CONTENTS CRISTÓBAL CRISTÓBAL, Alfredo Present and future of regional accounting in Spain Abstract: Spanish Regional Accounting (Contabilidad Regional de España, CRE) is a statistical summary created in response to a demand for the region-wide macroeconomic information needed to develop the so-called State of Autonomous Communities designed in the Spanish Constitution of 1978. A basis for implementing both nation- and Europe-wide regional policies, its methodology is drawn from the European System of National and Regional Accounts (ESA 95). Both the methodology itself and the activity and product classification on which its estimates are based are currently under review. The outcome of that review will determine the immediate future of the CRE. Key words: Regional accounts, regional policy, Spain. JEL Classification: E01.
LÓPEZ GARCÍA, Ana M.ª; CHASCO YRIGOYEN, Coro and NAVARRETE ALVAREZ, Mónica Urban audit: indicators and typology for European cities Abstract: Cities are more than mere concentrations of economic and residential activities. Today’s urban analysis regards cites to be wholly autonomous socio-economic entities. A city is a place to live, grow, work, study and interact socially. For this reason, interest is growing in the study of issues such as urban habitability and welfare and competitiveness levels. Any understanding of the global socio-economic reality of cities calls for the use of «urban audit» indicators. This is precisely the approach adopted in Eurostat’s Urban Audit project, which compiles and publishes socio-economic indicators designed to understand and measure the quality of life in European cities, and thereby enable the formulation of a typology of Europe’s present cities. The article discusses all these issues at greater length. Key words: Urban audit, cities, urban economy, quality of life indicators, missing data, Urban Audit, Europe. JEL Classification: 018, R10, R12, R15.
LÓPEZ GARCÍA, Ana M.ª; MÉNDEZ ALONSO, Juan José and DONES TACERO, Milagros Key factors in regional competitiveness: innovation and intangibles Abstract: In a globalized world, different economies (countries, regions...) compete to maintain and improve their standard of living. Competitiveness should be viewed, however, not only as a country’s ability to position itself on world markets via exports or attract foreign direct investment. It also consists in the ability to draw local and foreign
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CONTENTS business. Many studies have focused on identifying objective and quantifiable criteria to determine the factors that affect the competitiveness of companies, industries, regions, and economies in general. They all share certain common elements, partly reflected in generally accepted definitions of competitiveness. In this regard, the positive effects generated by technological innovation, insofar as it contributes to improving productivity, lowering costs and prices, differentiating and creating products and enhancing quality, is a constant reference. Intangible capital, in turn, has recently been acknowledged as another factor able to raise competitiveness, despite persistent shortcomings in its quantification. More than that, intangible capital constitutes a genuine asset to effectively further economic growth, in particular as regards its two essential dimensions, structural and intellectual. Key words: Competitiveness, regions, innovation, intangibles, human capital. JEL Classification: L86, 018, 032, R11.
LÓPEZ SUÁREZ, Elena; ORTEGA PÉREZ, Emilio and CONDEÇO-MELHORADO, Ana Margarida Analysis of the impact of the Strategic Infrastructure and Transport Plan 2005-2020: regional cohesion and spillover effects Abstract: The action envisaged under Spain’s Strategic Infrastructure and Transport Plan 2005-2020 will expand roads with separate carriageways by 5.000 km and its high performance railway network by 6.000, for a total investment of 120 billion euros. The redistribution of interregional accessibility entailed in these infrastructure improvements will have an obvious impact on territorial organization as well as significant spillover effects. The methodology to evaluate such impacts discussed in this article is based on the calculation of accessibility indicators and implemented in a geographic information system, GIS. It is applied to conduct a case study of the road infrastructure works included in the Strategic Plan. Key words: Road infrastructure, regional cohesion, spillover effects, Spain. JEL Classification: H54, R53.
LOSCOS FERNÁNDEZ, Fco. Javier Regional fiscal balance: overview and experience in Spain Abstract: The formulation of regional «fiscal balance sheets» is an exercise designed to estimate the geographic impact of public revenue and spending programmes in a specific period of time, from which the fiscal balance attributable to each region can be computed. This paper contains a description of the main characteristics and methodological problems
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CONTENTS faced by regional «fiscal balance» studies, along with a very general overview of the background for such endeavours in Spain. The most recent studies, several of which have made highly relevant methodological and estimative contributions, are also reviewed and the conclusions drawn are discussed. Key words: Fiscal federalism, inter-regional fiscal flows, geographic impact, fiscal balance, public finance authority, Spain. JEL Classification: H22, H50, H77, R50.
LLANO VERDURAS, Carlos and DE LA MATA LÓPEZ, Tamara Inter-regional trade in Spain: a preliminary estimate of bilateral tourist industry flows Abstract: Spain’s world leadership in the tourist industry has spawned abundant research on non-resident tourism. Many fewer studies have been conducted on the domestic tourist trade, however. The present article puts forward a methodology for estimating intra- and inter-regional tourist trade in Spain, by combining the information available in the balance of payments, the National Statistics Institute’s yearly survey of the service sector and three alternative sources of statistics on overnighting. The methodology is applied to the data available for 2001, and the three alternative estimates obtained are analyzed and compared. The findings, which prove to be fairly sound regardless of the source of information used, identify the main exporting and importing regions. The results also reveal the relatively greater importance of intra-regional and international over inter-regional flows in Spanish tourism. Key words: Inter-regional trade, services, domestic tourism, Spain. JEL Classification: L8, L83, R12.
MONTES GAN, Vicente J. and MEDINA MORAL, Eva An institutional approach to country prosperity. Governance, economic freedom and democracy Abstract: In recent years, the world has made historic progress in terms of welfare and prosperity. The improvement in economic governance and the strengthening of the legal framework and property rights, along with commitments to broader economic freedom, have constituted determining factors in this upward trend observed in the world economy. At the same time, economic growth has led to firmer democracy and the exercise of civil freedoms. Current circumstances should not obliterate the memory of that period of economic and social success, and much less cloud the analysis of the reasons that led the world to such high levels of prosperity. The present article aims to analyze the importance
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CONTENTS of institutional variables in world-wide economic welfare and propose lines of action to return to the path of long-term economic growth and development. Key words: Growth, development, institutional framework, economic freedom, governance, democracy, cluster analysis, logit. JEL Classification: C25, O17, O57.
PÉREZ GARCÍA, Julián; LLANO VERDURAS, Carlos and GARCÍA LÓPEZ, Guillermo Evaluation of inter-regional input-output tables in the Spanish economy Abstract: This article introduces the process whereby inter-regional tables are estimated by the LR Klein Institute. This is followed by a quantitative analysis that attempts to evaluate possible bias deriving from the use of inter-regional tables compared to traditional uni-regional tables, as well as any deviations between the results obtained in tables estimated from non-survey and survey procedures. The initial findings appear to confirm both the effectiveness of the indirect methods for estimating input-output tables (IOT) and the existence of a certain spatial aggregation-induced bias. Key words: Input-output tables, inter-regional models, spatial economy, Spain. JEL Classification: C67, R12, R15.
PÉREZ SUÁREZ, Rigoberto; LÓPEZ MENÉNDEZ, Ana Jesús; MORENO CUARTAS, Blanca; RODRÍGUEZ FEIJOO, Santiago; CALLEALTA BARROSO, Francisco Javier; LÓPEZ GARCÍA, Ana María and BUENDÍA AZORÍN, Daniel Regional economic forecasting: the Hispalink network experience. Abstract: For over two decades, the primary aim of the Hispalink network has been to forecast regional growth by industry. This article, jointly written by seven authors, combines the contributions of a number of regional teams and the central team to describe the working method and some of the experience acquired with Hispalink. Key words: Economic forecasting, industrial perspectives, gross added value, consistency, short-term economic analysis, project Link, Hispalink, Spain. JEL Classification: 018, R11.
SÁNCHEZ GONZÁLEZ, Julián and ZOFÍO PRIETO, José Luis Space, distance and location: The New Economic Geography Abstract: To date, the general consensus of opinion has been that economic analysis has paid scant attention to the spatial location of economic activity, generating uncertainties in
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CONTENTS areas such as regional economics and international trade, where some developments could not be suitably explained for want of a general theoretical framework. This article reviews the paradigms that have been successively used to explain the location of economic activity, leading up to the establishment of one that tends to integrate all its predecessors. Known as New Economic Geography, it is changing the above perception. One of the strong points of this new paradigm is its ability to endogenously generate alternative geographic agglomeration and dispersion trends relevant to the explanation of many economic phenomena, and to do so in a context of general equilibrium. This includes paradigms relating to migration, FDI, merchandise and service flows (trade), and to spatial specialization and the ultimate location of economic activity (cities, regions and countries), with all the associated implications for regional growth and trade policies. Key words: Agglomeration, shipping costs, spatial economy, New Economic Geography, growing efficiency. JEL Classification: F12, F16, R12.
ZAMORA, José Antonio What is the outlook for cohesion policy? Abstract: Against the backdrop of the forthcoming European Commission paper on the revision of the Community budget, to be published at year-end, and in light of the reflection underway around the future of cohesion policy, the author discusses a number of considerations on the outlook for that policy. A description of the policy as presently designed and implemented is followed by a discussion of its possible overdimensioning, opportunity costs and certain possible elements for improvement. The paper concludes with three chief objectives for a future cohesion policy: convergence, territorial cohesion and adaptation to globalization. These three aims should make it possible to distinguish strict regional policy from other policies implemented via regional policy mechanisms. This in turn would enhance policy transparency and efficiency. Key words: Community cohesion policy, regional development, convergence, regional competitiveness, territorial cooperation. JEL Classification: H23, R58.
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