Search

Copyright of Industrial Relations / Relations Industrielles is the property of Universite Laval, Department of Industrial Relations 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 aim of this paper is to analyse institutional change in the Spanish labour market in from a historical perspective, particularly regarding two main areas: labour regulation and collective bargaining. The main thesis is that it is possible to identify four main stages. Firstly, there was an institutional structure unfavourable to workers, which was overcome by the agency of the labour movement in the period of the so-called desarrollismo (1960-1975). Secondly, the years of transition from dictatorship to democracy (1976-1983) were a period of labour market regulation. Thirdly, there was a period of labour market dualism (1984-1996) based on the application of flexibility at the margin in the face of veto power. This was followed by deregulation (1997-2019), which was a consequence of the weakening of power resources resulting from the previous labour market segmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spain underwent two major labour reforms in 2010 and 2012 under the assumption that deregulating the labour market and decentralizing collective bargaining would automatically reduce unemployment (deregulation hypothesis). This article highlights the impact of demand and the sectoral structure of the economy to explain the behaviour of this variable (structural hypothesis). Analysing subnational panel data, the authors assess the capacity of these two hypotheses to explain unemployment trends. Their results cast doubt on the deregulation hypothesis and indicate the importance of cyclical and structural factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides new information on the effects of deregulation and consolidation in financial services markets by analyzing the Spanish insurance industry. The sample period 1989-98 spans the introduction of the European Union's (EU) Third Generation Insurance Directives, which deregulated the EU insurance market. Deregulation has led to dramatic changes in the Spanish insurance market; the number of firms declined by 35%, average firm size increased by 275%, and unit prices declined significantly in both life and non-life insurance. We analyze the causes and effects of consolidation using modern frontier efficiency analysis to estimate cost, technical, and allocative efficiency, as well as using Malmquist analysis to measure total factor productivity (TFP) change. The results show that many small, inefficient, and financially underperforming firms were eliminated from the market due to insolvency or liquidation. As a result, the market experienced significant growth in TFP over the sample period. Consolidation not only reduced the number of firms operating with increasing returns to scale but also increased the number operating with decreasing returns to scale. Hence, many large firms should focus on improving efficiency by adopting best practices rather than on further growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 paper examines the impact of regulatory reform on the performance of Spanish savings banks. To this end it uses panel data for the period 1986-1995 and a flexible variable profit function that incorporates time-varying technical efficiency. The focus is whether increased competition brought on by deregulation affected performance of banks over time. Bank performance, measured by the percentage change in profitability, ceteris paribus, is decomposed into technical change and change in technical efficiency both of which are defined in terms of the profit function. We also examine output technical efficiency, which is defined in terms of the production possibility frontier. Several alternative models with different specifications of technical efficiency are used to cheek robustness of the results. Empirical results show declining levels of output technical efficiency along with a significantly high rate of technical progress. In spite of declining technical efficiency during this period, we find evidence of an increasing trend in productivity growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to find empirical evidence of the connection between industrial deregulation and the appearance of anticompetitive practices. We test our hypothesis using data on antitrust proceedings in Spain from 1990 to 2003, when the Spanish government undertook intense reforms in several industries.We construct a database of proceedings brought by the Court (Tribunal de Defensa de la Competencia) during that period. Our results show an increase in collusion and trust practices in deregulated industries during that period, which required the government to dedicate additional resources to antitrust policy. We also find that certain regulatory elements and industrial deregulation have positive effects on the number of antitrust proceedings. We also observe that sanctions may induce a learning effect in industries that causes industry participants to modify their behavior. Finally, we find that the existence of a regulatory agency in an industry has no significant effect on antitrust proceedings in that industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to show the limited inclusion of journalists of migrant origin in Spanish mainstream media, analyzing not only their difficulties in getting a job in the media industry and the precarious working conditions here prevail, but also the struggle of these journalists to acquire visibility and recognition as media professionals. These journalists" inclusion must be framed in a highly unfavourable context, characterized by chronic deregulation. The analysis of migrant journalists" job inclusion surpasses work conditions to highlight the debate about the possibilities of development of a public sphere that really reflects the multicultural society in which we live. Thus, the basic argument that lies behind the analysis is the democratization of national media field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with measuring total factor productivity (TFP) growth of financial institutions incorporating different types of deregulatory measures. TFP growth is decomposed into external, scale, and markup components. The external component is further dissected into deregulation and technical change components. The TFP growth relationship is included as an additional equation in estimating the cost system. The empirical model uses panel data on Spanish banks (savings and commercial banks). We find that deregulations contributed positively to TFP growth for both savings and commercial banks. Furthermore, domestic (European) deregulations had a greater effect on TFP growth of savings (commercial) banks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modelling and testing whether competitive pressures driven by deregulatory changes make markets more competitive are examined. Departures from competitive markets are modelled via mark-up prices. Empirically, a panel data is used on Spanish savings banking industry that is undergoing unprecedented changes caused by the deregulation of financial services, the establishment of the economic and monetary union and developments in information technology. Evidence of mark-ups in output markets is found, and such mark-ups are found to decline slowly over time. This finding suggests that the presence of deregulatory pressures improved the competitive strength of the Spanish savings banks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Estudios sobre el Mensaje Periodistico is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid 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.)

Economic deregulation of industry and transport is one of the economic policies exerted in recent years in Spain, with the aim of increasing efficiency in the economic system. This paper focus on the economic effects of transport deregulation. To this end, we have applied the theoretical apparatus pertaining to the estimation of the consumer’s surplus, using a series of previous empirical studies on the different modes of transport in Spain, their regulations and the effects of such deregulation as they have undergone. Empirical evidence provide predictions which indicate that deregulation of transport services may produce substantial benefits to Spanish consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the effects of the interplay between deregulation and governance on risk-taking in the financial industry. We consider the removal of regulatory geographic constraints for savings banks in Spain, the cajas, which led to a nationwide expansion of these banks during the past two decades. Based on a unique dataset that combines information on the geographic distribution of bank lending, matched lender-borrower financial statements, and borrower defaults, we find that the governance of the savings banks significantly affects the way in which they expand their lending activities. Savings banks that are subject to political influence by regional governments exhibit higher ex ante risk-taking and higher ex post loan defaults. Our study highlights the broader implications of the impact of global deregulation and consolidation and their interaction with governance issues. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The ongoing financial crisis has exacerbated concerns about the need to redefine the role and characteristics of regulation. In the case of public services, deregulation was justified by the benefits that would accrue to consumers, though scant attention was paid to actual consumer experience in regulatory design. New European public services regulation policies argue that the citizens' perspective should be considered, with the aim of improving the functioning of the markets whilst protecting the general interest. The decisions and attitudes of Spanish citizens regarding two public services, electricity and telecommunications, are analysed. The novelty of this article is to contrast revealed and declared preferences, a method which has not yet been used in analysing public service use. The results show when and how socio-economic variables affect service use and satisfaction and the conclusions indicate how the results could be used to formulate better policies to address issues of social inclusiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the case of Spain in the period from 1993 to 2005, when intense reforms in several industries took place in the country. We observe an increase in collusion and trust practices in liberalized industries, what requires an increase in the resources dedicated to antitrust policy. An econometric estimation demonstrates the influence that certain regulatory dimensions have on antitrust activity. Deregulation has an additional positive effect on antitrust activity. We also observe a learning effect in industries due to previous sanctions. Finally, we find a complementarity effect of regulatory agencies on the antitrust policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on changes in collective bargaining in Spain during the current phase of austerity. We evaluate how the decentralization and transformation of collective bargaining have affected industrial relations and forms of work and suggest that the policy reforms have led to a deterioration in working conditions and a weakening in collective regulation and trade unions. However, we emphasize the contradictory outcomes, which appear to be drawing the state into new more direct roles, bringing new actors (such as legal firms) into the deregulation of employment. This situation also raises a range of concerns among managers and employers at the repoliticization of industrial relations and generates further challenges to the ability of management and unions to sustain consensual forms of social dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Journalistic self-regulation recommends respect to the weak and disadvantaged people. In our quantitative analysis, journalists show themselves sensitive to disadvantaged groups. However, they disagree about the most appropriate treatment. The results of in-depth interviews reflect the same lack of consensus among journalists about the role the media should take to disadvantaged groups: a) giving visibility to certain disadvantaged; b) Certain economic benefits campaigns; c) Media are businesses. The disadvantaged are not their cause. Citizens see no objection to explicit certain attributes of the protagonists of the news, especially those related to age or gender. According to the results of the bivariate analysis, women and those who are more critical to journalistic ethics are less in favour to explicit certain attributes related to sexual orientation, ethnicity or nationality. In all other cases there are no significant differences. In focus groups, citizens perceive that, in general, minorities are distorted in the news. For all participants, disadvantaged groups, only have significance in the media on negative events. Youth and adults from Madrid consider that the media exploit the events associated with these groups to feed the curiosity and increase the audience. The more educated adults claim that the use of euphemisms can not change stereotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deregulation through temporary employment has generated important inequalities in the Spanish labour market. The article presents a theoretical model as well as empirical evidence to explain this process. The main thrust of the model is seeing labour market structures as always being the result of micro-level strategies of employers and employees over employment tents. The employment-rent approach focuses on the impact of deregulation through temporary employment on the employment- rent optimization strategies of both employers and employees at the micro-level. Drawing on recent developments in labour economics, two main micro-level effects of deregulation are identified, the so-called `incentive' and `buffer' mechanisms. These two mechanisms are expected to reinforce each other until an equilibrium state in the segmentation process is reached. The employment-rent model is tested using data from the Spanish Labour Force Survey for the period 1987-1997, as well as data on wages drawn from the Survey on Class Structure, Class Consciousness and Class Biography (1991). The evidence proves consistent with the predictions of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the factors that influence entry and geographic diversification decisions, a topic of special strategic interest in a context of growing globalization. The empirical model we propose is tested in a framework— the Spanish savings-bank market—where recent deregulation has eliminated the legal barriers to entry. Our results show two important conclusions for the evolution of the effects of branching deregulation in Europe and the US. First, it seems that entry in new geographical markets has been impeded by the strategic interactions between entrants and incumbents. Second, savings banks exhibit a preference for closer locations at the time of expanding, which may have undermined the effects of deregulation and its potential benefits for consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frontier cost efficiency and technical change are examined for separate panels of Spanish commercial and savings banks over 1985 - 91, a period in which interest rates were totally deregulated and geographical restrictions were removed. Deregulation was supposed to provide an opportunity for the Spanish banking industry to become more efficient prior to the removal of competitive barriers between countries within the EEC. Two previous studies have estimated production frontiers for the operating cost component of Spanish savings banks using a non-parametric (DEA) approach, finding a decrease in relative efficiency plus the equivalent of higher frontier costs. Operating cost accounts for only 40% of total cost. By including all costs, financial as well as operating, we determine the total cost efficiency of Spanish commercial and savings banks and their total response to deregulation. Cost efficiency is determined using a thick frontier approach while shifts in the cost frontier are determined using a time trend analysis. Our results suggest that deregulation was associated with a decrease in relative cost efficiency for commercial banks but no change for savings banks. The cost frontier shifted up for both types of institutions over 1985 - 91. Overall, our efficiency results paint a more positive picture regarding the effects of deregulation on the Spanish banking industry than obtained previously, although we still find similar negative effects for technical change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expansion and intensification of banking competition, undergone by the Spanish banking industry during the last 15 years, has allowed commercial banks and savings banks to more freely define their competitive strategies. This paper reports empirical evidence on the similarities and differences in banks' product mixes along with their time evolution. In particular, it attempts to identify the different kinds of firms according to their output mixes and, on this basis, to analyse if the deregulation and increased competition have resulted into the homogenization (convergence) of specializations between firms or groups of firms (clubs). The empirical success is higher when product mix clubs are considered, achieving higher heterogeneity within the banking system as a whole but increased homogeneity within certain clusters of commercial banks and savings banks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a panel data analysis of Spanish privatised firms, we study how different factors influence the operating performance of divested companies. The results show that it is not privatisation per se but other factors that matter. After controlling for possible sample selection bias related to government timing of divestments, we find that the greater the relinquishment of State control and the smaller the percentage of ownership held by managers and/or employees, the better the firms' post-privatisation performance. Moreover, privatisations that are accompanied by liberalisation programmes and occur during buoyant economic cycles turn out to be more successful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the evolution of the Spanish gasoline market from the abolition of the state oil monopoly (January 1993) to "complete" liberalisation (October 1998). With the restructuring of the Spanish oil sector during the 1980s and early 1990s, a highly concentrated oligopoly emerged in the automotive fuels market. A system of price ceilings replaced the state administered prices in July 1990. Since then, new domestic and foreign operators have entered the market, particularly along the coast, near import terminals. Prices went up and then declined. These developments can be explained by an interplay of factors such as: the gradual decline in co-operation among the Spanish firms; the loss of market share of the largest of these, Repsol; the entry of independent operators and supermarkets; and the impact of the ceiling price system. By mid-1998 this system was abolished as the government considered it an "impediment" to further market liberalisation. However, some crucial barriers to the entry of new suppliers remain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzes the privatization process and regulation of the telecommunications sector in Spain. Steps towards liberalization; Aspects of telecommunications sectors; Future prospects for the sector; Status of the sector before privatization.

Copyright of Revista de Administración Pública 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.)

The place of labor in market reform coalitions, ranging from democratic inclusion to labor repression, triggers a trade-off between the degree of deregulation in the formal sector and the amount of compensations targeted to the unemployed and poor workers in the informal sector. Comparative analysis of Chile (1973-1989), Argentina (1989-99), and Spain (1982-96) reveals that, the more organized labor is included in the policymaking process, the less extensive reform of the system of industrial relations will be. Conversely, the more organized labor is repressed or excluded, the more labor law will be deregulated. In addition, when labor is excluded or repressed, the relative importance of compensatory policies in the form of subsidies to unemployed and unorganized workers in the informal sector is greater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We examine variations in financial and economic performance as a function of organizational form, and, over time. The forms we consider include Spanish commercial banks, savings banks, and financial cooperatives. We decompose multilateral variation in operating profit, our measure of financial performance, into price and quantity effects. We then decompose the latter into a margin effect and productivity change. Our measure of economic performance, productivity variation, is subsequently disaggregated into technical, cost efficiency, and scale. We find that deregulation and liberalization have acted to narrow performance gaps among organizational forms; this, despite less-than compelling evidence that increased competition has contributed to this convergence. For the Spanish banking system as a whole, the margin effect appears to deliver twice as much financial benefit as do improvements in productivity. Importantly, this finding does not vary across organizational form. Such regularity has an important implication: Incentives for growth are apparently provided by a positive margin rather than by the more elusive benefits of economies of scale and improved cost efficiency. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In new deregulated electricity market, price forecasts have become a fundamental input to an energy company’s decision making and strategy development process. However, the exclusive characteristics of electricity price such as non-stationarity, non-linearity and time-varying volatile structure present a number of challenges for this task. In spite of all performed research on this area in the recent years, there is still essential need for more accurate and robust price forecast methods. Besides, there is a lack of efficient feature selection technique for designing the input vector of electricity price forecast. In this paper, a new two-stage feature selection algorithm composed of modified relief and mutual information (MI) techniques is proposed for this purpose. Moreover, cascaded neural network (CNN) is presented as forecast engine for electricity price prediction. The CNN is composed of cascaded forecasters where each forecaster is a neural network (NN). The proposed feature selection algorithm selects the best set of candidate inputs which is used by the CNN. The proposed method is examined on PJM, Spanish and Ontario electricity markets and compared with some of the most recent price forecast techniques. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The aim of the European Commission''s Single European Sky initiative is to promote a series of structural changes within Air Transport to help improve its efficiency, continuity and sustainability. One of the key elements of the air transport system is Air Traffic Services (ATSs), which must guarantee safe and fluid operations. The Single European Sky initiative puts in place a series of mechanisms to replace the existing public monopolies with free market models. Taking advantage of this new framework, Spain has initiated a process of liberalisation of ATS Services, which may provide a business opportunity for operators with an interest in the area of air transport, and European providers who wish to expand their markets. This document sets out the new legal framework that has been put in place in Spain to promote this process, indicating the motives of these actions and the main implications the process will have, whilst maintaining the objective of guaranteeing continuity of service, and avoiding any barriers to entry, which changes of this type can give rise to. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper analyses the privatisation process carried out in Spain through the period 1985-1998. Firstly, an updated overview of the magnitude of the process is presented, paying also attention to the legal background, the economic features of the privatised firms, and the ways and procedures. And secondly, the paper provides a critical assessment of the objectives that the successive governments have actually pursued through privatisations; so, we attempt to verify to which extent privatisations carried out could be related to the usual explanatory hypotheses based in the property rights theory. As a result it is argued here that the main goals actually pursued by Spanish governments (given the features of the privatised firms) do not fit well with such hypotheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]