Purpose This paper aims to assess eco-efficiency in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which are a major driver of global warming, across European Union regions and examine its determinants. Design/methodology/approach In line with the European Green Deal’s (EGD) green transition objectives, eco-efficiency is evaluated as the potential of regions to reduce GHG emissions while maintaining gross domestic product (GDP). Data envelopment analysis, truncated regression and bootstrapping techniques are used to ensure robust and reliable results. Findings Nordic and Western regions rank among the most eco-efficient, whereas Central and Eastern regions lag behind. Innovation capacity, capital city status, institutional quality (quality of government and social capital) and population size contribute to higher eco-efficiency, whereas large industrial sectors hinder progress towards the green transition. Practical implications The green transition requires place-based policies that promote technological upgrading, industrial diversification and innovation to achieve emission reductions compatible with sustained economic growth. Strengthening governance quality and social capital can further improve policy outcomes and long-term eco-efficiency. Originality/value Eco-efficiency is assessed at the regional level using GHG emissions as an indicator of ecological performance, in keeping with the territorial focus and policy objectives of the EGD. A second-stage analysis is conducted to identify the factors that drive regional eco-efficiency.
Purpose This study aims to evaluate the impact of Internship Contracts, a youth-targeted active labor market policy implemented in Spain between 2016 and 2019. Design/methodology/approach Using administrative data from the Continuous Sample of Working Lives and propensity score matching, the authors estimate the Average Treatment on the Treated (ATT) for contract duration and monthly wages in the short term (one year) and medium term (two to three years). Logistic models estimate the probability of obtaining a permanent contract and remaining with the same employer after contract completion. Findings Relative to Temporary Contracts (TCs), Internship Contracts lead to higher wages, longer subsequent contracts and a greater likelihood of permanent employment, although with lower employer retention. Internship contract holders earn on average €186,42 more than comparable TC holders over the 2017–2019 period, corresponding to an earnings premium of 14,7%. Effects are broadly consistent across subsamples, with heterogeneity by gender, experience and education. Originality/value The results reveal a paradox: the strongest benefits of Internship Contracts accrue to individuals with prior work experience, despite the programme’s objective of facilitating labor-market entry for first-time participants, with prior experience shaping both the magnitude and timing of these effects.
Purpose This paper aims to re-examine the uncovered interest parity (UIP) hypothesis, which posits efficiency in forward foreign exchange and rational expectations. Testing these assumptions involves estimating parameters in a k-step-ahead forecasting model, where forecast errors are expected to be serially correlated up to lags k 1. When errors are correlated beyond these lags, OLS is no longer consistent unless the regressors are exogenous. Design/methodology/approach The authors extend the FGLS procedure developed in Perron and González-Coya (2022) to a setting in which lagged dependent variables are included as regressors. The authors thus provide a consistent and efficient framework to estimate the parameters of a general k-step-ahead linear forecasting equation. Following the work of Perron and Olivari (2023), the authors introduce an instrumental variable (IV)-based approach for this problem that requires pre-determined but not necessarily exogenous IVs for consistency. Findings The authors apply the authors’ FGLS procedures to the analysis of the two main specifications to test the UIP. Contrary to most empirical results available in the literature, in particular those based on some OLS regression or GMM, the authors’ robust and efficient procedure cannot reject the null hypothesis that the UIP holds. Originality/value Overall, this study’s results can be viewed as overturning the so-called forward discount anomaly. The methods proposed can also be applied to a wide variety of contexts.
Purpose This study aims to examine the gender gaps in intergenerational educational mobility across 23 OECD countries and identify whether and to what extent cognitive and noncognitive skills contribute to these. Design/methodology/approach Using PIAAC II Cycle data, this study builds four mobility measures and applies the Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition to assess the role of skills in gender differences in mobility. Findings Men display lower educational mobility than women in nearly all countries. In the explained component of the gap, cognitive skills, particularly numeracy, are the main contributors, generally favoring men. Noncognitive traits like conscientiousness and open-mindedness follow, typically contributing to women’s mobility. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first cross-country study to jointly examine the role of cognitive and noncognitive skills in shaping gender gaps in educational mobility, highlighting the relevance of skill-building.
PurposeThis paper aims to examine the effect of short-term rentals on urban air pollution in Barcelona and Madrid from 2018 to 2023.Design/methodology/approachThe authors combine detailed platform-level data on Airbnb and Vrbo listings with satellite-based measures of district-level air pollution, allowing for a granular analysis of local environmental externalities. To address the endogeneity of STR location choices, the authors implement a shift-share instrumental variable strategy that exploits predetermined proximity to tourist amenities interacted with time variation in global Airbnb search intensity.FindingsThe estimates show that increases in STR density lead to higher local concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) and tropospheric ozone (O3). The authors further document that STR expansion is associated with increased traffic and a higher concentration of hospitality-related establishments, shedding light on the mechanisms linking peer-to-peer accommodation to urban pollution.Originality/valueBy focusing on short-term rental platforms rather than aggregate tourism flows, and by leveraging high-resolution pollution data at the district level, this paper contributes to the urban economics literature on local externalities and provides new evidence on the environmental costs of platform-mediated tourism in large cities.
