Bienvenido Ortega

An Analysis of Educational Mismatch and Labor Mobility in the Hospitality Industry

The aims of this article are to analyze the determinants of educational mismatch and worker mobility across occupations and firms in the hospitality industry. The educational mismatch is measured comparing the workers maximum level of attained education and the educational level needed to perform his or her job. A representative survey of 3,314 employees and 302 employers in 181 hotels and 121 restaurants with 8 employees or more was utilized to this end. The econometric analyses suggest that workers can compensate for their shortfall in education with greater amounts of working experience; however, surplus education cannot substitute for tenure and on-the-job training. Likewise, educational mismatch has no impact on labor mobility. However, other factors influence internal and external turnover.

Human capital and labor productivity: a study for the hotel industry.

Using a linked employer–employee data set, this study estimates a production function for a sample of seventy Spanish hotels. This function, which identifies the main labor productivity determinants, leads to the conclusion that the more productive hotels in Andalusia are those older than twelve years, have three or more stars, belong to a chain, and subcontract some of the services offered. A chief finding is that a mismatch between the employees’ education levels and the education required for a job is relevant in explaining differences in the hotels’ and workers’ productivity. This result is especially clear when workers with less than five years of service were eliminated from the sample. Suitably educated employees are more efficient than those whose education is not matched to the job. In addition, undereducated employees (as compared to job requirements) are less efficient than overeducated ones. The study also found evidence that hotel employees with an average tenure of more than ten years have superior performance in terms of labor productivity.

Regional differences in personal saving rates in Spain

Abstract. The aim of this article is to analyze, from an aggregate perspective, the differences in personal saving rates among the Spanish regions at the NUTS II level from 1986 to 1994. In accordance with the postulates of the life cycle hypothesis, we present the main economic determinants for personal saving rates obtained from an aggregate personal saving model. Correcting for temporal and spatial dependence in the empirical model, the analysis suggests the existence of a significant and negative relationship between aggregate personal saving rates and wealth, access to credit and direct tax burdens. Likewise, a nearly significant positive relationship between personal saving rates and per capita gross disposable personal income has been detected.

Determinants of regional labour productivity in the hospitality industry in Spain, 1996-2004.

This paper analyses the evolution and determinants of regional labour productivity in the hospitality industry in Spain during the period 1996–2004. The results obtained suggest that the main factors contributing to a fall in productivity growth are the increasing number of 3-star hotels and a reduction in the stock of physical capital per worker. It is also suggested that increases in the intensity of regional tourism have a positive impact on the growth of labour productivity. Nonetheless, the downward trend in the average length of stay and the changes relating to seasonal demand during this period have not had a significant aggregate impact on the growth of labour productivity in the regions.

Determinants of efficiency in reducing child mortality in developing countries. The role of inequality and government effectiveness

The main aim of this article was to analyze the relationship of income inequality and government effectiveness with differences in efficiency in the use of health inputs to improve the under-five survival rate (U5SR) in developing countries. Robust Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and regression analysis were conducted using data for 47 developing countries for the periods 2000–2004, 2005–2009, and 2010–2012. The estimations show that countries with a more equal income distribution and better government effectiveness (i.e. a more competent bureaucracy and good quality public service delivery) may need fewer health inputs to achieve a specific level of the U5SR than other countries with higher inequality and worse government effectiveness.

Evaluating Efficiency in the Implementation of Structural Funds Operations

This article proposes a methodology to assess the efficiency of the European Union Structural Funds (SF) operations using two alternative approaches: first, by a unit cost analysis of the programme’s output indicators; second, by the comparative study of the tendering, contract-awarding and implementation costs of a sample of projects. This methodology has been applied to the mid-term evaluation of the 2000—2006 Integrated Operational Programme of Andalusia, employing the information provided by the programme’s monitoring system and using primary data obtained from the interventions’ direct managers. This process of accessing data sources itself provides useful insights into programme assessment given that — by requesting data regarding programmed and effective unit costs for each indicator from the direct managers — their capacity to programme can be verified as well as the reliability of the data provided to the monitoring system, promoting a culture of evaluation and accountability.