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    En los ultimos anos el mundo ha registrado el mayor avance de su historia en terminos de bienestar y prosperidad. En este proceso, la mejora de la gobernanza economica y el fortalecimiento del marco legal y de los derechos de propiedad,... more
    En los ultimos anos el mundo ha registrado el mayor avance de su historia en terminos de bienestar y prosperidad. En este proceso, la mejora de la gobernanza economica y el fortalecimiento del marco legal y de los derechos de propiedad, asi como la apuesta por mayores cotas de libertad economica, se han revelado como factores determinantes para explicar el favorable desempeno de la economia mundial. Asimismo, el crecimiento economico fraguo en un fortalecimiento de la democracia y del ejercicio de las libertades civiles. La situacion actual no deberia hacer olvidar este periodo de exito economico y social, y menos aun enturbiar el analisis de las razones que llevaron al mundo a alcanzar semejantes cotas de prosperidad. El objetivo de este articulo es analizar la importancia que tuvieron las variables institucionales en el logro de este exito global y proponer lineas de actuacion que permitan retomar la senda del crecimiento economico y el desarrollo a largo plazo.
    Population growth had played a vital role in rapid economic growth of the Asian Newly Industrialised Economies (NIEs) in the 1980s through to the 1990s, and they can be examples for the Southern Mediterranean (SM) countries, where... more
    Population growth had played a vital role in rapid economic growth of the Asian Newly Industrialised Economies (NIEs) in the 1980s through to the 1990s, and they can be examples for the Southern Mediterranean (SM) countries, where population growth rates are still high, to follow. But the problems that the SM countries are facing now is myriad: low labour participation rate, high unemployment that leads to emigration and brain drain, thus making population growth unmanageble. SM countries will learn that population growth can also be a complementary development tool if they open up trade and by taking advantage of the growing population to create a domestic market and economy of scale production, for improving technology and knowledge to increase efficiency to make exports more competitive so to attract more trade to create more jobs.
    The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP) attempts to forge closer ties between the two rims of the Mediterraneann Sea, the European Union (EU) and the Southern Mediterranean (SM) countries and to play a more important and active role in... more
    The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP) attempts to forge closer ties between the two rims of the Mediterraneann Sea, the European Union (EU) and the Southern Mediterranean (SM) countries and to play a more important and active role in the economic development of the latter. Unlike other developing regions, despite closer economic ties with the EU, economic growth in the SM countries remains slow if not stagnant. The reluctance of the governments of the SM countries to open up their economies makes international migration an alternative to their domestic economic development. Remittance as an immediate effect on economic growth in the migrants' home countries become a vital source of income by increasing households' purchasing power, empowering savings and investments. Returning migrants then become a source of indirect technology transfer and knowledge diffusion. While non-returning migrants continue to boost economic development in their home countries through trade and d...
    La heterogeneidad de Africa Subsahariana invalida el analisis tradicional sobre su desarrollo, de enfoque fatalista, dominado por el concepto de dummy. En la region conviven paises que convergen, bien hacia el modelo de economia... more
    La heterogeneidad de Africa Subsahariana invalida el analisis tradicional sobre su desarrollo, de enfoque fatalista, dominado por el concepto de dummy. En la region conviven paises que convergen, bien hacia el modelo de economia emergente, bien hacia la tipologia de Estado fallido. El analisis de la evolucion de los clusters de paises en funcion de la fragilidad de sus Estados durante el periodo 1995-2013 permite identificar casos de «exito» y de «fracaso» en este campo. La comparacion entre las dinamicas evolutivas de ambos grupos de paises frente a aquellos que permanecieron «inalterados», contribuye a clarificar las causas del fracaso y las claves del exito de los Estados africanos subsaharianos.
    La crisis economica ha elevado sustancialmente la tasa de paro espanola al paralizar lacreacion de empleo y, sobre todo, al aumentar los despidos. La evidencia empiricarefleja que la perdida de empleo esta siendo especialmente acusada... more
    La crisis economica ha elevado sustancialmente la tasa de paro espanola al paralizar lacreacion de empleo y, sobre todo, al aumentar los despidos. La evidencia empiricarefleja que la perdida de empleo esta siendo especialmente acusada entre la poblacionextranjera. El objetivo de este articulo es analizar si, una vez tenidos en cuenta losfactores teoricos determinantes de que un individuo pierda su empleo, la crisis ha tenidoalgun efecto diferencial entre espanoles y extranjeros, o si, por el contrario, el aparentemayor impacto de la recesion esta justificado por las diferentes caracteristicas laboralesy sociodemograficas de la poblacion inmigrante.
    The purpose of this research is to provide empirical evidence about what institutions are most likely to favor development in its different stages. Firstly, we identify the three development stages that prevailed in the world between 1996... more
    The purpose of this research is to provide empirical evidence about what institutions are most likely to favor development in its different stages. Firstly, we identify the three development stages that prevailed in the world between 1996 and 2011 according to the income classification of the World Bank corroborated with data from the UNDP Human Development Index. Secondly, we consider that a country had a "successful" behavior if it improved its development stage in that period. Grouping countries based on "success", instead of according to the income level, allows us to introduce the dynamics of development in the analysis. Thirdly, we formulate a panel data and a probit model to determine the institutions that are behind the success cases. The results identified economic freedom as the most important institution in all development stages; governance was also found essential, but only in the countries in the intermediate stage of development. ARTICLE HISTORY
    RESUMEN El presente estudio trata de identificar aquellos indicadores útiles para la predic-ción de crisis cambiarias en la región latinoamericana bajo dos perspectivas tempo-rales: el medio y el corto plazo. La metodología empleada en el... more
    RESUMEN El presente estudio trata de identificar aquellos indicadores útiles para la predic-ción de crisis cambiarias en la región latinoamericana bajo dos perspectivas tempo-rales: el medio y el corto plazo. La metodología empleada en el análisis se apoya en la construcción de un modelo econométrico de tipo Logit que permite estimar la pro-babilidad de ocurrencia de una crisis cambiaria. Los resultados arrojan que en el aná-lisis de las crisis cambiarias latinoamericanas no resulta relevante el seguimiento de indicadores que miden la debilidad del sector financiero ni la competitividad del país en los mercados internacionales, revelándose las expectativas de los agentes econó-micos como el principal factor de presión cambiaria. Palabras clave: Crisis cambiarias, Sistema de Alerta Anticipada, Latinoamerica-na, predicción de riesgo, logit, logit ordenado.
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    La libertad de comercio y el acceso al crédito deben constituir una prioridad en la agenda de desarrollo. Este artículo muestra la existencia de una relación empírica positiva entre comercio y financiación, así como de ambos factores con... more
    La libertad de comercio y el acceso al crédito deben constituir una prioridad en la agenda de desarrollo. Este artículo muestra la existencia de una relación empírica positiva entre comercio y financiación, así como de ambos factores con el desarrollo. Un estadio de desarrollo superior se asocia con una mayor apelación a la banca comercial, menor dependencia de la financiación interna y de la necesidad de garantías, menores restricciones para acceder al crédito, tiempos más reducidos para comerciar, mayor dedicación a la exportación, menores pérdidas en las operaciones de comercio exterior, y menor percepción de la regulación de las aduanas y el comercio como restricción para la actividad empresarial. Palabras clave: crecimiento, desarrollo, marco institucional, entorno financiero, apertura comercial, financiación del comercio, análisis de clusters, tabla de contingencia, ANOVA. Clasificación JEL: F15, F36, 043.
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    La heterogeneidad de África Subsahariana invalida el análisis tradicional sobre su desarrollo, de enfoque fatalista, dominado por el concepto de dummy. En la región conviven países que convergen, bien hacia el modelo de economía... more
    La heterogeneidad de África Subsahariana invalida el análisis tradicional sobre su desarrollo, de enfoque fatalista, dominado por el concepto de dummy. En la región conviven países que convergen, bien hacia el modelo de economía emergente, bien hacia la tipología de Estado fallido. El análisis de la evolución de los clusters de países en función de la fragilidad de sus Estados durante el período 1995-2013 permite identificar casos de «éxito» y de «fracaso» en este campo. La comparación entre las dinámicas evolutivas de ambos grupos de países frente a aquellos que permanecieron «inalterados», contribuye a clarificar las causas del fracaso y las claves del éxito de los Estados africanos subsaharianos. Palabras clave: análisis de clusters, desarrollo, fragilidad, marco institucional, entorno empresarial,
    Resumen La crisis económica ha impactado en España con mayor intensidad sobre los trabajadores inmigrantes que sobre los nativos, de forma que las diferencias en la probabilidad de perder el empleo entre ambos grupos casi se han... more
    Resumen La crisis económica ha impactado en España con mayor intensidad sobre los trabajadores inmigrantes que sobre los nativos, de forma que las diferencias en la probabilidad de perder el empleo entre ambos grupos casi se han triplicado durante la recesión. El objetivo de este estudio es determinar si esta tendencia se explica por diferentes características laborales entre ambos colectivos, o si existen otras causas no observables asociadas a una peor valoración de los inmigrantes en el mercado laboral. La metodología aplicada es una extensión de la des-composición de Oaxaca-Blinder (método generalizado de descomposición de diferencias en el primer momento de Yun) válida para modelos logit. Los resultados muestran que las diferencias entre ambos grupos se deben a una mayor concentración de los inmigrantes en segmentos laborales con menores costes de despido (contrato temporal y con poca antigüedad). Aunque el componente discriminatorio no es muy elevado, se observa una tendencia creciente en el mismo durante el periodo de recesión, lo que supone mayores dificultades para la estabilización laboral de este colectivo. Palabras clave: inmigración, probabilidad pérdida de empleo, Abstract The economic crisis has affected more intensively immigrant workers in Spain compared to natives. Differences in the probability of job losing between both groups have almost tripled during the recession. The objective in this paper is to analyze whether this trend can be attributed to differences in workers' characteristics, or alternatively it is originated by some other unobservable variables linked to a lower valuation of immigrants in the labour market. For this purpose, we use an extension of the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition (decomposing differences in the first moment proposed by Yun), which is valid for logit models. Our results show that the differences between both groups of workers stem from a higher concentration of immigrants in market niches with lower firing costs (temporary contracts with little seniority). Although the discriminatory component is not too high, an increasing trend is observed during the recession, thus creating more difficulties for immigrant workers to achieve job stability.
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    A CSP industry in Morocco is viable under certain adjustments in the next decade. Policy related barriers are more critical than entrepreneurial or market obstacles. It urges to provide a legislative and administrative support for CSP... more
    A CSP industry in Morocco is viable under certain adjustments in the next decade. Policy related barriers are more critical than entrepreneurial or market obstacles. It urges to provide a legislative and administrative support for CSP initiatives. The volume of installed CSP capacity in the region doesn't reach a critical level. Some foreign investors might have a negative miss perception of Moroccan reality. a b s t r a c t This article presents the results of a survey on the feasibility of, and difficulties in, establishing a locally CSP manufacturing industry in Morocco. First, the survey explores which specific components of the CSP production chain could be manufactured in Morocco today and which would require moderate or significant changes being made in that country over the next decade. This paper contributes to demonstrating the potential for a CSP manufacturing industry in Morocco at the present time, ideal business models and current restrictions. Second, on the one hand this survey provides insight into the entrepreneurial, policy-and market-related barriers hampering the development of this industry and, on the other, the relative advantages offered by Morocco for the development of a CSP sector. Complementing the empirical findings on foreign direct investment determinants, this exercise stresses the key relevance of the economic context not only in terms of size, stability and predictability of the market, but also in regard to the critical importance of institutional and policy-related issues such as stability and public policy commitment. The results show that prior experience of firms in developing areas is a crucial issue in the accurate assessment of the risks and benefits associated with FDI decisions.
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    In this paper we identify the renewable energy source (RES) demand scenarios for Morocco, the needs of RES installed capacity according to those scenarios and the detailed investment plans needed to achieve such installed capacity supply.... more
    In this paper we identify the renewable energy source (RES) demand scenarios for Morocco, the needs of RES installed capacity according to those scenarios and the detailed investment plans needed to achieve such installed capacity supply. Then, using a dynamic variant input–output model, we simulate the macroeconomic impact of the foreign investment inflows needed to make available these Moroccan RES generation capacity plans in the medium and long term. The use of concentrated solar plants, photovoltaic generation and wind power farms are considered and compared in the simulation.
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    The Scenario Analysis methods have often been used by policy makers as an instrument to manage uncertainty and to support the shaping of long-term economy policies. In this research, we apply Scenario Analysis in order to identify the... more
    The Scenario Analysis methods have often been used by policy makers as an instrument to manage uncertainty and to support the shaping of long-term economy policies. In this research, we apply Scenario Analysis in order to identify the barriers affecting the decision to invest in the Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) sector in Morocco. Our results aim at facilitating the process of defining different paths in strategic political and policy actions. Using data from a survey on a panel of experts, the Cross Impact Analysis (CIA) and the Cross Impact Matrix System (SMIC) techniques are applied. The advantage of these techniques is that they allow including in the analysis the interlinkages between the events that will define the future scenarios. However, their limitation is that the number of events analyzed cannot be too high since the information collected from the experts increases exponentially according to the number of events introduced. We thus expand our analysis with a new methodological approach, combining the use of prospective and statistics techniques. This approach allows addressing the mentioned limitation and applying these techniques, initially restricted to 6 events in its common application, to a large number of events. The results show that uncertainty and informality would be key factors in promoting the arrival of companies in this sector. Additionally, regarding companies that already have a presence in Morocco's renewable energy sector, an increase in activity would be achieved through improvements in the easing of financial and legal barriers.