Francisco José Goerlich Gisbert

On factor decomposition of cross-country income inequality: some extensions and qualifications

Abstract In a recent paper in this journal Duro and Esteban [Econom. Lett. 60 (1998) 269] have proposed a factor decomposition of the Theil [Economics and Information Theory, Amsterdam, North-Holland, 1967] index of inequality over per capita incomes into the (unweighted) sum of the inequality indexes of the factors in order to measure the contribution of each individual factor to the overall inequality. The purpose of this little note is to extend and qualify the meaning of such a decomposition, to show that the decomposition also holds for another Theil [Economics and Information Theory, Amsterdam, North-Holland, 1967], index of inequality and that both decompositions offer qualitatively the same general results about the contribution of the factors to aggregate inequality when applied to a particular data set, the OECD countries, although quantitative results differ.

Clustering cities through urban metrics analysis

Abstract This paper describes a process for measuring and characterizing urban morphological zones. These urban zones are delineated for the entire area of Spain, independently of administrative boundaries and excluding demographic data, using a high resolution land-use dataset. Given the rich information available on land cover and subsequently assigned population data, it is possible to calculate a set of urban spatial metrics to classify these urban zones into homogenous morphological groups. Four types of urban agglomerations are identified in Spain by working with these urban metrics and applying a final cluster analysis. Although these groups have a general complex monocentric typology, each has its own specific characteristics. Finally, a picture of patterns and trends of urbanization for the main urban agglomerations in Spain is provided, offering some perspectives on the urban sprawl phenomenon.

Further convergence accounting

This article extends the convergence accounting framework established by Serrano and proposes a simple way to statistically test for the significance of different factors of production affecting labour productivity convergence. The result comes from expressing the log of labour productivity as a sum of different factors in a Cobb-Douglas production function. The end result is that a similar accounting exercise to that in Serrano can be done using the different factors driving convergence. Its application to OECD countries over the period 1965–1990 illustrates the approach and shows that, in agreement with most of the literature, total factor productivity is the factor that has contributed most to labour convergence and that physical investment in non-residential capital is the second most important one. Human capital accumulation, on the other hand, has had little effect throughout the period, but has taken on an increasing importance in recent years. However, from the point of view of the convergence of each factor considered individually, all factors have converged, human capital having done so the most quickly.

Rankings ISSUE 2013: Indicadores sintéticos de las universidades españolas

Los rankings ordenan a las universidades condensando en un indicador informacion heterogenea acerca de sus caracteristicas y resultados. Los rankings simplifican la complejidad pero ocultan rasgos diferenciales de las universidades que pueden ser relevantes. La simplificacion excesiva es peligrosa y, siempre que sea posible, un sistema de rankings debe ofrecer informacion diferenciada acerca de las principales misiones que las universidades cumplen –la docencia, la investigacion y la innovacion y desarrollo tecnologico-, permitiendo comparar los logros de cada institucion en cada dimension. La construccion de un ranking implica cierta dosis de subjetividad, al seleccionar variables, construir indicadores y ponderarlos. Para acotar los efectos de la subjetividad es importante explicar en detalle la metodologia utilizada y permitir al usuario que exprese sus preferencias por la docencia, la investigacion o la transferencia, construyendo un ranking personalizado. Este trabajo presenta la metodologia y algunos de los resultados del proyecto U-Ranking, consistente en la construccion de un conjunto de Indicadores Sinteticos del Sistema Universitario Espanol. La metodologia utilizada tiene presentes las recomendaciones de la literatura especializada y los expertos en elaboracion de indicadores.