Carlos Peraita

The Primary School Dropout in Spain: The Influence of Family Background and Labor Market Conditions

The most outstanding event in the Spanish education system in the past two decades has been the overall improvement of enrolment in all educational levels. However, the primary school dropout rate in Spain is relatively high, and the evidence indicates that being a dropout is a permanent condition. This is the first study on dropouts in Spain, and it uses individual-level data from the Living and Working Conditions Survey (1985) to analyze the determinants of dropping out of primary school in Spain. This paper focuses on the impact of family socio-economic background and labour market conditions on dropping out. The results from logistic regression for dropping out are consistent with earlier literature. Specifically, they indicate that family socio-economic status variables are significant factors in determining the probability of dropping out, and the youth labour market conditions also have an impact on primary school dropout behaviour. Finally, some policy recommendations are discussed.

The effect of family background on children's level of schooling attainment in Spain

This paper provides microeconomic estimates of the role played by family background in determining children’s level of schooling attainment in Spain. We use an ordered logit model to explore the eA ects of family background and other supply factors on the probability of various educational outcomes. Our estimates are based on household data obtained from the ECVT , L iving and Working Conditions Survey (Ministerio de Economo a y Hacienda, 1985), a Spanish nation-wide household survey conducted at the end of 1985. In general, and given the Spanish capital constraints, parental income, social class, and family size, explain children’s level of schooling. These results are consistent with those of the literature that focuses on the role of family background in determining schooling attainment. I. ANALYTICAL CONSIDERATIONS This paper studies the diA erences in educational attainment in terms of parents’ decisions about their children’s education. We apply the Becker model presented in A T reatise on the Family (Becker, 1991) and our empirical work is a contribution to the literature that focuses on the role of family background in determining schooling, originated in Behrman et al. (1980). We use microdata set taken from a representative survey of the Spanish living and working conditions (ECVT survey, Ministerio de Economo a y Hacienda, 1985). Duringtheearly 1960s,educationwasthought to be not only a very notable source of economic growth, but also an important instrument in reducingsocial inequalities. However, in the late 1970s it began to be seriously considered that educational bene® ts, in general, are best utilized by those who come from better positioned family backgrounds. Therefore, equality of educational opportunitywill notpresumablyleadtothe desired

Testing the Acemoglu-Pischke model in Spain

Abstract The Acemoglu–Pischke approach to training in imperfect labor markets predicts that wage compressions should shift incentives to invest in training from workers to firms. This will increase firm-sponsored general training when workers are unable to invest in training by themselves. Spain is on the top of the ranking of regulated labor markets. However, the training figures for Spain indicate a poor effect of highly compressed wage structure on firm-sponsored training.

Firm-sponsored training in regulated labour markets: evidence from Spain

Using data from the 1994 European Community Household Panel Survey, the author examines who receives formal firm-sponsored training in Spain. The author finds that the distribution of firm-sponsored training in the work force is uneven and concentrated among more skilled workers in the upper deciles of the wage distribution. The data show that the likelihood of receiving firm-sponsored training for a low education employee is much lower. Also, the better-educated employees in high wage occupations of the largest establishments have higher probabilities of receiving specific training. Spain has a highly regulated labour market, and the labour market frictions and institutions compress and distort the structure of wages. However, the results suggest that the highly compressed wage structure do not provide firms with the incentive to invest in general training.

A comparison of corporate social responsibility engagement in the OECD countries with categorical data

This note presents a new method to compare the engagement level of the OECD countries with the corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities when achievements of their companies are described by CSR standards. We introduce the eigenvector procedure developed by Herrero and Villar (2013), applying the analysis of group performance with categorical data. We find that differences in CSR engagement across OECD countries are quite low in the top and the bottom of the eigenvector classification compared with those of the GRI index. However, there are important differences across countries placed in the middle rank of these two classifications.

Higher education institutions, economic growth and GDP per capita in European Union countries

ABSTRACT This paper presents an estimation of the contribution of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to economic growth and the Gross Domestic Product per capita of the European (EU) countries over the period 2000–2015. For this purpose, we analyse the universities’ effects on the supply side of their national economies, especially the contribution of the R&D of HEIs to technological capital of the European (EU) countries. We proposed a methodology of counterfactual scenarios, which assume a hypothetical situation in which HEIs do not exist, to estimating the effects of HEIs, applying techniques of growth accounting. The results obtained indicate that these effects are a significant source of growth in European (EU) countries, contributing to mitigating the adverse effects of the periods of crisis. The estimates show that GDP per capita would currently be more than 11% higher than that corresponding to a scenario without HEIs. The results obtained also show significate differences in GDP per capita between European (EU) countries associated with the activity of HEIs.

The effects of national culture on corporate social responsibility disclosure: a cross-country comparison

ABSTRACT This article presents a cross-country analysis of the influence of national culture on corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure. We analyse the relationship between the Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and the sustainability disclosure with the GDP per capita (GDPPC) of 44 countries, using panel data with information based on the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines. The governance effectiveness and the foreign direct investment are also included in the analysis. The results show that in countries with higher GDPPC, the CSR disclosure is negatively related to individualism and masculinity and positively related to uncertainty avoidance and indulgence. When focusing in countries with lower GDPPC, the results suggest that CSR disclosure is negatively related to power distance and positively related to uncertainty avoidance. Moreover, five of the six Hofstede’s cultural dimensions negatively affect sustainability disclosure in countries with middle GDPPC.

The Tax Returns of Public Spending on Universities: An Estimate with Monte Carlo Simulations

Pastor J. M. and Peraita C. The tax returns of public spending on universities: an estimate with Monte Carlo simulations, Regional Studies. This paper proposes a methodology based on counterfactual scenarios and the existence of uncertainty to estimate the tax returns of public spending of regional governments on their public universities. The introduction of differences in the time spent by the students at university and the proportion of the total public expenditure implies making assumptions about uncertainty. The paper applies Monte Carlo simulations incorporating stochastic elements to estimate the tax returns of public spending in the University of the Basque Country (Spain). The results indicate that public expenditure in university education is a profitable investment from a fiscal perspective.