Suchergebnisse

This paper examines the question of what kind of money will govern the 21st century by examining the developments which characterise this landscape. On the basis of a review of the available literature and evidence, it is clear that certain technological innovations, such as the movement towards electronic money, will undoubtedly change how we operate. However, the conclusion in this paper is less sanguine regarding the prospects of a global currency, regional monetary unions, or states' exit from or central banks' control of money. This paper also sees poor prospects for cryptocurrencies at the moment, given their focus on the decentralisation and politicisation of money, because money requires a backstopping force, making it inherently political. Finally, this paper considers how regulators may seek to ensure that money in its digital form is not taken advantage of and applied in malevolent activities. The study used correlation to establish the level of association among variables. A multiple regression analysis was used to draw an econometric model explaining the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. The following variables were used as independent variables: monetary aggregate (M1), harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP), Euro Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR), US dollar/euro, and the USD value of Bitcoin. Multiple regression predicted that when inflation rises, the money supply will decrease. M1 includes cash in circulation, current deposits, and other than demand deposits. The study concludes that price increases encourage people to keep their money in longer-term deposits, including in cryptocurrency. Additionally, an increase in EURIBOR and US dollar/euro reduces the supply of money. Otherwise, an increase in the price of bitcoin in the economy would increase the overall money supply.

One of the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 is building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialisation, and fostering innovation. This paper aims to analyse the possible consequences of stimulating commercial exploitation of academic research, encouraged by recent policy initiatives and legislative changes, on the quantity and quality of scientific knowledge in Spain's public universities. We collected data of innovation variables (national patents, R&D and consultancy agreements, services rendered, licenses and PCT extensions and spin-offs), publications and number of citations for 48 Spanish public universities in 2009-2018 from Observatorio IUNE, which obtains data from the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, the Network of Research Results Transfer Offices and Web of Science. The results of linear regressions models showed that universities that render more services and have a greater number of PCTs (patent cooperation treaties), have a positive impact on the quantity and quality of the publications in Spanish universities. However, the number of national patents has no impact on the scientific output. Finally, universities with a greater number of patents have a lower number of citations.

The European Union (EU) has launched two regional investment programs of European Funds (FE) in the last decade. One covers the period of 2007 to 2013, and the second from 2014 to 2020. Among the goals contained in FE regulations is that of achieving sustainable growth through the conversion of fossil energy production systems to renewable energy. This research has had a goal to determine whether the countries of the Eurozone maintain homogeneous levels of efficiency in the use of these resources to improve the levels of environmental quality related to the use of this type of energy. The adopted research method for efficiency analyses was Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Findings revealed that the efficiency in the use of renewable energies is very uneven among the analyzed countries and that these differences are maintained throughout the analyzed period. These results suggest that the criteria for the distribution of the funds should be modified. The current distribution is mainly based on the per capita income of the countries and/or regions. In this way, compliance with the European Green Pact approved in September 2020 would be guaranteed.

After World War II, the European Union launched the Common Agricultural Policy. Since then, this programme has been adapting to the new economic and social realities that the European agricultural sector has been going through. Currently, a large part of this programme has been financed with the European Agricultural Guarantee Funds and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. Two packages of funds have been approved in recent decades: one for the 2007-2013 and another for the 2014-2020 periods. This research has had as its main objective to determine whether the Spanish regions maintain homogeneous levels of efficiency in the use of these resources in the management of agricultural programmes from a growth and employment perspective. A methodology that is frequently used by researchers in the efficiency analyses has been chosen: data envelopment analysis. Among the main conclusions obtained are that the efficiency in the management of agricultural funds is very uneven among the studied Spanish regions. Furthermore, these differences are maintained throughout the analysed periods. This study suggests changes and proposes criteria for the allocation of European resources to finance the projects presented by the Spanish regions.

Gender equality has been one of the goals of the European Union since 1957. Article 157 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union authorizes the European Parliament and the Council to adopt all those measures that guarantee the application of the principle of equality opportunities and equal treatment for men and women in employment and occupation matters. The main goal of this article was to determine whether the use of European Funds by Eurozone countries has made it possible to reduce labor differences in gender matters. To this end, the efficiency levels of the Funds are analyzed in two different periods, 2007 to 2013 and 2014 to 2020. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), a methodology frequently used by researchers in efficiency analyses, was applied. Among the main conclusions obtained are that the efficiency levels from the period 2014 to 2020 have been higher than that obtained in the previous period, but there are significant and persistent differences over time in the levels of gender efficiency between the different countries of the Eurozone.

Water scarcity is becoming a global concern for many reasons as its consumption increases. This research aimed to analyze sustainability inequalities in the water consumption of EU countries. Descriptive statistics using data for four AQUASTAT periods (2002, 2007, 2012, and 2017), and quotients for the AQUASTAT 2017 period, were calculated using a proposed econometric model. The main results were that countries with high GPD and population showed high water stress and total water withdrawal. Countries with lower industry-value-added-to-GDP quotients were among those with higher industrial water use efficiency, while low water-services-use-efficiency quotients were associated with high services value added to GDP. Suggestions for policymakers are provided and formula application guidelines for regional-level comparisons are described. ; This research was partially funded by the budget of the Contrato Programa 2020 of the Department of General Economics (University of Cadiz).

During the 2010-2020 period, the European Union (EU) launched a growth strategy based on three fundamental pillars: smart growth, sustainable growth, and inclusive growth. Aiming to finance the projects related to these growth pillars, the EU used mainly the Rural Development Funds, the Structural Funds, those derived from the R&D Framework Program, the Trans-European Networks, and the European Investment Bank. This research aimed to determine whether the Spanish regions maintain homogeneous efficiency levels by using these resources to improve the levels of environmental quality related to renewable energies. A methodology that is frequently used by researchers in efficiency analyses was chosen, the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The main findings revealed that the efficiency in the use of renewable energies is very uneven among the Spanish regions and these differences are maintained throughout the period analyzed. These results highlighted the need of changes regarding the proposed criteria for allocating European resources to finance the projects presented by each Spanish region.