Abstract. Over the last two decades, the Spanish higher education and research sector has undergone profound changes, but little is known about the implementation of recent reforms and how university actors responded to policy change and institutional pressures within a changing resource environment. Drawing on the insights from institutional and resource-dependence theory, we show how Spanish public universities have coped and implemented their human resources policy over the past 15 years and whether individual universities converged in their employment behaviour.

Abstract. This article aims at exploring the gender gap in levels of political knowledge, with a focus on lower secondary school students in Europe. Using the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2009 (ICCS), we find that boys outperform girls when asked about facts, but girls demonstrate greater knowledge when asked to reason about a particular political matter. Part of the gender gap in political knowledge among adolescents appears to be a function of what is defined as knowledge.

Abstract. This article reports the results of an online experiment conducted in two ethnically fragmented societies in Spain: the Basque Country and Catalonia. It tests the effect of co-ethnicity on trust and reciprocity. Ethnicity was manipulated in the experimental context using three ethnic attributes: ancestors' origin, language and name. Additionally, the article reports a comparison of general levels of trust in the two regions. No co-ethnicity effect on trust is found, but there is significantly more reciprocal behaviour between Catalan speakers in Catalonia.

Abstract. From mid-2007 to September 2008, the Spanish PV sector experienced an investment boom, which led to a ten-fold increase in solar PV deployment. The concern of the government about the large increase in the associated support costs through a feed-in tariff led to the implementation of several cost-containment regulations.

Abstract. The paper derives the dynamics of pollution taxes and relative standards—which set bounds on emissions per unit of output—and the resulting optimal replacement of capital goods in a vintage model under the putty-clay assumption. Comparing policies that are constrained by the same aggregate pollution target level, the productive life of capital is longer under dynamic relative standards, as the variable cost of pollution imposed on aging capital is lower.

Abstract. There have been two main arguments concerning the effects of family relationships on social trust. The first claims that the intensity of the family relationship reduces the capacity of the family members to interact in the outside world, where social uncertainty prevails. The second considers that trust inside the family spills over into trust in strangers. There is a corollary to the first argument: intense family relationships, by reducing social trust, affect community development negatively.

Abstract. The economic crisis of recent years provides an extremely valuable context for the study of the effective role which R&D policies have had for governments, both as a potential tool for exiting from the crisis and as an object of fiscal consolidation. The discourse of governments and international organizations often connect actions to cope with the crisis with reforms and changes in many areas, such as R&D.

Abstract. We test convergent validity of contingent valuation and choice modeling with field and eye-tracker data in an application for stone pine reforestations.

Abstract. This article evaluates the effectiveness of a public programme intended to improve innovation capabilities in the private sector by subsidizing the hiring of research and development (R&D) personnel. Using information from the programme management database, we study factors associated with the duration of contracts and their transformation into open-ended contracts, a basic aim of the programme.

Abstract. We apply an experimental ecosystem accounting approach aimed at estimating the contribution of ecosystem services to total social income accrued from a Stone pine (Pinus pinea L.) forest as the result of afforestation in Huelva Province, Spain. The study encompasses private market products such as timber, pine cones, and forest conservation intermediate services; and non-market final services that include private amenities and public services such as landscape, free-access recreation and carbon sequestration services.