Future Policy Lab and Vivaces, 12/2024 – PDF Version (Spanish)

with Mikel Berra, Rosario Alcantarilla, Paz Martín and Juli Ponce.

Future Policy Lab, 05/2023 – PDF Version (Spanish)

with Carlos Delclos, Mariona Segú, Irene Lebrusán and Pedro Salas-Rojo

Occasional Papers Banco de España, 04/2023 – PDF Version

with Josep Pijoan-Mas, Pau Roldan-Blanco and Federico Tagliati.

Banco de España Repository, 03/2023 – PDF Version

with Sergio Puente

Rationale Economic convergence measured by income per capita refers to the process whereby lower income regions post higher growth, so that over time cross-regional differences diminish. This process was quite intense in Spain from 1980 to 2008 when, coinciding with the onset of the financial crisis, it came to a halt. Accordingly, it is of interest to document this phenomenon and investigate its possible causes. Takeaways: 1) Economic convergence between the Spanish regions was intense from 1980 to 2008, when it came to a halt following the outbreak of the financial crisis. 2) Labour productivity, largely driven by capital accumulation, was the main determinant of the convergence process between 1980 and 2008. It is also the main contributor to its subsequent stagnation. 3) However, in the most recent period, population ageing, which is especially pronounced in regions with higher income per capita, has helped to narrow the differences, albeit not sufficiently to offset the impact of the other factors.

Analytical Articles Banco de España, 11/2022 – PDF Version

with Mario Izquierdo and Sergio Puente.

This article assesses how effective Spain’s furlough schemes were from the start of the COVID-19 crisis in allowing the workers affected to return to work. On average between 2020 and 2021, the absolute probability of workers resuming their activity was high, although the shorter the furlough scheme, the higher the probability: almost 65% for workers who were furloughed for just one quarter, compared with slightly more than 26% for those who were furloughed for three quarters. When compared with workers of identical characteristics who were not furloughed but lost their jobs and became economically inactive or unemployed, the gap is positive, but it also narrows over time. In consequence, the results show that the furlough schemes – especially the shorter ones – were highly effective in the period analysed. However, the longer the furlough schemes lasted, the less effective they tended to be, especially for certain groups, such as younger workers, those with temporary contracts and workers in certain service activities.

Media coverage: CincoDías, ElEconomista, EuropaPress, 20Minutos.

Analytical Articles Banco de España, 10/2022 – PDF Version

with Brindusa Anghel and Aitor Lacuesta

Promoting e-mobility in the transport sector is essential for the transition to a low-emission economy. One of the goals of the Spanish programmes of incentives for efficient and sustainable mobility (MOVES) is to encourage the general public and firms to purchase electric vehicles. This article analyses the impact of the MOVES II programme, launched in June 2020, on electric vehicle registrations, based on the microdata provided by the Directorate General for Traffic. The results suggest that the impact has been very uneven across Spain’s regions. Specifically, from its launch up to December 2020, the programme appears to have increased the percentage of new electric vehicle registrations in Asturias, Madrid, Navarre and the Balearic Islands, and on average in the provinces of Catalonia, by an average of at least 1 percentage point. By contrast, the average impact on electric vehicle registrations by province in each of the other regions may be statistically zero.

Banco de España Repository, 2021 – PDF version

with Aitor Lacuesta and Josep Lluis Segú