Seismic vulnerability assessment of historical urban centres: case study of the old city centre of Faro,Portugal

The necessity of implementing seismic vulnerability assessment procedures to the Portuguese building stock has become urgent as recent predictions indicate the possibility of the occurrence of an earthquake similar to the well-known 1755 Lisbon earthquake within the next 50 years. Obviously, at first instance, large-scale procedures should be used rather than more extensive and accurate methodologies suited for individual buildings assessment. Moreover, it is fundamental to operate in the most vulnerable areas in our built environment, typically, the historical urban centres. As it is recognised, it is within these areas, that old masonry buildings are generally concentrated, being both the most representative and vulnerable constructive typology. Comprising 354 buildings, the case study of the old city centre of Faro is herein presented aiming at analysing and evaluating the seismic vulnerability of its old masonry building stock. In order to achieve these objectives, a vulnerability-index-based methodology was used for the assessment of the seismic vulnerability of the old masonry buildings belonging to the historical centre of Faro (Ribeirinha area) carried out through detailed inspection and survey. The results obtained were analysed using a geographical information system tool. The integration of such vulnerability and loss results represents a valuable tool for city councils and/or regional authorities to plan interventions, on the basis of a global view of the site under analysis, leading this way to more accurate and comprehensive risk mitigation strategies which comply with the requirements of safety and emergency planning. The application of this large-scale scoring methodology has confirmed moderate-to-high values for the vulnerability of this particular area, which combined with its high seismicity, may be quite alarming.     

Imports and growth in China

In this paper, we analyze the role played by imports and investment on labor productivity and output in China from 1964 to 2004. In doing so, our analysis focuses on the role of technological progress incorporated into the Chinese economy through capital accumulation and imports, which could be a cause of significant technology transfer from abroad that facilitated industrialization and rapid growth in China. However, as we know that there could be other factors influencing economic development, we have also considered the role played by domestic innovation activities, competitiveness and foreign economic conditions. We focus on examining the short- and long-run effects of the considered variables as well as the direction of their causality. In addition, we investigate the role played by the exchange rate on growth and discuss some policy implications of this effect on the current debate on the appreciation of the Yuan. The empirical results provide evidence that both imports and investment encourage output and labor productivity in the long run, but neither investment causes imports nor imports cause investment. Moreover, we found that during the period considered the real exchange rate influenced output, but not productivity. These findings provide interesting insights on the future Chinese economic policy.     

Causes and consequences of exports' channel integration

This paper investigates the decision to export with a proprietary exports channel by Spanish manufacturing firms. The research focuses on the effects of organizational capabilities versus scale economies on the vertical integration decision, and postulates a system of two simultaneous equations to properly evaluate the influence of a proprietary exports channel on the volume of exports. The results show that scale economies are more relevant than organizational capabilities in the decision to vertically integrate, and that, when properly evaluated, the exports mode does not influence the level of exports. The first author acknowledges financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Education (CICYT SEC97-1368) and Comunidad de Madrid (06/0067/98). Previous versions of this paper have been presented at the 24th EARIE Conference in Leuven (Belgium), XIII Jornadas de Economía Industrial in Madrid (Spain). The authors want to thank two anonymous referees for their comments and suggestions, although any remaining mistake is our own responsibility.     

Insights into Innovation in European Museums

Abstract

Innovation has become a key tool enabling museums to adapt to the major changes that have taken place in recent decades in the milieu in which such organizations operate. However, countries' differing cultural policies, coupled with the particular nature of museums themselves (size, type of collection, organizational structure, system of funding, etc.), have a practical impact on the ability of such organizations to innovate and adapt to the new situation. In this context, our study posits three aspects through which innovation may appear in museums: technological innovation in management, technological innovation in visitor experience and organizational innovation. We also explore the extent to which the nature of cultural policies in different countries, how museums are managed and their size and funding impact each type of innovation. The empirical analysis was conducted for art and history museums in four European countries: France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. We felt that exploring these relations in cultural organizations would be of interest and would make an important contribution to the field.     

Vertical specialization and intra-industry trade: The role of factor endowments

Vertical Specialization and Intra-Industry Trade: The Role of Factor Endowments. — In this paper, we use vertical differentiation models of the Falvey-Kierzkowski type to study the effects of differences in factor endowments on vertical intraindustry specialization. We focus on Spanish intra-industry trade, as Spain typically exports low-quality varieties to the northern countries of the OECD and high-quality varieties to the southern ones. In order to achieve more general results, we consider different types of productive factors: physical, human and technological capital. Our results confirm that factor endowments play a significant role in explaining vertical intra-industry specialization.     

Changes in Public Service Delivery in the EU Countries

In the 1990s, a number of EU countries adopted New Public Management (NPM) techniques to restructure their public sectors. Countries have been widely 'deconcentrating' (moving delivery away from the centre) and 'externalizing' (using the private sector, either totally or in part) their public services. The authors chart the extent of this change and highlight some of the problems—for example the difficulty countries are experiencing in developing value for money audits. The article questions whether current methods of delivery and audit are appropriate for 21st–century public services.     

THE DESIGN OF DIRECT DEMAND SUBSIDY PROGRAMS FOR HOUSING IN LATIN AMERICA

Traditional Latin American housing programs, which have used below-market interest rates to convey subsidies, have suffered from serious vices: high per-unit cost and subsidies, low population coverage, lack of transparency, benefits to the middle-class rather than the poor, and inefficiency. Chile broke out of this flawed traditional mode by launching a housing program that conveys subsidies directly to households in die form of a one-time, non-reimbursable grant This approach has spread to other Latin American countries, increasingly with the support of donors. The paper describes and then analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of direct subsidy programs in Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Uruguay to distill ten design lessons: target to low-income households and ensure political autonomy; replace below-market interest rates with direct demand subsidies; use group mechanisms for low-income households; stimulate supply, not just demand; adjust key amounts for inflation; balance progressivity and financial feasibility; join die efforts of various levels of government; use NGOs; establish mechanisms for on-going consolidation of housing solutions; and include measures to promote broader housing sector reform. The conclusion applies these lessons to the design of a housing pilot project in Venezuela.     

The occupational attainment of migrants and natives in Barcelona, 1930

Very few empirical studies have analysed the labour market performance of migrants in European countries in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This article uses a rich new micro‐dataset to examine the occupational attainment of migrants, mostly internal migrants, in the city of Barcelona, a key destination from the late nineteenth century onwards, adding to the literature on internal migrations in Spain during the period of industrialization. The study shows that the occupational outcomes achieved by early migrants tended to match those of natives, the reference group. However, some groups of migrants who arrived at the end of the period covered by the study show poorer outcomes than natives. The relative underachievement of these groups is explained by changes in the type of migrants and in the characteristics of the labour market. Our estimates also suggest that Spanish migrants did not experience upward occupational mobility after settling in Barcelona.     

Internal determinants of recycling behaviour by university students: a cross‐country comparative analysis

University students are a key group for research since they will be the consumers and the intellectual vanguard of the future and, therefore, a reference group for other consumers. Accordingly, data obtained from university students in Spain (n = 640) and the US (n = 597) were analysed to identify the main internal factors which lead them to participate in recycling activities. Given that morality‐based theories, and more specifically the Value–Belief–Norm (VBN) Theory, might be very useful in explaining pro‐environmental behaviour which requires personal sacrifices and whose benefits are mainly for the environment itself, that is the theoretical approach that we take for the selection and analysis of factors. Our findings support our thesis that environmental knowledge is a factor that should be (but is not currently) considered in the framework of VBN theory for predicting recycling behaviour. Although university students from Spain and the US have very different recycling rates, the internal factors that explain their recycling behaviour are very similar (motivations, perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE), environmental knowledge and gender). The elasticity of recycling behaviour to changes in internal factors is estimated with a view to making predictions, and altruistic motivations and PCE are found to be the factors that have the greatest effect in terms of improving recycling behaviour, followed by environmental knowledge. These predictions could help university policy makers take better decisions about the factors on which they need to act to increase recycling activities. Some guidelines for consideration in future intervention strategies to encourage this group to recycle are also provided.