The exercise of the legislative initiative of the Autonomous Communities before de national Government. Singularity, deficits and proposals de lege ferenda Summary: I. INTRODUCTION. II. WHAT THE LAW SAYS ABOUT IT: 2.1 The autonomic phase. Articulated or unarticulated formulation of the impulse of the Assemblie of the Autonomous Community. 2.2 State phase and the action (or inaction) of the national Government: A) Regulatory framework. B) The assumption of the autonomic impulse by the Government: the «praevios pass» of the Council of Ministers. C) Excursus: advantages and disadvantages that can result from this type of autonomic initiative. Considerations about the supposed primacy of the governmental legislative initiative. III. WHAT THE LAW DOES NOT SAY. THE FACTS AS «PASSIVE» OF THIS FIGURE: 3.1 A cause that still belongs to the realm of law: the absurdity that implies that a power granted by the Constitution to autonomics parliaments did not follow any procedure. 3.2. And two consequences of that nonsense: A) An unavoidable sequel: the almost total disengagement of the Government of the Nation. B) And an already proven dysfunctional practice: the use of this figure diverted for different purposes than those you are supposed to. Recourse to the «case method». IV. PROPOSALS DE LEGE FERENDA. V. BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Desde el medievo hasta nuestros días, no han cesado los argumentos a favor y en contra de la agregación de Treviño a la provincia alavesa. Así, el presente trabajo analiza los diferentes argumentos parlamentarios y jurisprudenciales desde su perspectiva histórico-política, con la finalidad de dilucidar la adecuación de los mismos al ordenamiento constitucional y estatutario aplicable a dicho supuesto. Así, será preciso realizar una crítica acerca de los problemas de algunas hipótesis planteadas y aportar una posible solución que permita poner fin a un contencioso que aparenta visos de perpetuidad. Abstract: From the Middle Ages to the present day, arguments in favour and against the addition of Treviño to the Spanish province of Álava have not stopped. Thus, this paper examines the different parliamentary and judicial arguments from their historical and political perspective in order to elucidate their adaptation to the constitutional and statutory system applicable to such case. So, it will be necessary to make a review of the problems that some of the suggested hypothesis have and to offer a possible solution that brings an end to a seemingly endless conflict.

Currently, Spanish universities meet the educational needs of the students with a wide offer of courses and the opportunity to study at all levels. They appear as an attractive option in the context of the relatively low cost of living compared to other countries in the EU area and under conditions of a tax system controlled by the Government. Starting from the assumption that the financing model of the academic education public institutions represents the foundation of their modernization in the current society based on changes and evolution, in this paper we propose to bring into the light of the concerns of those who are interested, through a persuasive exhibit, the Spanish model and its specific features. To this end, our debate will begin with a description of the Spanish system of academic education under the decentralized model of financing imprint, continuing with the presentation of specific skills in terms of funding on the triptych template: state - autonomous communities - universities. Subsequently, our investigative approach will focus on detailing the tertiary education financing sources: public resources, private and patrimonial revenues. The end of our presentation will be intended for conclusions, through which we aim to advance our vision regarding the investigated problems. In fact, the paper is intended to be a precursor step in carrying out a comparative study between the academic education funding mechanism in Romania and the Spanish one.

This paper applies various probit/logit models to a database constructed by the authors, consisting of rulings by the Spanish Constitutional Court (Tribunal Constitucional, TC) resolving positive conflicts of competence between the central government and the Autonomous Communities from 1981 to 2014. Our goal is to empirically contrast whether the TC is predisposed to favour the central government or if their rulings are determined by other motivations. According to the results we have obtained, the TC does not seem to be an extension in the jurisdictional milieu of the central executive power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent years have seen the emergence of the European dimension to the territorial planning conducted at lower scales, in a process described as the ‘Europeanization’ of spatial planning. Given that, to date, this phenomenon has received little attention as it affects Spain, this article seeks to analyse the impact of Europeanization on Spanish spatial planning, focused on an examination of its regional territorial plans. The results show that Spain has been no exception in the application of these European directives but, at the same time, its unique administrative organization means that the process of Europeanization remains slow and heterogeneous in its application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

L'aprofitament de les possibilitats que les TIC proporcionen als ciutadans per a participar en els processos de presa de decisions dels governs constitueix un debat de primer ordre en el context actual. Aquestes noves formes de relació entre la ciutadania i els poders públics sembla que promouen una evolució d'un sistema democràtic representatiu a una democràcia conversacional i oberta que el complementa i perfecciona. El propòsit d'aquest treball és analitzar la progressiva assumpció normativa, i també l'aplicació i els efectes polítics i socials de la participació electrònica en les estratègies recents impulsades en l'àmbit autonòmic. Aquestes reflexions són una aportació parcial a la realitat global que les TIC generen, atès que aquí s'estudien les iniciatives institucionals, sens perjudici del sorgiment d'altres moviments que s'impulsen des de la mateixa ciutadania i al marge d'aquest marc institucionalitzat. La conclusió principal d'aquest repàs és que les TIC són un instrument més per a aprofundir en el dret de participació, entenent que la democràcia electrònica consisteix primer de tot en democràcia.

This paper examines (Spain’s) constitutional court rulings 80/2012 and110/2012. After twelve years of deliberation, the court has pronounced on the jurisdiction of Spain’s autonomous communties in the field of international sport. Although the statutes of Euskadi and Catalunya incorporate powers to compete internationally in sport, the constitutional court has constituted new powers in this area, based on three criteria: its supraregional nature, public interest and the territoriality principle. The creation of this new competence effectively sidesteps the two contested statutes by a new interpretetive ruling. The court has ruled in a way which interferes with the ability of Spain’s autonomous communties to manage their own sports’ administrations. Admittedly, it is not the constitutional courts’s job to to create this system, however, the way in which the court has ruled in favour of the state makes it practically impossibe to structure sport in a way which considers Spain’s autonomous communities.

This article deals with the principle of budget stability and the Autonomous Communities. It studies the amendment of the Article 135 of the Spanish Constitution and the Organic Act 2/2012, April 17th, of Budget Stability and Fiscal Sustainability. Through this regulation, the central government has committed itself to the principle of budget stability, whilst also guaranteeing the commitment of Autonomous Communities and local governments to that principle. The effect on Autonomous Communities has been, not only a loss in their scope for adopting their own budget policy within the framework of their fiscal powers, but also a conditioning of their decision making power in concrete fields of public action. The transfer of sovereignty to the European Union in matters of economic policy has thus translatedinto a limit to Autonomous Communities’ self-government. It has translated into an ”unwritten” change in their scope of financial self-government and, moreover, into an ”unwritten” amendment of their Statutes of Autonomy, particularly of the most recent ones.

El artículo distingue y analiza dos generaciones de legislaciones autonómicas sobre la iniciativa legislativa popular. La primera de estas generaciones normativas, que daría comienzo en el año 1984, se caracteriza por configurar dicha institución de forma muy restrictiva y trajo como consecuencia su inoperatividad. En la segunda generación, en cambio, que se iniciaría en el año 2006, se facilita la participación ciudadana en el ámbito legislativo a través de la iniciativa popular. El trabajo también estudia el caso concreto de la Comunitat Valenciana y su normativa relativa a la iniciativa legislativa popular, encuadrable todavía en las legislaciones autonómicas de la primera generación. The article distinguishes and analyzes two generations of regional laws on popular legislative initiative. The first of these regulations generations, which would begin in 1984, is characterized by that institution set very narrowly and resulted in its inoperability. In the second generation, however, which would begin in 2006, citizen participation in the legislative sphere through the popular initiative is facilitated. The work also studies the specific case of Valencian Community and its rules on the popular legislative initiative, which can still be included among the regional laws of the first generation. DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3041163

Estamos asistiendo a un intenso debate en torno a la necesidad de generar un proceso regeneración democrática en el contexto actual de la crisis institucional y desafección política. En esta línea, algunas Comunidades Autónomas han emprendido el camino de institucionalizar nuevas oportunidades de participación de los ciudadanos en los procesos de decisión pública. Fenómeno que se hace más patente desde la aprobación de los nuevos Estatutos de Autonomía, en los que la participación ciudadana, definida en ellos como derecho, principio y objetivo básico de la Comunidad Autónoma, debe ser desarrollada normativamente por el legislador autonómico. Se analizarán en esta ponencia, desde una perspectiva crítica, las normas jurídicas de referencia y sus posibilidades de implementación práctica para constatar si las Comunidades Autónomas ofrecen un marco más adecuado a la democracia participativa. In this era of institutional crisis and political disaffection, there is significant debate about the need to create democratic reform. With this in mind, some of Spain's Autonomous Communities have taken steps to institutionalise opportunities for citizens to participate in public decision-making processes. This is especially apparent in the newly adopted Statutes of Autonomy. In the Statutes, citizen participation is defined as a right, principle and basic objective of the Autonomous Community, for which laws must be developed by the legislating authority of that community. This paper will present a critical analysis of these legal standards and their potential for practical implementation, in order to investigate whether Autonomous Communities provide a better framework for participatory democracy. DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3048827

The autonomous communities common system includes in its system of personalincome tax (IRPF) regulatory powers to govern deductions in the contributionfor carrying out “non-company investments”. Catalonia, Madridand Andalusia have made use of this possibility – and Galicia has announcedits intention to do so in the near future. The three autonomous communitiesmentioned above have approved a very similar measure to promote theactivities of business angels in their respective regions, and Catalonia andMadrid have added another to support investments in companies that arefl oated on the Alternative Investment Market. The two incentives consist inreduction in the contribution – 20% of the amount invested – which is recognisedfor physical persons who buy shares or social interests in the capital ofcertain types of organisation, with the aim of encouraging a certain classof investments and companies in the regions of the respective autonomouscommunity. The indirect and ultimate benefi ciaries are therefore the companies.This enables us to question whether this has gone beyond what ispermitted under the laws of tax cession of the State and the autonomouscommunities and if the important rules of Community Law such as thoseregulating freedom of establishment and circulation of capital (art. 49 y 63of the TFUE) and the prohibition of State assistance (art. 107 and ss. TFUE)have been respected.

The author explores distinctiveness of the regional state mostly in Spain as third model of territorial organization. Unlike unitary and federal, regional state is not wide-spread and broad accepted concept of vertical organization although modern Spain and Italy represents examples of good practice. Having in mind diversity of regional identities and strong cultural distinctiveness in Catalonia, the Basque Country, Galicia and other areas, author is wondering if any other model of territorial organization could be sustainable in such socio-cultural environment. After the period of Franco’s dictatorship, which had been trying to exterminate cultural and historical particularities among Spanish nations, decentralization demands have become more stronger resulting with the new constitution adopted in 1978. This act has set the corner-stone of modern Spanish democracy based on Autonomous Communities as specific forms of decentralized state and territorial autonomy.

The article examines the regulation on the autonomous-community ombudsmaninstitutions introduced by the recently approved statutes of autonomy.The article focuses the analysis on three dimensions of the ombudsman: itscompetences, its institutional status and its relations with other institutionsof the autonomous communities. In this sense, it states that the new statuteshave sought to establish a clear normative definition about the scope andefficiency of the ombudsman as an institution for the protection of rights.On this subject, the article explores the new normative parameters on whichthe different ombudsmen will have to base their activity, in particular a seriesof rights for citizens (mostly social rights) included for the first time insome of the recently approved statutes of autonomy. The article finally concludesthat to efficiently warranty the protection of these rights is one ofthe major challenges the autonomous-community ombudsmen will have toface.

The 2006 Catalan Statute of Autonomy explicitly recognizes the legal capacityof the Catalan government to subscribe agreements of cooperation withforeign institution as part of its foreign affairs’ policy. The recognition of sucha legal capacity is a novelty in itself since, although such agreements werean already consolidated practice supported both by the opinion of constitutionalexperts and by several rulings of the Constitutional Court, they lackedof any legal bases. This novelty introduced by the 2006 Catalan Statute setsup a new framework for the establishment of agreements as a part of theAutonomous Communities foreign affairs’ policy that has been broadly adoptedby most of the new statutes approved between 2006 and 2007, and,that, from a Spain-as-a-whole perspective, implies a modification of thevery conception of political self-government.This article explores this new legal framework taking into account the contextof the globalization of international relations. In this sense, the newframework can be understood as a new instrument for the AutonomousCommunities to have access and to play a role within the globalized and interconnectedinternational context.The article is divided into two sections. In the first one, it analyses, from aconstitutional law approach, the content of the Catalan Statute’s articlethat defines the capacity of the Catalan government for subscribing agreementswith foreign institutions (article 195). In the second part, the articleturns to examine the juridical regime of these agreements, that is, their denomination,procedure, applicable law and settlement of disputes.

Objectives: The efficiency in the management of public resources is one of the main pillars of the welfare state. The objective of this work is to analyze the efficiency of the public resources that regional governments in Spain (Autonomous Communities (AC)) invest in health systems (HS). Study Design: A dataset from of the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality of Spain has been used, which contains the most important indicators from the National HS. The following variables have been chosen in this study: the health care expenses per resident, the percentage of this investment that is forwarded to labour expenses, frequency of hospital care services, frequency of specialized external health care services and, primary health care services in medicine and nursing per resident. Methods: To this end, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is applied, which enables researchers and managers to obtain measurements of efficiency of the analyzed regions, and to propose corrective steps to achieve efficiency for inefficient HS. Moreover, the super-efficiency measurement is shown for a constant and a variable scale. Results: The results show that there are three groups of AC, first a group composed by six HS that are globally efficient, a second group composed by eight HS that are globally inefficient, and a third group composed by three HS that are efficient in some terms and their efficiency can be improved. Conclusions: It is concluded that DEA is an appropriate method for evaluating efficiencies of health systems and giving the adjustments for the application of economic, social and organizational policies to improve their efficiencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With a very high unemployment rate but at the first stage of a timid economic recovery, Spain held regional and local elections in May 2015. The election results showed the fall of traditional parties and the emergence of new forces and citizens' platforms, which increased the fragmentation of the party system. The PP (Partido Popular - Popular Party) continued to be the most voted-for party but post-election agreements brought the left to power in eight of the 14 regions that held elections, ending four years of conservative general dominance. After commenting on the context, the campaign and the results of the elections, this article explores the main characteristics of the new party competition and examines the profile of those voting for new political alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In multi-level systems, state-wide parties are faced with particular challenges. Competing in elections on multiple levels of the polity, such parties juggle the desire for national recognizability and the need to be responsive to regional particularities. In this paper, I reflect on the delegation model of multi-level party politics, which is a theoretical perspective of great importance in the literature, arguing that the accuracy of the model depends on two critical assumptions. Based on these theoretical considerations, I develop the model further and apply it to the case of the two main Spanish state-wide parties, the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE) and the Partido Popular (PP). More specifically, the programmatic positions of their regional branches are analyzed, and it is shown that the framework manifestos issued by the national party organizations shape these to a large extent. While this case is used to illustrate the illuminating potential of the extended delegation model, the paper is similarly attentive to the limitations of the model and also hints at the implications for our conception of democracy in multi-level systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El presente artículo resume las desigualdades territoriales en la oferta de servicios sanitarios, y discute sus implicaciones sobre las desigualdades en el acceso y la utilización. En el ámbito de la atención primaria, destacan las diferencias regionales en el proceso de implantación de la reforma y en la dotación de servicios complementarios a los tradicionales, que conviven con desigualdades territoriales significativas en la cobertura y el acceso a algunos programas asistenciales. Por su parte, la oferta de camas sigue siendo desigual entre las comunidades autónomas (CCAA), particularmente en las dotaciones geriátricas, y más aún en las psiquiátricas. Es notable la desigualdad que conlleva la oferta privada no benéfica en las distintas CCAA. Asimismo, las dotaciones de aparatos de alta tecnología médica (ATM) son todavía muy desiguales entre las CCAA, particularmente las más recientes, pero se distribuyen de forma más homogénea que hace 10 años. Las desigualdades territoriales en la oferta de servicios sanitarios, aunque tangibles, son menores que las de los servicios sociosanitarios. Todavía mayor, aunque menos visible, es la desigualdad de utilización y acceso a los servicios sanitarios y sociales que el dispositivo asistencial ofertado. Además, en este ámbito la desigualdad de género se superpone a la de ámbito territorial.This chapter summarizes the main territorial inequalities in health care supply, and the related effects on access and use of health care facilities. Firstly, in the field of primary health care, the most notable inequalities refer to the process of introduction of the reform and to complementary services supply, together with the coverage of and access to some health care programs. Secondly, the distribution of hospital beds across regions is far from being uniform, specially with respect to geriatric and psychiatric beds. In addition, profit oriented private care is unequally distributed across territories. Thirdly, the availability of high-tech health care services is remarkably different across regions, although inequalities have been reduced during the last decade. Inequality in long-term care (not only in terms of supply, but also in access and use) is even higher than regional inequalities in health care supply. In addition to these territorial inequalities there are some significant gender inequalities.

En marzo de 2014 ha entrado en vigor la Ley de la Acción y del Servicio Exterior del Estado (LAESE). Se trata de una iniciativa legislativa dirigida a modernizar y coordinar la política exterior de España que ha sido promovida por el actual gobierno del Partido Popular y que ha sido aprobada con el único respaldo de su grupo parlamentario que cuenta con mayoría absoluta en las Cortes. El principal objetivo perseguido por la ley, garantizar el principio de unidad de acción del Estado, ha situado a las Comunidades Autónomas en el centro del debate político. La mayor parte de las críticas efectuadas por los grupos de oposición se han centrado en este aspecto destacando su carácter “recentralizador”. Cabe discutir, por tanto, si la ley recorta las competencias autonómicas en materia exterior. El presente artículo analiza el tratamiento que reciben las Comunidades Autónomas en el texto de la ley y llega a la conclusión de que no recorta competencias autonómicas, aunque identifica diversas carencias que hacen dudar de la efectividad que puede alcanzar la nueva norma