Mª del Mar Salinas-Jiménez

Technological change, efficiency gains and capital accumulation in labour productivity growth and convergence: an application to the Spanish regions

The main objective of this article is to analyse labour productivity growth and convergence in the Spanish regions between 1965 and 1995, decomposing total factor productivity gains into technological progress and efficiency change by means of Malmquist productivity indices. On the basis of this decomposition, labour productivity growth is broken down into components attributable to technological change (shifts in the frontier), efficiency gains (movements toward the frontier) and capital accumulation (movements along the frontier). The approach followed in this study is based on work initiated by Färe et al., where a link between the economic growth and convergence literature and the production frontier approach was established. Furthermore, in the spirit of Quahs approach, the evolution of the whole distribution is considered. Thus, the analysis of the dynamics of the entire distribution of labour productivity and the factors behind it – technological progress, efficiency gains and capital accumulation – combine both approaches, yielding new insights into the process of productivity growth and convergence experienced by the Spanish regions over the last 30 years.

Exploring differences in corruption: the role of neighboring countries

The aim of this paper is to study whether corruption spreads across neighboring countries. Spatial econometric techniques are used to analyze corruption interactions, testing whether the perception of corruption in neighboring countries affect a country’s own corruption once other variables are controlled for. For a given country it is found that corruption varies neither with the behavior of its neighbors (there is no endogenous interaction) nor with their exogenous characteristics (there is no contextual interaction). Corruption is therefore not contagious, but neighboring countries tend to show similar levels of corruption because they face similar characteristics and similar institutional environments.

Gender wage differentials and educational mismatch: an application to the Spanish case

This article aims to analyse gender wage differentials in Spain by taking into account the levels of educational attainment and by studying whether the educational mismatch affects the gender wage gap. Focusing on returns to education, evidence is found on the existence of educational mismatch and on its contribution to determine wages, with women suffering greater wage penalties that are associated with educational mismatch. Furthermore, although the gender wage gap is lower for individuals with low educational levels, we find that the part of this gap due to differences in returns is greater in this group. On the contrary, the gender gap is greater among highly-educated workers, but in this case most of the wage differentials are due to differences in productive characteristics. In any case, our results suggest that gender wage discrimination tends to be greater for those workers who show educational mismatch.

Are Education and Occupational Status Affecting Men’s and Women’s Satisfaction in Different Ways? A Cross-National Perspective on Gender Inequality

In this chapter we analyze the factors behind life satisfaction of men and women, focusing on the role played by educational attainment and different patterns of work. Account is also taken of the social context as regards gender inequality since similar working status might lead to different perceptions of wellbeing depending on whether or not the individuals follow the prevailing gender roles in their societies. Among the results, it is found that no gender differences in wellbeing appear in countries with low gender inequality. Moreover, whereas in countries with less gender inequality the effects of education and occupation tend to be rather similar across genders, in less gender egalitarian societies the effects of education on men’s satisfaction manifest only through enhanced job opportunities and professional status. The results of this study tend to confirm that gender social roles matter to shape individual subjective wellbeing, being the gender social context a key element in explaining gender differences in life satisfaction and the factors behind subjective wellbeing of men and women living in different societies.