http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/99 webs2002.uab.es/dep-economia-empresa/ Sat, 25 May 2013 21:11:39 GMT 2013-05-25T21:11:39Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/bitstream/id/34081/ http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/99 http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/209906 Stockholder conflicts and dividends Berzins, Janis; Stacescu, Bogdan; Bohren, Oyvind Conflicts of interest between majority and minority stockholders affect a large proportion of firms in any economy, but has received little attention in the empirical literature. We examine the link between the potential for such conflicts and the firm's payout policy on a large sample of Norwegian private firms with controlling stockholders and detailed ownership data. Our evidence shows that the stronger the potential conflict between the stockholders, the higher the proportion of earnings paid out as dividends. This tendency to reduce stockholder conflicts by dividend payout is more pronounced when the minority is diffuse and when a family's majority block is held by a single family member. We also find evidence that a minority-friendly payout policy is associated with higher future minority investment in the firm. These results are consistent with the notion that potential agency costs of ownership are mitigated by dividend policy when the majority stockholder benefits from not exploiting the minority. Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/209906 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/208424 Debt enforcement and relational contracting Brown, Martin; Serra-García, Marta We examine how third-party debt enforcement affects the emergence and performance ofrelational contracts in credit markets. We implement an experiment with finitely repeatedcredit relationships in which borrowers can default. In the weak enforcement treatmentdefaulting borrowers can keep their funds invested. In the strong enforcement treatmentdefaulting borrowers have to liquidate their investment. Under weak enforcement fewerrelationships emerge in which loans are extended and repaid. When such relationships doemerge they exhibit a lower credit volume than under strong enforcement. These findingssuggest that relational contracting in credit markets requires a minimum standard of thirdpartydebt enforcement. Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/208424 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/208423 Determinants of acquisition completion: a relational perspective Aguilera, Ruth V.; Dencker, John C. The strategic literature on relatedness in the context of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) is extensive, yet we know little about whether or how relatedness has an influence on the announcement to completion stage of the M&A process. Drawing on research on intra-industry competition and relational capabilities, we seek to shed light on the relatedness debate by examining the strategic forces that affect the completion of an announced related M&A, accounting for financial and organizational factors. We also explore additional strategic forces that might amplify or attenuate the negative effect of relatedness on deal completion. We test and find support for our hypotheses using longitudinal data from a sample of the largest M&A announcements in the world from 1991 to 2001. Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/208423 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/208422 Social capital and the equilibrium number of entrepreneurs Salas-Fumás, Vicente; Sánchez Asín, J. Javier Social capital is viewed either as a proprietary asset that serves private interests, including those of entrepreneurs, or as a collective asset that supports trust-based transactions saving on transaction costs both in markets and within the boundaries of firms, and benefiting society as a whole. This paper explains the relative specialization between entrepreneurs and market-governed exchanges as a result of the interaction between social capital that lowers transaction costs, and the scale economies of ability in managerial jobs (Lucas 1978). The main hypothesis formulated in the paper is that higher social capital will benefit the hierarchy relatively more than the market as a governance mechanism, and therefore in economies with higher social capital, the equilibrium number of entrepreneurs will be lower and their average span of control larger than in economies with lower social capital. The empirical evidence, with data from the Spanish Autonomous Communities, is consistent with this prediction. Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/208422 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/208421 Can organizational commitment be experienced by indivuals pursuing contemporary career paths? Enache, Mihaela; Sallán Fernández, José M.; Simó, Pep; Fernández, Vicenc In a context in which organizations can no longer promise life-time employment and individuals increasingly experience inter-organizational mobility, this study tackles the question of whether organizational commitment is no longer related to new career orientations. To this end, it analyzes the relation between the underlying dimensions of protean (self direction and values driven) and boundaryless (boundaryless mindset and organizational mobility preference) career attitudes (Briscoe et al., 2006) and organizational commitment, within today's unstable and uncertain business scenario. Research results suggest that protean career attitudes contribute significantly to individuals emotional attachment to their employing organization. Furthermore, organizational mobility preference was found to be significant in predicting both affective and continuance commitment. Finally, future research suggestions and practical implications associated with the current study are provided. Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/208421 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/208420 Portafolio selection with skewness: a comparison of methods and a generalized two fund separation result Briec, Walter; Kerstens, Kristiaan; Woestyne, Ignace van de This contribution compares existing and newly developed techniques for geometrically representing mean-variances-kewness portfolio frontiers based on the rather widely adapted methodology of polynomial goal programming (PGP) on the one hand and the more recent approach based on the shortage function on the other hand. Moreover, we explain the working of these different methodologies in detail and provide graphical illustrations. Inspired by these illustrations, we prove a generalization of the well-known two fund separation theorem from traditionalmean-variance portfolio theory. Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/208420 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/208353 Place marketing performance: benchmarking european cities as business destinations Pergelova, Albena; Angulo Ruiz, Luis The aim of this study is to develop a model measuring the performance of cities' marketing efforts. The model and the benchmarking methodology presented can be used by local authorities to position their marketing efforts and achievements against other (competing) cities and to identify best practices that can assist place marketers in learning how to be more efficient obtaining desired place marketing results, e.g., improved city brand image, with the available resources/budgets. The major implication for practitioners is that place marketing should be managed as a process, taking into account both the resource flows and the outputs, as well as the efficiency of this process. Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/208353 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/208352 Behavioral aspects of investment fund's markets: are good managers lucky or skilled? Bou Ysàs, Sílvia; Cayón Costa, Magda It is generally accepted that financial markets are efficient in the long run a lthough there may be some deviations in the short run. It is also accepted that a good portfolio manager is the one who beats the market persistently along time, this type of manager could not exist if markets were perfectly efficient According to this in a pure efficient market we should find that managers know that they can not beat the market so they would undertake only pure passive management strategies. Assuming a certain degree of inefficiency in the short run, a market may show some managers who tr y to beat the market by undertaking active strategies. From Fama’s efficient markets theory we can state that these active managers may beat the market occasionally although they will not be able to enhance significantly their performance in the long run. On the other hand, in an inefficient market it would be expected to find a higher level of activity related with the higher probability of beating the market. In this paper we follow two objectives: first, we set a basis to analyse the level of efficiency in an asset invest- ment funds market by measuring performance, strategies activity and it’s persistence for a certain group of funds during the period of study. Second, we analyse individual performance persistence in order to determine the existence of skilled managers. The CAPM model is taken as theoretical background and the use of the Sharpe’s ratio as a suitable performance measure in a limited information environment leads to a group performance measurement proposal. The empiri- cal study takes quarterly data from 1999-2007 period, for the whole population of the Spanish asset investment funds market, provided by the CNMV (Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores). This period of study has been chosen to ensure a wide enough range of efficient market observation so it would allow us to set a proper basis to compare with the following period. As a result we develop a model that allows us to measure efficiency in a given asset mutual funds market, based on the level of strategy’s activity undertaken by managers. We also observe persistence in individual performance for a certain group of funds Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/208352 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/97459 A cognitive attempt to understanding female entrepreneurial potential: the role of social norms and culture Santos, Francisco J.; Liñan, Francisco; Roomi, Muhammad A. This article analyzes the different perceptions of both male and female potential entrepreneurs from three European regions differing in their respective level of economic development and entrepreneurial culture. We use an extended cognitive model of entrepreneurial intentions based on the theory of planned behaviour, the theory of normative social behaviour and social capital literature. Results show females have lower self-efficacy and entrepreneurial attraction than males, thus leading to lower entrepreneurial intention. Differences between the three subsamples are small when males are studied. However, female entrepreneurial intentions and perceptions are more affected by the cultural context. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/97459 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/97458 Nuevos y viejos criterios de rentabilidad que concuerdan con el criterio del valor actual neto Pasqual i Rocabert, Joan; Padilla, Emilio El análisis de criterios clásicos de rentabilidad, como la Tasa Interna de Rendimiento o el Cociente Beneficio/Coste, revela que, contra lo que se suponía, concuerdan con el criterio Valor Actual Neto si se aplican correctamente. Lo mismo ocurre con los viejos criterios Valor Final Neto y Anualidad Equivalente y los nuevos Demora Máxima de Beneficios y Plazo de Recuperación de Costes. Se demuestra, además, que para elegir entre dos proyectos mutuamente excluyentes, la aplicación de los criterios citados al proyecto diferencia o incremental es una condición suficiente para que exista concordancia con el criterio Valor Actual Neto. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/97458 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/97457 Revisiting the size-R&D productivity relation: introducing the mediating role of decision-making style on the scale and quality of innovative output Lejárraga, José; Martínez Ros, Ester We develop a mediation model in which firm size is proposed to affect the scale and quality of innovative output through the adoption of different decision styles during the R&D process. The aim of this study is to understand how the internal changes that firms undergo as they evolve from small to larger organizations affect R&D productivity. In so doing, we illuminate the underlying theoretical mechanism affecting two different dimensions of R&D productivity, namely the scale and quality of innovative output which have not received much attention in previous literature. Using longitudinal data of Spanish manufacturing firms we explore the validity of this mediation model. Our results show that as firms evolve in size, they increasingly emphasize analytical decision making, and consequently, large-sized firms aim for higher-quality innovations while small firms aim for a larger scale of innovative output. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/97457 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/97456 The Complementarity between segment disclosure and earnings quality, and its effect on cost of capital Blanco Peláez, Belén; García Lara, Juan Manuel; Tribó Giné, Josep A. We investigate the role of earnings quality in determining the levels of segment disclosure, and whether and how better quality earnings and segment disclosure influences cost of capital. Using a large US sample for the period 2001-2006, we find a positive relation between earnings quality and levels of segment disclosures. We also find that firms providing better quality segment information, contingent upon good earnings quality, enjoy lower cost of capital. We base our empirical tests on a self created index of segment disclosure. Our results contribute to a better understanding of (1) the incentives for providing segment disclosures, and (2) how accounting quality (quality of segment information and earnings quality) is related to the cost of capital. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/97456 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/97455 Environmental factors and social entrepreneurship Ferri, Elisabet; Urbano, David Social entrepreneurship has been a subject of growing interest by academics and governments, however little still being known about environmental factors that affect this phenomenon. The main objective of this study is to analyze how these factors affect social entrepreneurial activity, in the light of the institutional economic theory as the conceptual framework. Using linear regression analysis for a sample of 49 countries, is studied the impact of informal institutions (social needs, societal attitudes and education) and formal institutions (public spending, access to finance and governance effectiveness) on social entrepreneurial activity. The findings suggest that while societal attitudes increase the rates of social entrepreneurship, public spending has a negative relationship with this phenomenon. Finally, the empirical evidence found could be useful for the definition of government policies on promoting social entrepreneurship. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/97455 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/97454 Los Derivados financieros como herramienta para evaluar la reforma laboral: una aproximación binomial Bou Ysàs, Sílvia; Hernández Colom, Albert; Linares Pérez, Carlota Este artículo tiene como objetivo realizar un análisis de la reforma laboral del mercado español mediante la utilización de derivados financieros reales. El trabajo consiste en modelizar la función incentivo del contratador desde el punto de vista de una cartera de derivados con el fin de analizar el impacto sobre la creación de empleo indefinido de las distintas propuestas realizadas por los principales agentes participantes del debate. La principal aportación de este trabajo consiste en la creación de un simulador que nos permite analizar las sensibilidades de las principales variables suceptibles de ser modificadas en la Reforma Laboral para cada uno de los escenarios considerados. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/97454 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/97453 Accounting conservatism and firm investment efficiency García Lara, Juan Manuel; García Osma, Beatriz; Penalva, Fernando Conservatism, through the timelier recognition of losses in the income statement, is expected to increase firm investment efficiency through three main channels: (1) by decreasing the adverse effect of information asymmetries between outside equity holders and managers, facilitating the monitoring of managerial investment decisions; (2) by increasing managerial incentives to abandon poorly performing projects earlier and to undertake fewer negative net present-value investments; and (3) by facilitating the access to external financing at lower cost. Using a large US sample for the period 1990-2007 we find a negative association between conservatism and measures of over- and under- investment, and a positive association between conservatism and future profitability. This is consistent with firms reporting more conservative numbers investing more efficiently and in more profitable projects. Our results add to a growing stream of literature suggesting that eliminating conservatism from accounting regulatory frameworks may lead to undesirable economic consequences. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/97453 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/43836 Devolution dynamics of Spanish local government Balaguer-Coll, Maria Teresa; Prior Jiménez, Diego; Tortosa-Ausina, Emili Over the last few years, ther has been a devolutionary tendency in many developed and developing countries. In this article we propose a methodology to decompose whether the benefits in terms of effciency derived from transfers of powers from higher to municipal levels of government "the "economic dividend" of devolution) might increase over time. This methodology is based on linear programming approaches for effciency measurement. We provide anapplication to Spanish municipalities, which have had to adapt to both the European Stability and Growth Pact as well as to domestic regulation seeking local governments balanced budget. Results indicate that efficiency gains from enhaced decentralization have increased over time. However, the way through which these gains accrue differs across municipalities -in some cases technical change is the main component, whereas in others catching up dominates. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/43836 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/43835 Start-up conditions and the performance of women – and men- controlled businesses in manufacturating industries Prior Jiménez, Diego; Driga, Otilia Recent research on the economic performance of women-controlled firms suggests that their underperformance may not result from differences in the managerial ability of women as compared to men, but it can be the result of different levels of start-up resources. Using accounting data, this paper examines the effects that selected start-up conditions have on the economic performance observed in a sample of 4450 Spanish manufacturing firms. The results indicate significant differences regarding the initial conditions, showing lower levels of assets and number of employees what have implications on the economic performance of women-controlled firms. Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/43835 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/43834 Assesing advertising efficiency: does the internet play a role? Pergelova, Albena; Prior Jiménez, Diego; Rialp Criado, Josep This research focuses on a major concern for marketers addressing the claims of inefficiency of the spending on advertising. We examine whether the Internet can help increase overall advertising efficiency. Using a sample from the Spanish automobile industry, we combine a nonparametric method - Data Envelopment Analysis - with recent important insights from statistics and econometrics studies, and we find that online advertising improves the efficiency levels and this effect is more pronounced in the long-term temporal framework. Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/43834 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/43833 Glocalization as a generic entrepreneurial strategy Johanisson, Bengt Nobody would deny that we today live in a globalized world. Our digitalized living daily revises our worldwide mindmaps. Thanks to free trade and travel our material and social worlds have become global as well. This radical sociocultural change has since the last decade been preached all over the world with public institutions and business-interest organizations as megaphones. Since those carrying the globalization message mainly represent nations or super-nations such as the EU, the viewpoints of lower-level actors such as regions, localities, firms and individual citizens have seldom been considered. Paternalistically (super-)national bodies have instructured its subjects, not the least the many small firms that populate the (private) economy, what action to take. The basic message is: submit to the global forces – local is not beautiful any longer. Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/43833 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/43832 Public policy for entrepreneurship and innovation: impact in managed and entrepreneurial economies Murdock, Karen Many of the most advanced economies of the world have undergone significant transformation in the last few decades. Globalization and technological changes, especially developments in information technologies, have helped to stimulate this transformation. These have contributed to changing institutional frameworks in many respects within the economies including adjustments to economic policies. The results of these transformations take many different forms and are manifested in different areas of an economy. At the heart of these changes however, has been the increasingly important role of entrepreneurship in the economy. The transformed ("new") economy stimulates and supports activities in innovation and entrepreneurship and is labelled the entrepreneurial economy. The "old" economy on the other hand restricts such activities and is referred to as the managed economy (Audretsch & Thurik, 2001). Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/43832 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/43831 Organizational configurations of strategic choices and strategic management accounting Cadez, Simon; Guilding, Chris This is the first study to adopt a configurational paradigm in an investigation of strategic management accounting (SMA) adoption. The study examines the alignment and effectiveness of strategic choice and strategic management accounting (SMA) system design configurations. Six configurations were derived empirically by deploying a cluster analysis of data collected from a sample of 193 large Slovenian companies. The first four clusters appear to provide some support for the central configurational proposition that higher levels of vertical and horizontal configurational alignments are associated with higher levels of performance. Evidence that contradicts the theory is also apparent, however, as the remaining two clusters exhibit high degrees of SMA vertical and horizontal alignment, but low performance levels. A particular contribution of the paper concerns its demonstration of the way that the configurational paradigm can be operationalised to examine management accounting phenomena and the nature of management accounting insights that can derive from applying the approach. Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/43831 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/43830 Agency cost of government ownership: a study of voluntary audit comitte formation in China Hillier, David; Cai, Charlie X.; Tiang, Gaoliang; Wu, Qinghua In this paper, we investigate the agency costs of government ownership and their impact on corporate governance and firm value. China is used as a laboratory because of the prevalent state shareholdings in exchange-listed firms. In this context, we specifically consider the trade-offs involved in the voluntary formation of an audit committee when the controlling shareholder is the state. The decision to improve corporate governance (in this case, introduce an audit committee) is shown to be value relevant and a function of existing agency relationships and non-trivial implementation costs. Our findings are robust to the level of pyramid groups, the ownership-control wedge, and financial leverage. The research adds to the debate regarding the effect of government shareholdings on corporate culture and performance - a topic that hastaken on renewed importance in recent times. Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/43830 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/43829 Narrating urban entrepreneurship: a matter of imagineering? Steyaert, Chris; Beyes, Timon The battle between cities with regard to their creative possibilities has evolved into a process of multiplying ever-new images and variegated stories of urban attractiveness and success. Engineering “cool” images and “hot” stories about one’s city is now a central endeavor in the narratives of urban policy-making that center more and more on the idea of the entrepreneurial city. The making of an entrepreneurial image is enacted through various narrative genres that lie somewhere between place making and place marketing, between branding and boosting, between restoration and revanchism, between iconic architecture and mega-spectacle. This “imagineering” is not only part of the way cities try to (re)present themselves as entrepreneurial to various audiences through a real “image inflation” (Zukin, 2008, p. xii) but is 1 Forthcoming in: B. Lange,.A. Kalandides, B. Stoeber, I. Wellmann (Hrsg.) (2009): Governance der Kreativwirtschaft. Diagnosen und Handlungsoptionen. Transcript-Verlag, Bielefeld. 2 also inscribed in the various ways urban creativity and entrepreneurship can be studied, researched and imagined. In this chapter we aim to differentiate the political narratives of the entrepreneurial city as we emphasize the need to understand the politics of narration and make a plea for critical reflexivity in our forms of researching and theorizing. We will thus try to investigate how the politics of narration is intertwined with the narration of political concepts and will argue that the narrating of urban entrepreneurship can raise very different images and discourses of city life beyond those that are currently engineered. We will distinguish between a grand narrative, a counter-narrative, and an assemblage of more ambivalent little narratives, which we call prosaic narration. While the distinction between these three types might be seen as a bit too simple and “straight”, we believe that by juxtaposing these different forms of narration and alternating between them, we can help problematize the engineering of the city as entrepreneurial and imagine alternative views both of city life and of what is understood as its creativity. Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/43829 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/43828 Gender effects on performance in Bulgarian private enterprises Yordanova, Desislava Many of the newly established private enterprises in transition economies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) are owned and managed by women (Degtiar, 2000). However, there are limited research and knowledge on gender, management, and organization in CEE (Metcalfe and Afanassieva, 2005) and, particularly, on the performance of female-owned companies. Sporadic empirical evidence shows that female-owned companies have worse performance than male-owned companies in transition economies (Drnovsek and Glas, 2006; Aidis, 2006). The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we study the factors that affect the performance of female-owned companies in a transition context. Second, we compare how performance varies between female and male-owned businesses in such a context. Combining the Feminist Theory, the Institutional Theory, and the literature on determinants of firm performance, we derive hypotheses about the determinants of the performance of female-owned companies and about gender differences in performance. The proposed hypotheses are tested in a sample of 501 private Bulgarian companies. Our results indicate that a number of individual, organizational, and environmental characteristics are significant determinants of the performance of both female and male-owned companies. Although there are gender differences in performance, they disappear when other factors are controlled for. We conclude with some recommendations for policy implications and place the current results in respect to future research. Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/43828 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/43191 El Protocolo de Kyoto, y el 'mercado de emisiones' de CO2 : Regulación mediante mercado para una especial externalidad negativa Vergés i Jaime, Joaquim El comercio de derechos de emisión consiste en un mecanismo de mercado ‘diseñado’ y organizado por los poderes públicos, en el marco de un acuerdo internacional, como pieza central de la regulación económica/medio-ambiental sobre actividades que generan una externalidad negativa: emisión de cantidades importantes de dióxido de carbono, el principal gas responsable del efecto invernadero. ¿Cuáles son los costes de la reducción de emisiones pactadas en el PK y quien los está soportando? ¿porqué chocan los intereses de los grandes países en el desarrollo del PK? Después de los primeros años de funcionamiento (se inicia en el 2005), ¿cuáles han sido los resultados reales de este mecanismo de regulación & mercado, que fue diseñado con el objetivo de reducir las emisiones a escala mundial? Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/43191 2009-08-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/42994 Mercado eléctrico, regulación, y alternativas tecnológicas Vergés i Jaime, Joaquim La electricidad es un caso paradigmático para recomendar la intervención gubernamental sobre el mercado (regulación): Instantaneidad producción-consumo; las alternativas tecnológicas para producirla (térmica, nuclear, eólica, solar, etc.) configuran la estructura energética del país, una cuestión estratégica por tanto; las centrales térmicas generan contaminación, principalmente por C02; y las nucleares generan contaminación en forma de residuos radioactivos; y, finalmente, el suministro de electricidad requiere infraestructuras tipo red, lo que implica elementos de monopolio natural. Todo ello suscita diversas cuestiones sobre su regulación. Por ejemplo: ¿Es mejor subvencionar las alternativas tecnológicas ‘limpias’, o gravar la emisión de contaminantes de las centrales térmicas y nucleares? ¿el ‘nuevo mercado-eléctrico-regulado’ está resultando realmente útil para lo que se diseñó: reducir los costes de la electricidad en origen (generación) y, en última instancia, reducir el precio que pagan los consumidores? Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/42994 2009-08-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/42993 La eficiencia utilizada como un dogma político Vergés i Jaime, Joaquim Eficiencia y seguridad.- La búsqueda de una mayor eficiencia (= una reducción de costes) en tal o cual servicio se viene aplicando –en aras del ahorro presupuestario- prescindiendo casi siempre de cualquier otra consideración. Se defiende públicamente (ese ahorro de costes) como algo que va a redundar en un beneficio para toda la sociedad. Sin plantearse cuestiones como ¿vale la pena tratar de ser ‘mas eficientes’ (=ahorrar costes) en el control del tráfico aéreo, en tal o cual servicio quirúrgico hospitalario, en la seguridad en los aeropuertos, en la seguridad en la circulación de los trenes, en la seguridad en los centros comerciales, ….? ¿Tiene sentido suponer que los ciudadanos están interesados en ahorrar algunas decenas de euros por persona al año en esos servicios, cuando el riesgo de disminución de calidad/seguridad es algo perfectamente previsible? Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/42993 2009-04-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/42992 ¿Por qué llamamos competitividad a lo que es fría presión hacia la reducción de costes? Vergés i Jaime, Joaquim ¿Quién soporta los costes de la ‘reducción de costes’? La competencia entre empresas implica, lógicamente, que unas dejan de producir al quedarse sin demandantes y cansarse sus propietarios de perder dinero, mientras las exitosas mejoran sus resultados. Y las personas que trabajaban en las primeras pasan a la situación de parados. Cuando esta competencia empresarial es interna a un país, existen –o existe la posibilidad de instrumentar- mecanismos de compensación (sistema de subsidios de paro). De alguna manera, mejor o peor, más o menos justamente, los que salen ganando comparten así parte de sus ganancias con los que salen perdiendo. Pero respecto al mismo tipo de consecuencias, cuando la competencia es internacional tales mecanismos de compensación no existen. Ni siquiera en la UE los hay aún. ¿No deberíamos pensar en hacer algo al respecto? Fri, 01 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/42992 2009-05-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/42872 ¿A qué responde la doctrina de la libre circulación internacional de capitales y del ‘libre mercado de empresas’? Vergés i Jaime, Joaquim La liberalización mundial de la circulación de capitales se ha defendido y se ha convertido en un dogma mundial con el argumento de que es algo bueno especialmente para los países menos desarrollados. Y la dramática crisis financiera de 2008 no ha hecho cambiar substancialmente el fondo de este dogma. En síntesis, éste reza que la libre circulación de capitales facilita las inversiones extranjeras en países en desarrollo o simplemente pobres, por lo que aumentará el total de inversiones reales en los mismos, y, por tanto, su desarrollo económico. Sin embargo, la principal consecuencia de tal liberalización ha sido y es un gigantesco movimiento especulativo diario de capitales para la compra-venta de activos financieros –y empresas rentables- en cualquier país. Y no especialmente para inversiones propiamente dichas, en activos reales como bienes de equipo e instalaciones productivas o en infraestructuras. Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/42872 2009-04-01T00:00:00Z http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/42871 Paro y libre comercio exterior: una contradicción incómoda para economistas y políticos Vergés i Jaime, Joaquim Liberalización mundial del comercio exterior, y deslocalización: ¿Este binomio hace que los países industrializados ayuden realmente a los subdesarrollados (más allá de beneficiar a las empresas importadoras -en los segundos- y a las deslocalizadoras –en los primeros)? Y, en caso afirmativo, ¿quines –en los países ‘industrializados’-soportan el coste de esa ayuda? Esto suscita cuestiones incómodas – generalmente no abordadas, precisamente por ello- entre los profesionales de la economía y los políticos. Distinguir entre quienes ganan o no y quienes pierden dentro de un mismo país (asalariados por una parte, empresas import-export por otra) resulta en cualquier caso necesario para esclarecer las probables consecuencias del libre comercio exterior entre países desiguales. Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.recercat.cat:80/handle/2072/42871 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z