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).
La situación de crisis económica por la que se está atravesando y su incidencia sobre el mercado de trabajo, con un aumento significativo en las tasas de desempleo de algunos países miembros de la UE, refuerzan el papel de las políticas de empleo (PE) como elemento de cohesión social. Es un momento importante para intensificar las relaciones entre actuaciones públicas y privadas sobre territorios específicos y donde los factores de dinamización territorial juegan un rol clave. Entre estas políticas se estudiarán, en este trabajo, las políticas activas de empleo (PAE) creadas para responder a los desequilibrios del mercado de trabajo y que plantean entre sus objetivos, el aumento del empleo juvenil, la mejora de la empleabilidad, el desarrollo de medidas para colectivos específicos con especial atención a las personas con discapacidad y el fomento de los emprendedores. La posibilidad de que estas actuaciones incidan sobre el fomento del empleo y que tengan un mejor impacto sobre él, depende directamente de las potencialidades culturales, formativas, productivas, emprendedoras, financieras, institucionales o sociales, que presenta el territorio. En este artículo se analiza la evolución experimentada, en cada uno de los países de la Zona Euro durante la crisis económica, de las PAE a través de diversos indicadores macroeconómicos, así como la relación de éstos últimos con la inversión en las políticas de empleo que se han venido desarrollando. Este análisis exploratorio será la base de un análisis posterior de tipo explicativo de carácter territorial ; The situation of the current economic crisis and its impact on the labour market, with a significant increase in unemployment levels in some of the member countries of the EU, reinforces the role of employment promotion policies as an element of social cohesion. This is an important moment to enhance the association between public and private actions for some specific territories where regional stimulating factors play a key role. Among others, this study analyzes employment promotion policies that have been developed in response to an unbalanced labour market. Some of its aims are to increase young people employment, to improve employability, to promote measures for specific population groups and particularly for disabled people and entrepreneurs. The probability of encouraging employment and the extent of its impact will directly depend on cultural, training, production, entrepreuning, financial, institutional and social potential in the territory. This article analyzes the developments in each of the countries in the Euro Zone during the economic crisis of ECPs through various macroeconomic indicators and their relationship with investment in employment policies that have been developed. This exploratory analysis will be the basis of further analysis of explanatory type of territorial character
The situation of the current economic crisis and its impact on the labour market, with a significant increase in unemployment levels in some of the member countries of the EU, reinforces the role of employment promotion policies as an element of social cohesion. This is an important moment to enhance the association between public and private actions for some specific territories where regional stimulating factors play a key role.Among others, this study analyzes employment promotion policies that have been developed in response to an unbalanced labour market. Some of its aims are to increase young people employment, to improve employability, to promote measures for specific population groups and particularly for disabled people and entrepreneurs.The probability of encouraging employment and the extent of its impact will directly depend on cultural, training, production, entrepreuning, financial, institutional and social potential in the territory.This article analyzes the developments in each of the countries in the Euro Zone during the economic crisis of ECPs through various macroeconomic indicators and their relationship with investment in employment policies that have been developed. This exploratory analysis will be the basis of further analysis of explanatory type of territorial character ; La situación de crisis económica por la que se está atravesando y su incidencia sobre el mercado de trabajo, con un aumento significativo en las tasas de desempleo de algunos países miembros de la UE, refuerzan el papel de las políticas de empleo (PE) como elemento de cohesión social. Es un momento importante para intensificar las relaciones entre actuaciones públicas y privadas sobre territorios específicos y donde los factores de dinamización territorial juegan un rol clave.Entre estas políticas se estudiarán, en este trabajo, las políticas activas de empleo (PAE) creadas para responder a los desequilibrios del mercado de trabajo y que plantean entre sus objetivos, el aumento del empleo juvenil, la mejora de la ...
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.
Una de las principales consecuencias de la actual crisis económica mundial, en particular en la Unión Europea, es el incremento de los desempleados. Ante esta coyuntura, comienzan a ser relevantes las investigaciones relacionadas con la evaluación de las inversiones públicas en políticas que conlleven a la creación y/o mejora de las condiciones de acceso al empleo en los países miembros. Este artículo tiene como objetivo la estimación de la eficiencia y los cambios en la productividad impulsada por las políticas de empleo, activas y pasivas, de los 18 países de la Eurozona, en el periodo 2006-2010, empleando para ello el Análisis Envolvente de Datos "" DEA- y el índice de Productividad de Malmquist. Los resultados arrojan que sólo 5 de los 18 países -Austria, Chipre, Estonia, Malta y Países Bajos- alcanzan la eficiencia en el periodo considerado. Cabe destacar, sin embargo, un leve incremento en la productividad la cual obedece, principalmente, a una variación positiva de la eficiencia. En general, los países de la Eurozona no han realizado una asignación eficiente de los recursos destinados a financiar las políticas de empleo, por ello se recomienda seguir reajustando sus políticas, para así continuar incrementando tanto sus niveles de eficiencia como de productividad.
