Measuring productive efficiency provides information on the likely effects of regulatory reform. We present a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) of a sample of 38 vehicle inspection units under a concession regime, between the years 2000 and 2004. The differences in efficiency scores show the...

Many regional governments in developed countries design programs to improve the competitiveness of local firms. In this paper, we evaluate the effectiveness of public programs whose aim is to enhance the performance of firms located in Catalonia (Spain). We compare the performance of publicly...

We analyse the impact of regulation, industrial policy and jurisdictional allocation on broadband deployment using a theoretical model and an empirical estimation. Although central powers may be more focused and internalize interjurisdictional externalities, decentralized powers may internalize...

We empirically estimate the effects of regulated access prices and firms’ multinational status on firm performance by using firm, corporate group, and country level information for the European broadband market between 2002 and 2010. Three measures of firm performance are used, namely: market...

The effectiveness of R&D subsidies can vary substantially depending on their characteristics. Specifically, the amount and intensity of such subsidies are crucial issues in the design of public schemes supporting private R&D. Public agencies determine the intensities of R&D subsidies for firms...

The implementation of public programs to support business R&D projects requires the establishment of a selection process. This selection process faces various difficulties, which include the measurement of the impact of the R&D projects as well as selection process optimization among projects...

In recent decades the contribution made by higher education institutions to regional development has attracted increasing attention. Considering the university as an economic agent with its own budget and expenditure, then the activities it engages in, as well as those of the groups from which...

In this paper we test for the presence of localisation economies due to input-output linkages between vertically related firms located in the same region. To undertake this we estimate, by duality, a quadratic cost function using a sector by sector panel at the European regional level in the...

The concept of innovation has been a constant worry for industrial sectors characterised by mature technology and by the loss of competitiveness associated to it. The objective of this paper is to analyse the impact of innovation on the competitive position of the Spanish textile and clothing...

In the last days of the electoral campaign for the 2004 general election in Spain, on Thursday March 11th 2004, a series of simultaneous terror attacks caused the death of 191 persons in commuting trains in the capital Madrid. Four days later, the opposition party won the election, against all...