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Regional disparities in unemployment rates are large and persistent, particularly in some economies such as Spain. Previous contributions to the literature have provided evidence on their magnitude and evolution, as well as on the role of some economic, demographic and environmental factors in explaining the gap between low and high unemployment regions. Most of these studies have used an aggregate approach. That is, they have not accounted for the individual characteristics of the unemployed and the employed in each region. This paper aim at filling this gap, as it addresses the analysis of regional differentials in unemployment rates by using the information from the Spanish wave of the Labour Force Survey. An appropriate decomposition of the regional gap in the average probability of being unemployed allows us to tell the contribution of differences in the regional distribution of individuals' characteristics from that attributable to a different impact of these characteristics on the probability of unemployment. The results suggest that the well-known disparities in regional unemployment are not just the result of regional heterogeneity in the distribution of individual and job characteristics. Non-negligible differences in the probability of unemployment remain after controlling for that type of heterogeneity, as a result of differences across regions in the effect of the individual characteristics. Among the factors considered in the analysis, regional differences in the individuals' endowment of human capital, and in its effect, play an outstanding role.

Este trabajo aporta evidencia empírica acerca de las diferencias en la incidencia de la temporalidad entre las distintas regiones españolas y de su origen. Para ello, y de forma novedosa en este contexto, se aplica una extensión de la metodología tradicional de Oaxaca-Blinder al caso de modelos no lineales. Los resultados apuntan a diferencias en la intensidad del uso de la temporalidad en España, al existir discrepancias regionales significativas en el empleo del trabajo temporal como medida de flexibilización laboral. Estas diferencias tienen incluso más capacidad explicativa que las discrepancias en las características de la mano de obra y de las empresas instaladas en cada región. Estos resultados cuestionan las medidas adoptadas para combatir el problema de la precariedad laboral en España, al no haber considerado las especificidades regionales. This paper provides empirical evidence on the differences in the use of fixed-term contracts across the Spanish regions, and on its origin. An extension of the traditional Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition to non-linear model is, for the first time, applied to the analysis of these regional differences. Results point to differences in the use of temporality in Spain, as there are significant regional disparities in the use of fixed-term employment as a tool for labour flexibility. These differences have even a higher impact than those caused by regional heterogeneity in workers and firms’ endowment of observable characteristics. In the light of this evidence, policies designed to fight against the anomalously high rate of temporality is Spain should be questioned, as they have not taken into account regional uniqueness.

This paper uses Colombian micro-data to analyze the role of education and informality in regional wage differentials. The hypothesis is that apart from differences in the endowment of human capital, regional heterogeneity in the incidence of informality is another important source of regional wage inequality in emerging countries. This is confirmed by the evidence from Colombia, which also reveals remarkable spatial heterogeneity in the wage return to individuals’ characteristics. Regional heterogeneity in returns to education is especially intense in the upper part of the wage distribution. In turn, heterogeneity in the informal pay penalty is more relevant at the bottom.

This paper uses Colombian micro-data to analyze the role of education and informality in regional wage differentials. The hypothesis is that apart from differences in the endowment of human capital, regional heterogeneity in the incidence of informality is another important source of regional wage inequality in emerging countries. This is confirmed by the evidence from Colombia, which also reveals remarkable spatial heterogeneity in the wage return to individuals’ characteristics. Regional heterogeneity in returns to education is especially intense in the upper part of the wage distribution. In turn, heterogeneity in the informal pay penalty is more relevant at the bottom.