The economic consequences of the Spanish Reconquest: the long-term effects of Medieval conquest and colonization

This paper shows that a historical process that ended more than five centuries ago, the Reconquest, is very important to explain Spanish regional economic development down to the present day. An indicator measuring the rate of Reconquest reveals a heavily negative effect on current income differences across the Spanish provinces. A main intervening factor in the impact the Reconquest has had is the concentration of economic and political power in a few hands, excluding large segments of the population from access to economic opportunities when Spain entered the industrialization phase. The timing of the effect is consistent with this argument. A general implication of our analysis is that large frontier expansions may favor a political equilibrium among the colonizing agents that is biased toward the elite, creating the conditions for an inegalitarian society, with negative consequences for long-term economic development.     

The changing consumer in Portugal

The 1980's for Portugal was a period of remarkable changes and a number of events influenced the decade significantly. Changes in environmental variables had great impact on the behaviour of Portuguese consumers and the marketing management of firms. This article reviews the changes along a number of variables which are relevant for decision-making in marketing in Portugal. Economic environment, demographic developments, cultural and attitude changes, variables related to Portuguese consumers and changes in macro marketing-mix will be assessed. The future trends of these variables will be reviewed and their implication for marketing management in the remaining years of this century will be considered.     

COORDINATION INCENTIVES UNDER COMPLEMENTARY COST‐REDUCING TECHNOLOGIES*

This paper focuses on the optimal regulation regarding technology transfer and mergers in a duopoly model where two complementary technologies can be developed. On the one hand, we show that there are cases where a prohibitive policy regarding (cross) licensing agreements can be socially desirable. On the other hand, our analysis stresses that, in many cases, there are important coordination problems that cannot be overcome by means of cross‐licensing agreements and merger is the optimal policy.     

Corporate environmental sustainability reporting in the context of national cultures: A quantile regression approach

This work, based on previous evidence within international business management research, aims to test the influence of communities’ culture features on corporate environmental sustainability reporting (CESR) practices. To overcome some limitations of conventional statistical approaches applied by previous research, a quantile regression (QR) model is implemented which allows setting a framework to test the working hypotheses in different scenarios that cover divergent firms’ commitment levels to stakeholder engagement and CESR practices development. Our central results addresses that different national culture dimensions present a non-monotonic influence on CESR practices. This result, which is analyzed through the Stakeholder Theory proposals, can be explained because corporate sustainability behaviors are highly sensitive to stakeholders’ pressures and demands which are ultimately conditioned by the cultural environment. Some interesting recommendations for companies’ strategic management and governmental policy-making processes are reported.     

The Inflation Surge of 2021–22: Scarcity of Goods and Commodities,Strong Labor Markets and Anchored Inflation Expectations

The key to understanding the series of supply shocks that have hit inflation is the nature of the COVID-19 recession.

     

Would Renationalisation and Co-financing of the Common Agricultural Policy Be Justified?

During the past decades several attempts have been made to reform the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The article analyses the possible new directions of CAP implementation and financing of the CAP. It discusses whether renationalisation and co-financing of the CAP would be a beneficial approach to make the policy more efficient and to help restructuring not just the CAP expenditure but the whole EU budget. The author analyses the changes in light of the new regulatory frameworks to be implemented from 2023.

     

Legal dispossession and civil war in Colombia

How are institutions that regulate property rights related to the massive coercive dispossession of land that took place during the Colombian conflict? How did the workings of these institutions change during the conflict? We answer these questions through an analysis of a unique data set of rulings on land restitution issued between 2012 and 2015. The paper argues that the exclusionary nature of the institutions that regulate the access and assignment of property rights preceded the onset and escalation of the Colombian conflict, but shows how and why once the conflict began, the set of techniques used to promote coercive dispossession through those institutions could be significantly broadened and escalated. By doing so, it intends to advance the knowledge of how institutions are transformed, in this case in a deeply anti‐egalitarian and violent sense, during war.     

Assessment of the public tools used to promote R&D investment in Spanish SMEs

In this paper, we identify the potential determinants of firm R&D to understand the effectiveness of public policies. Our results suggest a considerably low impact of tax credits and public grants on the R&D investment of the Spanish manufacturing firms. Tax credits are mainly considered by large firms that use them as a reduction in the tax burden in the corporate tax, while SMEs use public grants to alleviate financial constraints. This evidence leads to discuss alternatives to the current design of the public policies analyzed.