Investigaciones Regionales - Journal of Regional Research has published the 58th Issue, the first volume corresponding to 2024.
Below you will find the summaries of the papers published in this volume, which can be accessed at https://investigacionesregionales.org/en/revista/issue-58/
We invite authors to submit papers at https://investigacionesregionales.org/en/envio-de-articulos/submission-of-papers-and-others-contributions/
On the other hand, we want to share with you the Call for editor in chief of our journal. You have all the information in the following link: https://aecr.org/es/novedad/call-for-applications-editor-in-chief-investigaciones-regionales-journal-of-regional-research-iirr-jorr/ Letters of interest must be received within February 28th, 2024.
Issue 58
European Regional Policy
Diego Sande Veiga
Do the Structural Funds in innovation influence the growth of companies? Analysis through the ERDF-Innterconecta programme in Andalusia differentiating by business size and role in the projects
As a Convergence Objective Autonomous Community of the European Union, Andalusia was a beneficiary of the significant volume of European resources for regional innovation mobilised by the 2007-2013 Technological Fund and the 2014-2020 Smart Growth programme. The Andalusian productive fabric is mostly made up of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). For this reason, we evaluate the impact of the ERDF-Innterconecta programme financed through the previous operational programmes on the main indicators of business growth. The proposed analysis seeks to identify whether there has been an impact for Andalusian companies that have participated in the subsidised projects on three indicators (revenue, GVA, number of employees), further differentiating these companies by size, participation in innovation and role taken in the funded projects. This impact varies according to the characteristics of the companies, being more positive for Large Enterprises (LE), leaders of the projects and for those that had not previously registered research investments in the accountancy.
Keywords: Structural Funds; Regional Innovation Systems; business growth; Policy impact analysis; Large enterprises and SMEs
Articles
Miguel Ángel López García
Housing Subsidies to Low-Income Households: A Survey
This paper reviews a variety of issues related to the design of low-income housing subsidies. We discuss project-based assistance (i.e., public housing and privately-owned subsidized projects) and tenant-based assistance (i.e., rent vouchers and rent certificates), as well as the empirical evidence concerning their effects.
Keywords: Housing policy; low-income housing programs; public housing; rent vouchers.
Rubén Amo Cifuentes, Rafael Granell Pérez, Amadeo Fuenmayor Fernández
Regional impact of the new Tax on Great Fortunes: A microsimulation analysis
The Temporary Solidarity Tax on Great Fortunes came into force in Spain at the end of 2022. This tax managed at state level and complementary to the Wealth Tax, will seek to harmonise the taxation of wealth in all the autonomous communities under the common regime. In this paper the taxation of wealth in Spain is analysed, as well as the reform proposals put forward to date. The new state tax is estimated using microsimulation techniques for the year 2022, with the aim of obtaining the main revenue effects that its implementation will have. Its impact will be unequal between autonomous communities due to the existing differences in the regional regulations of the Wealth Tax.
Keywords: Taxation; wealth; autonomous communities; microsimulation
Felipe Livert, Raymundo Mogollón, Pablo Herrera
Distributive politics and decentralisation in Chile and Peru
The paper presents evidence that decentralisation increases partisan influence in the allocation of non-programmatic resources. The model employs a panel data and fixed effects analysis using data corresponding to intergovernmental transfers from the national level, passing through the regional level and earmarked for investment for local governments in Chile (2008-2018) and Peru (2004 – 2013). The results indicate political influence on the distribution of resources. The distribution of resources is used tactically in both countries in presidential election years. The implementation of laws increasing political decentralisation in Chile and Peru increased the political bias in resource distribution. The results have policy implications and provide a comparative perspective on the development of fiscal institutions in both countries. In a continental scenario, in which Latin American countries are undergoing a strong decentralisation process, it is suggested to advance in reforms that increase transparency, accountability and citizen participation. In addition, it is advisable to limit non-programmatic allocations and provide stability in the distribution of public resources.
Keywords: Distributive politics; decentralisation; Pork barrel; Chile; Peru.
Rafael González-Val, Miriam Marcén
Growth in small cities: The case of Aragon (Spain)
In this paper, we analyse the effects of productive specialisation and diversity on population growth at the local level in Aragon, a NUTS 2 region in Spain. This region is characterised by a highly uneven population distribution, with numerous small cities, and a large proportion of small businesses. We estimate panel data models considering data from 2000 to 2015 at the local level, encompassing 577 municipalities. Our results show that both localisation and urbanisation have a statistically significant positive effect on growth in Aragonese municipalities but only in cities with a population threshold of 3,000 or more inhabitants.
Keywords: Population; agglomeration economies; small and medium-sized enterprises; small cities; Aragon.
Nuria Porras Bueno, María Ángeles Plaza Mejía, David Flores Ruiz
Clustering residents of a Spanish mining site: when attitudes towards tourism are not linked to perceptions
This study uses a segmentation framework to categorize the residents of Minas de Riotinto, a mining town in Andalusia, Spain, based on their perceptions of the personal and community effects of tourism. These segments were then classified according to their tourism attitudes, utilizing a three-dimensional approach encompassing affective, cognitive, and behavioral elements. For this purpose, a cluster analysis and the Kruskal-Wallis test were successively applied to the responses of 346 residents. The results revealed three main groups of residents: “interested and enthusiastic supporters”, “disinterested and moderate supporters” and “incongruous and impulsive residents”. Contrary to our expectations, all groups showed favorable affective attitudes towards tourism development in their region. However, significant differences emerged between groups concerning the cognitive and behavioral dimensions of their attitudes.
Keywords: Tourism impact; resident perceptions; resident segmentation; mining tourism
Manuel Gómez-Zaldívar, Fernando Gómez-Zaldívar
Economic structure and business cycle synchronization: Evidence from Mexico’s states
According to recent studies, the growing economic integration between Mexico and the United States, that resulted from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), heterogeneously transformed the economic structure of Mexico’s states. is study provides evidence that this, in turn, altered the degree and nature of economic synchronization among them. Furthermore, it shows evidence of an increasingly significant positive relationship from 1994 on between economic synchronization and the level of sophistication of states’ economic structures [measured by the Economic Complexity Index (ECI)]. As
economic integration increases, it becomes easier for shocks to be transmitted between state economies with similar economic structures, either because their characteristics make them more sensitive to the same kinds of shocks or simply because they are so closely linked. Our results help provide a greater understanding of the states’ economic evolution during the period analyzed.
Keywords: Synchronization and Economic Integration; Economic complexity index.
José Daniel Buendía Azorín, Rubén Martínez Alpañez, María del Mar Sánchez de la Vega
Efficiency in the estimation of technical coefficients and inter-regional multipliers: the Jahn methodology versus the GRAS and Gravity-RAS methodologies
The use of location quotients for the estimation of regional input‑output tables has been found to be a useful and efficient tool to estimate intra-regional production multipliers. Building on this tool, more complex procedures have been developed that simultaneously estimate inter-regional coefficients. This paper assesses the capacity of this extended methodology (called the Jahn methodology) to obtain both intra-regional and inter-regional multipliers for the Spanish case, using the Input-Output Table (IOT) of Spain 2015 to estimate those corresponding to the Spanish regions of Andalusia, the Basque Country and Navarra for the same year and whose results are available via survey. In order to contrast their reliability, efficiency and accuracy, the results obtained with this procedure are then compared with other methodologies widely used for their recognised efficiency, the GRAS and Gravity-RAS methodologies.
Keywords: Location quotients; FLQ; non-survey method; regional input‑output tables; RAS; output multipliers