Salvador Pérez-Moreno

An assessment of the quality of a tourist destination: The case of Nerja, Spain

Quality improvement is one of the strategies that many tourist destinations are currently using in order to increase their competitiveness in international tourist markets. In this respect, this paper analyses existing perceptions on the quality of Nerja as a tourist destination by using a measurement tool to specify and quantify perceived quality levels. The method used in this paper is a modified version of the well-known SERVQUAL scale, widely used to measure quality of service. Apart from verifying the validity of the tool used, the results of this study highlight the importance of hotel services, the climate and the beauty of the landscape, and the friendliness of personnel towards customers. It must be pointed out, however, that overcrowding stands out as the biggest problem which may adversely affect Nerjas future as a tourist destination.

Economic cycles and child mortality: A cross-national study of the least developed countries

This paper examines the effects of growth and recession periods on child mortality in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) during the period 1990-2010. We provide empirical evidence of uneven effects of variations in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita on the evolution of child mortality rate in periods of economic recession and expansion. A decrease in GDP per capita entails a significant rise in child mortality rates, whereas an increase does not affect child mortality significantly. In this context, official development assistance seems to play a crucial role in counteracting the increment in child mortality rates in recession periods, at least in those LDCs receiving greater aid.

Does economic freedom increase income inequality? Evidence from the EU countries

This paper examines the relationship between economic liberalization and income inequality in the EU using panel data for the 2000s. The empirical evidence suggests that economic freedom is strongly related to income inequality. However, not all areas of economic freedom affect income distribution similarly. Government size is robustly associated with inequality, and also when controlling for potential endogeneity in a dynamic panel data analysis. Regulation is linked to income inequality as well, whereas legal system and sound money have no significant effects on income distribution. In the case of freedom to trade internationally, the relationship differs between old (EU-15) and new (former socialist) EU countries.

Disparities in entrepreneurial activity and attitude across EU countries

ABSTRACT The levels and characteristics of entrepreneurship differ widely across EU countries and regions. Taking as reference data provided by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor on entrepreneurial activity and entrepreneurial attitude, this paper analyses the disparities in entrepreneurship indicators among EU member countries in 2007 and 2013, highlighting the most significant changes that occurred during the Great Recession. Some of the major indices of inequality are calculated (Gini, Theil and Atkinson) and the change in the Gini coefficient between these two years is additively decomposed into mobility and progressivity components. Overall, we find that cross-national inequalities tend to increase in the procyclical aspects of entrepreneurial activity and attitude, while they tend to decrease in the countercyclical aspects. For entrepreneurial activity indicators, we reveal that heterogeneity increases in indicators such as opportunity-driven entrepreneurial activity and total entrepreneurial activity, while necessity-driven entrepreneurial activity becomes more homogeneous across countries. Regarding entrepreneurial attitudes, disparities among countries decrease in all indicators, except in perceived opportunities, for which cross-national inequality grows considerably during the crisis period.