Search

We estimate the impact of a cash transfer targeting new mothers on their subsequent children's health outcomes at birth. We exploit the unexpected introduction of a generous, universal child benefit in Spain in 2007. Using population-wide, individual-level, high-quality administrative data from birth records and a regression discontinuity approach, we find that women who received the benefit were much less likely to have low-birth-weight children in the future (while their subsequent fertility was unaffected). The overall effect is driven by poor women, unmarried women, and women with low education, and by births taking place relatively soon after the benefit receipt. The €2500 transfer led to a 0.7 percentage-point decline in the fraction of children born under 1500 g in poorer households in the following five years, an 83% reduction. We explore the underlying channels, and find evidence supporting faster intrauterine growth, possibly driven by better maternal health, nutrition, and behaviors. Gestation length, family structure, and parental employment do not seem to play a role. Recent research suggests that targeting pregnant women may be more effective than later interventions (such as cash transfers to families with children), given the strong persistence of fetal health effects. Our results suggest that the impact may be stronger if women are targeted even earlier, before conception. The authors acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, through the Severo Ochoa Program for Centers of Excellence in R&D (CEX2019-000915-S). We also acknowledge funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 770958).

espanolEl trabajo en red es, en la actualidad, una de las principales herramientas de intervencion social. Sin embargo, su implementacion y desarrollo entranan dificultades que afectan tanto a profesionales como a usuarios. El presente articulo reflexiona acerca del escenario en el que se articula; repasa sus principales retos, y propone, finalmente, algunas sugerencias e ideas con las que promover un trabajo en red mas proximo a un espacio de aprendizaje permanente y colectivo, que a un lugar en el que domina la culpa, el desasosiego y la autodefensa. Su finalidad ultima es contribuir a un trabajo en red basado en los principios colaborativos entre agencias, profesionales, disciplinas y usuarios, que recupere al profesional reflexivo como elemento esencial de este proceso. Se trata de pensar en una red que actue como una malla simbolica de seguridad en la que encontrar sosten, apoyo y comprension durante el quehacer diario del trabajo psicosocial EnglishNetworking is currently one of the key tools of social intervention. However, there are difficulties in terms of its implementation and development that affect both professionals and users. This article reflects on the circumstances in which it occurs, reviews its main challenges and finally proposes some suggestions and ideas in order to promote a form of networking that is closer to a space offering continuous and collective learning than to one dominated by blame, unease and self-defence. The ultimate aim is to contribute to developing networking based on collaborative principles, involving agencies, professionals, disciplines and users, and featuring the reflective professional as an essential element of this process. A network is conceived here as a symbolic safety net offering support, assistance and understanding in relation to the daily activities of psychosocial work.

Un total de 117 aislados bacterianos obtenidos de casos de mastitis bovina positivos a las pruebas de catalasa, coagulasa, termonucleasa, manitol y PCR fueron analizados para determinar la producción de los siguientes factores de virulencia: hemolisisnas (alfa y beta), factor de agregación y cápsula. Adicionalmente fue también evaluada la sensibilidad a oxitetraciclina, penicilina, oxacilina y estreptomicina. La producción de hemolisinas y el factor de agregación fueron los 2 factores de virulencia expresados en la mayoría de los aislados (78%) y (83%) respectivamente, mientras que la formación de cápsula se detectó en 31% de los aislados bovinos. Una fuerte correlación entre ausencia de cápsula y producción de hemolisinas fue observado, ya que 72 de un total de 92 cepas hemolíticas no mostraron cápsula. La ausencia de cápsula fue asociada a la producción del factor de agregación en 89% de los aislados bacterianos positivos a este factor. El 68% y 69% de los aislados bacterianos resultaron positivos a penicilina y oxacilina respectivamente. La mayoría de los aislados (116) expresaron al menos 1 factor de virulencia (hemolisinas, cápsula o factor de agregación). Finalmente, el papel de los factores de virulencia y su relación en la patogenicidad de S. aureus en la mastitis bovina en México es discutido.

We estimate empirically the effect of immigration on house prices and residential construction activity in Spain over the period 1998-2008. This decade is characterized by both a spectacular housing market boom and a stunning immigration wave. We exploit the variation in immigration across Spanish provinces and construct an instrument based on the historical location patterns of immigrants by country of origin. The evidence points to a sizeable causal effect of immigration on both prices and quantities in the housing market. Between 1998 and 2008, the average Spanish province received an immigrant inflow equal to 17% of the initial working-age population. We estimate that this inflow increased house prices by about 52% and is responsible for 37% of the total construction of new housing units during the period. These figures imply that immigration can account for roughly one third of the housing boom, both in terms of prices and new construction.

We estimate the effect of divorce legalization on the long-term well-being of children. Our identification strategy relies on exploiting the different timing of divorce legalization across European countries. Using European Community Household Panel data, we compare the adult outcomes of cohorts who were raised in an environment where divorce was banned with cohorts raised after divorce was legalized in the same country. We also have “control” countries where all cohorts were exposed (or not exposed) to divorce as children, thus leading to a difference-in-differences approach. We find that women who grew up under legal divorce have lower earnings and income as well as worse health as adults compared with women who grew up under illegal divorce. These effects are not found for men. We find no effects of divorce legalization on children’s family formation or dissolution patterns.

This paper provides evidence that the combination of land-use restrictions and an increasing demand for housing can create incentives to induce forest fires as a means to circumvent regulation and increase the supply of land available for residential construction. I estimate the effect of the price of housing on the incidence of forest fires using Spanish data by region for 1991-2005. The results suggest that higher house prices led to a significant increase in the incidence of forest fires in a region. I also find that the increased incidence of forest fires led to a subsequent reduction in forest area and an increase in urban land area. This evidence supports the claims often found in the media that property speculators trying to build in forest land may be behind the recent increases in the incidence of forest fires in Mediterranean countries.

This paper examines the effect of public assistance, labor market and marriage market conditions on the prevalence of single mother families across countries and over time. A multinomial logit derived from a random utility approach is estimated using individuallevel data for 14 countries. I find evidence that increases in the level of public support are significantly and positively associated with a higher incidence of both never married and divorced mothers. The results also suggest that single mothers are more prevalent when female wages are lower. Higher male earnings and employment opportunities in a woman’s marriage market appear to lead to fewer never married mothers, but more divorced mothers. Higher child support or alimony payments are associated with a higher prevalence of divorced mothers.