Abstract According to the product life-cycle theory, new products are invented and developed in the advanced economies, from which they are initially exported. At a later stage, part or all of their production process moves to lower-wage countries. These dynamics lead to a continuous process of international relocation of production. In this paper, we use…
Abstract It is well known that exporter firms pay higher wages and are more skill intensive than domestic firms. In this paper we measure and decompose the exporter wage gap into several explanatory components by estimating counterfactual distributions for the Spanish manufacturing sector between 1995 and 2010. We find that conditional wages are more compressed…
Abstract Over ninety percent of the students taking the Spanish university admissions test (PAU) in recent years have passed on their first try. However, many public university degree programmes require high grades of their applicants. This requirement was reinforced in 2010 with the approval of the new PAU, which introduced a set of voluntary tests,…
Abstract The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of domestic and foreign sourcing on firm-level productivity. We develop a simple framework which permits the introduction of both domestic outsourcing and offshoring in a conventional production function. We find that the decision to outsource has a positive impact on the level of productivity…
Abstract En este trabajo documentamos la existencia de aglomeración geográfica de empresas exportadoras según el país de destino de las exportaciones utilizando microdatos de la Balanza de Pagos. En este sentido, encontramos que las empresas que venden a países con peores instituciones, donde no se habla español y que tienen una moneda diferente tienden a…
Abstract En este trabajo se presenta una metodología para la construcción de un Sistema de Cuentas Públicas Territorializadas (SCPT) elaborado desde la óptica carga-beneficio, así como una aplicación de esta metodología al caso del año 2011. El SCPT ofrece una radiografía detallada de la distribución regional de los flujos de gastos e ingresos públicos y…
Abstract There appears to be notable differences in average effort at work (pace and attentiveness) across countries, which affect relative TFP and comparative advantage. These differences are typically assumed to be the consequence of an exogenous cultural trait: industriousness; more industrious countries would thrive relative to more indolent ones. However, it is hard to accept…
Abstract We assess the effects of reforms in product and labor markets in a model economy featuring credit restrictions and pre-existing long-term debt. Both elements, which are core features of the current scenario faced by some Euro area countries, combine to produce a slow deleveraging of the private sector and a persistent recession following a…
ABSTRACT: We consider a monetary union where discretionary monetary policy creates the classical inflation bias. We analyze how the design of the central bank interacts with fiscal policy under distortionary taxation. We show that when countries share a single currency the perils of not having a conservative enough central bank are more severe. This result…
Abstract We use detailed information on labor earnings and employment from Social Security records to document earnings inequality in Spain from 1988 to 2010. Male earnings inequality was strongly countercyclical: it increased around the 1993 recession, showed a substantial decrease during the 1997-2007 expansion and then a sharp increase during the recent recession. These developments were partly driven by…
