Search

This paper deals with the effects of political decentralisation on economic growth in Spain, an issue that has generated heated debates in recent decades. Our analysis of the last three and a half decades, a period characterised by the weak narrowing of the income per capita gap within regions, does not offer conclusive results on convergence and points to the importance of alternative factors. Several proxies were used to capture the decentralisation process. We also studied some potential interactions between decentralisation and other variables. All in all, our empirical evidence shows robustly that transferring more responsibilities to subnational governments does not significantly affect growth in any sense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of fiscal decentralization on the size of regional governments in Spain, by controlling for economies of scale, interregional heterogeneity and institutional framework. We study it over 1985 to 2004 using a panel dataset of seventeen spanish regions. The results can be easily summarized. Firstly, it supports the classic public goods theory of a trade-off-between the economic benefits of size and the costs of heterogeneity. Secondly, it doesn't reject the 'Leviathan' hypothesis and neither does the 'common pool' hypothesis. Thirdly, by contrast, the paper partly rejects the 'Wallis'' hypothesis. It argues that government size is mediated by financial resources obtained through intergovernmental grants, consistent with welfare economics and positive economic policies. We conclude that later advances in the decentralisation process must be compatible with the goal of reducing fiscal imbalances that emanate from the vertical structure of fiscal power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Española de Derecho Constitucional is the property of Centro de Estudios Politicos y Constitucionales 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.)

Two main elements characterize a country as federal and the development of its federal system. The first one is directly connected to competences and how regions may or may not have powers over public policies. The second one focuses on the fiscal arena, and how regions generate their own income and share it with the central government. This paper describes from a historical point of view the different phases that the Spanish federal process has followed since its beginning in 1978 up to the last reform in 2016. These phases are related to the composition of both the regional and the national governments. It is therefore is important to investigate the connection between changes in these compositions and how they may have affected the phases of decentralization. Employing the new institutionalism paradigm and seeking for critical junctures in the different moments, we show how national governments are more important in shaping this process than regional ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of the paper is to show that HRM is not the sole responsibility of HR departments, but also of other agents inside and outside the organisation, such as top and line managers, and external HRM service providers. This paper seeks to examine how organisations distribute HRM activities and responsibilities among these agents. The study attempts to classify organisations according to agent distribution and to explore whether a number of internal and external context characteristics affect this distribution. Design/methodology/approach - The survey in the paper shows the methodology chosen in order to collect and analyse factual data about the participation of different agents in HRM activities and the characteristics of the organisations and their context. The questionnaire obtained a valid sample of 231 Spanish companies. A multiple correspondence analysis approach was taken in order to cluster the organisations. Findings - The analysis of the data in this paper clearly produced seven groups, each involving organisations that allocated responsibilities to the various agents in a similar fashion. However, no common contextual characteristics were found among the companies in each of the seven categories. Research limitations/implications - The main limitations in the paper are related to the length of the questionnaire, the adequacy of the respondents related to the unit of observation; and the relative newness of the techniques used. Originality/value - The main contribution of the paper consists of the incorporation of existing partial areas of study in the field of HRM (roles of the HR department, devolution to line management, and outsourcing of the HR function) into an integrated study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainable, integrated, and representative management of water is one of the main challenges faced by governments worldwide, especially where water resources are not abundant, such as the Ebro River basin in Spain. The Spanish state has granted powers in matters related to water that has adhered river basins. The main objective of this study is to examine the specific case of water management in Catalonia, a region within the Ebro basin, through literature review and interviews conducted with key informants in water organizations operating in Catalonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing internationalization of European Higher Education requires more emphasis on cross-country comparisons. In this paper, an efficiency analysis of Italian and Spanish universities is conducted; as well as from a comparative perspective. The efficiency scores are obtained using data envelopment analysis. The results demonstrate a good average efficiency in both countries relative to each “country-specific” frontier; but when compared together, Italian universities seem relatively more efficient. Malmquist indexes show, in both cases, efficiency improvements in the period considered. In the Italian case, this improvement is due to major “technological changes”; that is, the introduction of some structural reforms in the sector (e.g., Bachelor/Master curricula). In the Spanish case, there is an improvement in “pure” efficiency, which is due to new funding models. Further stages of the study underline the role of “regional effects”, probably due to different socio-economic conditions in Italy, and to the decentralization process in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper, using a sample of 150 Spanish companies of large size, aim to corroborate the postulates determined by the contingency models regarding the relationships between the organisational environment and the structural design parameters. Our basic aim is to establish the different relative importance of each of the elements characterising the environment to the design parameters. The results obtained show that the first relation to be clearly observed is that between level of complexity of the environment and the degree of organicity of the structure. However, such an evident relationship is not observed between the degree of dynamism of the environment and the level of organicity. As for the relation between degree of hostility of the environment and the design parameters analysed, the contingent hypotheses that predict that the degree of centralisation of the structure increases with the hostility of the environment are confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article discusses the erosion of collective bargaining in Spain, referencing the paper "Beyond de-centralization: The erosion of collective bargaining in Spain during the Great Recession" published in the December 2014 issue of the journal "Stato e Mercato." Topics of the paper authored by Oscar Molina include the role and characteristics of industrial relations in Mixed Market Economies and the evolution and characteristics of industrial relations in Spain.

Copyright of Regional Studies is the property of Routledge 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 contributes to the literatures on the governance of activation and the territorial structure of the welfare state by drawing attention to the institutional designs of active welfare states and the architectures of decentralisation, as well as to their manifestations and implications. With the end of capturing dissimilar intergovernmental models of activation, this paper develops a framework of ‘centre–regional’ relations, which we apply to the cases of Italy and Spain – two countries that have devolved active labour market policy powers to their regions but have organised power-sharing structures very differently. The findings suggest that when it comes to active welfare states, horizontal arrangements are linked to salient institutional variations across the territory. By contrast, hierarchical structures, which are characterised by a dominant role of central level governments, are linked to higher levels of cohesion. These findings are relevant as they expose the manifestations and implications of distinct decentralisation models on activation regimes, welfare states, as well as on welfare clients. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Revista de Derecho Politico is the property of Editorial UNED 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 paper analyses Spanish infrastructure policy since the early 1700s: road building in the eighteenth century, railway creation and expansion in the nineteenth, motorway expansion in the twentieth, and high speed rail development in the twenty-first. The analysis reveals a long-term pattern, in which infrastructure policy in Spain has been driven not by the requirements of commerce and economic activity, but rather by the desire to centralise transportation around the country's political capital. As commerce has been unable to sustain the development of this policy, regulation and subsidies from the national budget have regularly been used to decide the priorities regarding infrastructure creation and to fund the development, maintenance, and operation of the networks. When high roads, bridges, canals, etc. are in this manner made and supported by the commerce which is carried on by means of them, they can be made only where that commerce requires them, and consequently where it is proper to make them. Their expense too, their grandeur and magnificence, must be suited to what that commerce can afford to pay. They must be made consequently as it is proper to make them. A magnificent high road cannot be made through a desert country where there is little or no commerce, or merely because it happens to lead to the country villa of the intendant of the province, or to that of some great lord to whom the intendant finds it convenient to make his court. Adam Smith, The wealth of nations (1776, vol. III.V.I, pp. 95-96) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a method to make measurable what was not: the discourses of politicians regarding decentralization. For this purpose, we develop a “matrix of arguments” and a set of indexes, and apply them to provide a snapshot of the politicians’ views on the “General Law of Budgetary Stability”, a landmark for the process of decentralization in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to study the management style of the Spanish advertising agencies. For this purpose, it explores the way in which the dimensions that define the nature of this concept arise in the sector chosen. The analysis begins with the definition of management style as concept followed by an exposition of its main functions and its fundamental dimensions. Then, the paper presents the methodology used to verify how these dimensions appear among managers as well as the results obtained during the fieldwork. Such methodology includes the achievement of in-depth interviews, with the help of a questionnaire of semi-structured questions, and the descriptive analysis of qualitative and quantitative information obtained from those interviews. The revision of these aspects enriches the study of management at the advertising agencies since it contributes to understand why certain actions have as a consequence one particular kind of relationship between directors and collaborators or another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper describes what are the main actors in internacional development cooperation in Andalucía and the role they play in shaping public policy that performs the Junta de Andalucía in this area. Local governments, through the Andalusian Fund for International Solidarity, the Andalusian Coordinator NGO Development and Andalusian Universities are the most prominent actors, recognized in the different structures and laws of the Andalusian Government as agents of development cooperation in the autonomous community of Andalucía. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Pôle Sud is the property of Centre Comparatif d'Etudes sur les Politiques Publiques et les Espaces Locaux 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.)

On the basis of aggregated and individual-level survey data of national and regional elections in Spain, this paper analyzes how economic voting is impacted by vertical and horizontal dimensions of clarity of responsibility. Our findings suggest that economic voting is enhanced when mechanisms of accountability are simple. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There exists a common belief among researchers and regional policy makers that the actual central system of Aeropuertos Españoles y Navegación Aérea (AENA) should be changed to one more decentralized where airport managers could have more autonomy. The main objective of this article is to evaluate the efficiency of the Spanish airports using Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulation to estimate a stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) model. Our results show the existence of a significant level of inefficiency in airport operations. Additionally, we provide efficient marginal cost estimates for each airport which also cast some doubts about the current pricing practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: While the World Health Organization (WHO) has established guidance on COVID-19 surveillance, little is known about implementation of these guidelines in federations. which fragment authority across multiple levels of government. This study examines how subnational governments in federal democracies collect and report data on COVID-19 cases and mortality associated with COVID-19. Methods: We collected data from subnational government websites in 15 federal democracies to construct indices of COVID-19 data quality. Using bivariate and multivariate regression, we analyzed the relationship between these indices and indicators of state capacity, the decentralization of resources and authority, and the quality of democratic institutions. We supplement these quantitative analyses with qualitative case studies of subnational COVID-19 data in Brazil, Spain, and the United States. Findings: Subnational governments in federations vary in their collection of data on COVID-19 mortality, testing. hospitalization, and demographics. There are statistically significant associations (p < 0.05) between subnational data quality and key indicators of public health system capacity, fiscal decentralization, and the quality of democratic institutions. Case studies illustrate the importance of both governmental and civil-society institutions that foster accountability. Conclusions: The quality of subnational COVID-19 surveillance data in federations depends in part on public health system capacity, fiscal decentralization, and the quality of democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In multi-tiered states, subnational policymakers face a dilemma: on one hand, they must ensure the social legitimacy of their subnational unit by owning relevant policies including their potentially negative consequences; on the other, they have to manage their budget responsibly, which limits the scope of policy development. We study this dilemma in relation to social policies, by examining how the constituent units and municipalities in Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland deal with it, taking social assistance as an empirical example. Our analysis suggests that the combination of the federation's history and a multinational political context affects the incentives and the choices made by the policymakers regarding ownership and disownership of policy competencies in the field of social assistance. By analysing mechanisms that are likely to play out in multi-tiered welfare states, our article contributes to both the social policy and the political science literatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does regional decentralization threaten the commitment to regional equality in government outcomes and outputs? We attempt to shed a light on this question by drawing on unique evidence from the largest European unitary states to have engaged in countrywide health system decentralization: Italy and Spain. We estimate, decompose and run a counterfactual analysis of regional inequality in government output (health expenditure per capita) and outcome (health system satisfaction) during the expansion of healthcare decentralization in both countries. We find no evidence of an increase in regional inequalities in outcomes and outputs in the examined period. Inequalities are accounted for by differences in health system design and management by regional governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to analyze the impact of the decentralization of the public national health system in Spain on citizens' satisfaction with different dimensions of primary and hospital care. Using micro-data from the Health Barometer 1996-2009 and taking advantage of the exogeneity of the different pace of decentralization across Spain using a difference-in-differences strategy, we find that, in general, decentralization has not improved citizens' satisfaction with different features of the health services. In our base model, we find that there are even some small negative effects on a subset of variables. Sensitivity analysis confirms that there is no empirical evidence for supporting that decentralization has had a positive impact on citizens' satisfaction with health care. We outline several possible reasons for this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pattern of interurban industrial localization is stable. A current explanatory approach argues that decentralization from large urban areas to mid-sized and small-sized towns is the only process now active and that the basic variables of this interurban decentralization are city size and proximity to or distance from a large urban area. This article provides a theoretical discussion, methodological recommendations and evidence for the argument that industrial decentralization processes are more complex than this and require less restrictive suppositions. Our analysis of new industries located in Zaragoza, one of the main Spanish urban areas, from 1992 to 2005 shows how two aspects, which are seldom found in the literature, influence these processes. The first is the structure of the urban system, because the distance-sensitive decentralization process is contingent on the spatial structure of the system. The second aspect is the industrial and urban development policies, because they can alter the competitive advantages of the different types of cities. Thus, large urban areas can maintain their industrial attractiveness because they meet different and more numerous requirements than the predictions suggested they would and because they halt the spatial advance of the industrial decentralization processes. The article concludes with a reflection on the theoretical and methodological implications of the results as well as their contributions to a better understanding, formulation and analysis of the interurban industrial dynamic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Spanish polity has made the transition in the last three decades from a centralized system to a quasi-federal one characterized as having features of a shared power model with overlapping powers among levels of government. The new system has implied a change in the functions of central government from service delivery to planning and policy design. Enquiring beyond the hierarchy-non-hierarchy role of central government of intergovernmental studies, this article applies control concepts of oversight, mutuality, competition and contrived randomness from grid & group cultural theory in order to empirically examine the evolution of the role of central government in intergovernmental relations. Although the institutional features of the Spanish polity are expected to foster cooperative intergovernmental relations and a brokerage role of central government fostering mutual (peer) relations of the regions, the text suggests that institutional praxis and the 'youth' of the Spanish decentralization process are accountable for the direction taken by the Spanish polity. The system is characterized by central government still embedded in the inertia of oversight (with examples of fostering mutuality at times and in some policy fields) and by the regions seeking unilateralism through contrived randomness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we have analyzed both the main traits of efficient firms and the main sources of firms' efficiency through a representative sample of 2.029 small and medium size Catalan firms. Our results demonstrate the importance for managers of realizing that firms' efficiency shows a significant improvement when advanced ICT uses are combined with human resources practices focused on the promotion of workers autonomy, flexibility and decentralization of firm's decision making process, and with the adoption of employees assessment systems based on human values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]