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• Significant reduction (18.44%) in overall Spanish GHG emissions from 2008 to 2018, highlighting some differences depending on the considered phase of the crisis. • The total intensity effect has been noticeable negative, especially in Agriculture, Transport, and Other Services. • The total carbonization effect has contributed to increase GHG emissions by 5.86%, being particularly negative in the case of Industry. • Per capita production effect was strongly negative in Industry and slightly positive in the rest of the economic sectors. • R&D, more eco-friendly technologies, green energies, circular economy and consumer green attitudes: the best strategies to reduce GHG emissions. The reduction of GHG emissions to reverse the greenhouse effect is one of the main challenges in this century. In this paper we pursue two objectives. First, we analyze the evolution of GHG emissions in Spain in 2008–2018, at both the global and sectoral levels, with the variation in emissions decomposed into a set of determining factors. Second, we propose several actions specifically oriented to more tightly controlling the level of emissions. Our results showed a remarkable reduction (18.44%) in GHG emissions, mainly due to the intensity effect, but also to the production-per-capita effect. We detected somewhat different patterns among the various sectors analyzed. While the intensity effect was the most influential one in the agricultural, transport, and others sectors, the production-per-capita effect was predominant in the case of industry. The carbonization effect was revealed as crucial in the commerce sector. The above findings highlight the importance of the energy efficiency measures taken in recent years in the Spanish economy, also pointing to the need to deepen those strategies and to propose new measures that entail greater efficiency in emissions. Additional efforts in areas like innovation, R&D, diffusion of more eco-friendly technologies, and a greater use of greener energies all prove to be essential reduction actions to fight the greenhouse effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

So far in the literature, the two-parameter Weibull distribution and its other extensions are frequently implemented to analyze the wind speed energy data sets. However, based on our study of the literature, there is no published work about analyzing the wind speed energy data sets using new probability distributions that are developed via trigonometric functions. In this paper, I attempt to cover this amazing and interesting research gap. Therefore, I incorporate a trigonometric function, especially, the sine function to introduce a new statistical distributional method. The proposed method is called a new modified sine- G family of distributions. Some distributional properties of the new modified sine- G method are obtained. Using the new modified sine- G method, a new extension of the Weibull distribution called a new modified sine-Weibull distribution is studied. The new modified sine-Weibull distribution is applied to analyze four wind speed energy data sets. All three data sets are taken from the weather station at Sotavento Galicia in the Canary Islands, Spain, located at 43.3544 North and 7.8812 West. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates Spanish drivers' perceptions of the main barriers existing in Spain to the purchase of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). Following a comprehensive literature review in this field, this paper quantifies, by means of a survey conducted in Spain of 1474 Spanish drivers, the drivers' desired levels for each barrier to consider ZEVs in their next purchase decision to replace their current usually-used car. The analysis of these reported levels with latent class cluster models revealed the existence, in the sample, of groups of consumers with homogeneous preferences regarding the barriers. These groups differ in terms of individuals' characteristics, the car to be replaced, and journeys made with it. The most flexible groups comprise individuals with a significant knowledge of ZEVs, which underscores the importance of educational policies for the promotion of the use of ZEVs. The desired levels of the barriers for each group are confronted with the current status of the barriers for certain ZEVs. This comparison reveals that Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) would have great potential if they received government support, because their only barriers are economic (purchase price and fuel availability). This paper also quantifies the effects that purchase incentives and infrastructure investment policies could have in terms of higher FCEV penetration rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the diverse actions, interventions and strategies initiated to address rising energy vulnerability among low-income households in the Barcelona region over the last decade. Drawing upon recent conceptual work around the politics of energy and in-depth fieldwork conducted over more than two years, we trace the different processes and sites through which the basic socio-material conditions of domestic access to energy have become politicised. We show how this involves a two-stage movement of deconfinement and reconfinement. In a context marked by austerity, an energy inefficient urban fabric and a centralised and oligopolistic energy system, energy vulnerability emerged from the domestic and private sphere to become framed as a public problem through parliamentary debate, social protest and local authority initiatives. Yet, energy access and vulnerability have also to some extent been recontained in the space of the household through the focus of recent local policy intervention on 'low cost' measurement, audit and equipment of domestic energy use. We argue that in reprivatizing what had become a public issue and thus redistributing responsibility for change to the household level, authorities and practitioners continue to ignore the systemic factors behind energy vulnerability situations and reproduce a status quo that benefits only energy utilities. The contribution of the paper is thus to show a politics of energy access that is increasingly constituted through entangled, fluid, blurred forms of relations between domestic and collective issues. This politics allows, for example, the need for systemic change to be framed as ostensibly a concern of households and to be met through fragmented, low-cost, metrological measures at that level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electricity markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, in part, to deal with unpredictability and imbalances in electricity prices. This paper assesses how electricity flows and generation from wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) power impact the volatility and mean of day-ahead electricity prices in Spain. It finds there is a merit order effect from wind and solar PV power at most times of the day, which varies in magnitude for each of the 24 h. Electricity production from wind power is also found to play a clear role in increasing price volatility at all hours. Electricity inflow is shown to decrease both the mean and volatility of the electricity prices. The volatility of electricity prices is revealed to be highly persistent, and thus prone to large transmission shocks. This volatility is also susceptible to new shocks, which may indicate a tendency by market participants to overreact to unexpected shocks in electricity prices, possibly due to the relatively small size of the Iberian electricity market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bird remains are rare on archaeological sites yet often crucial to address a multitude of questions, both cultural and biological. In this paper we argue that oribatid mites living on bird feathers, scales and nests may prove useful to infer not only bird presence but occasionally their breeding at a given site in the absence of their remains. Although oribatids are for all purposes stationary, a good number of species practice non-parasitic phoresis on birds that allows the mites to disperse over large distances. The specificity of the interrelationship, thus the quality of the bioindicator signal, is probably time-dependent, so that the longer the more specific the link between the vertebrate and the arthropod becomes. Oribatids are useful bioindicators because of the intensive sclerotization of their exoskeleton that insures their preservation in archaeological deposits. In this paper inferences about the bird assemblage retrieved at the Early Medieval site of Tabacalera (Gijón, Spain) are explored from the standpoint of the phoretic oribatids recovered in the deposits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Occupational safety and health (OSH) technicians work in Spain as advisers in OSH matters. • This paper suggests an integration of OSH professional advice into business strategy. • Spanish firms seem to be driven by the market towards hiring prevention services. • A survey collected data on the role of OSH professionals in Spanish firms. • The survey results suggest improvements for OSH professional praxis in Spain. In the last few years, occupational safety and health (OSH) management systems in Spain have been implemented in firms by professional technicians who are gaining importance as advisers to guarantee minimum occupational accidents and to monitor occupational safety and health. This paper analyses the current situation of this profession in Spain, in terms of (1) individual criteria, referring, among other factors, to their training, qualifications, duties, and responsibilities; (2) collective criteria, referring to the situation of their professional group (prevention services entities, employers, market); and (3) environmental criteria, referring to their external perception as individual professionals and members of a professional group and their relationships with other agents. Along with the description of the Spanish situation we analyse the results of a survey carried out on Spanish OSH professionals (FSSOSHP) in which we collected primary data for each criteria category (individual, collective, environmental) in order to suggest improvements for their professional praxis. Finally, we discuss the results of our survey and emphasize the need to make improvements in individual, collective and environmental areas for OSH professionals and OSH management systems to progress in terms of further integration and increased efficacy of OSH activities in Spanish firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the performance of conventional and organic fruit farms in Spain, using a set of base indicators to assess their economic and environmental performance on a per hectare basis. Composite indicators are also calculated to measure the overall economic and environmental performance of both production systems. Comparisons are made using propensity score matching to minimize the non-randomization biases caused by structural differences between the samples of conventional (n = 552) and organic (n = 127) fruit farms sourced from the Spanish Farm Accountancy Data Network (RECAN). The results based on per hectare metrics point to modest changes in the performance of farms that converted to organic farming. This is mainly because most converted farms were former conventional farms characterized by lower profitability and less intensive input use, consequently minimizing the effects of the conversion process. Nevertheless, the conversion outcomes exhibit a degree of variability depending on the specific type of fruit production. Economic gains are only discernible in the case of nut farms, whereas fruit and tropical fruit farms tend to yield the most favorable results per hectare from an environmental perspective. • Changes in per hectare performance are assessed when fruit farms convert to organic. • A complete set of economic and environmental base and composite indicators is used. • A matching procedure is implemented to obtain unbiased difference estimators. • Small changes are found in the per hectare performance of farms after conversion. • Mixed results depending on the type of fruit production subsector considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decentralized and small-scale forms of organization are reappearing in Spanish's energy system. Co-operatives have a social approach based on three dimensions: the purpose of the initiative, the form of organization and ownership, and embeddedness. In this paper, we apply this analytical framework to twelve energy co-operatives in Spain. These collectively owned organizations are energy-marketing communities, and they have specific objectives: These are an ecological objective (to reduce energy consumption and generate renewable energy) and a social objective (to propose an alternative to the reality of the energy market and citizen empowerment). Energy co-operatives in Spain have been typified as social enterprises, and these social enterprises have experience in common energy service, with which they may mark their future role in local energy communities. These results show the consolidation of energy co-operatives as a sign of the maturity of Spanish society in the face of energy challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of the explorations carried out in the western sector of the Iberian Central System (western Gredos, Béjar, Gata and Estrela mountain ranges). The macroremains found allow detailing the model of the landscape transformation, the composition and extension of their vegetal formations throughout the Holocene. Ninety-nine woody macroremains, 3 bark remains and 8 pinecones were located from eight sites between 875 and 1860 m above sea level, among which 15 radiocarbon dates were made. The taxonomic identification of two trunks found in Estrela allows us to document the local presence of Pinus cf. sylvestris ca. 6600 cal BP in this site. The same taxon also appears at the western end of Gredos between ca. 1700–2800 cal BP at approximately 1300 m. These remains expand the Holocene distribution of P. cf. sylvestris in the Central System known to date, both temporally and geographically. In parallel, the macroremains analysed document the composition of high mountain scrub (Cytisus type, Erica cf. arborea) in Béjar (ca. 1860 m), as well as mixed scrub-woodland formations in Gata (975–1180 m), which included deciduous Quercus , Betulaceae and Ericaceae. The presence of P. pinaster at ca. 6200 cal BP and 1180 m in this mountain range constitutes the earliest palaeobotanical evidence of this species recorded in Gata. The main results support the continuous persistence of plant formations in which P. sylvestris , P. nigra , and P. pinaster would have formed part throughout the Iberian Central System during the Holocene in a wide altitudinal range (1100–1840 m). • Above one hundred Holocene macrofossils from eight different sites were analysed. • Pinus sylvestris recently disappeared from the western Central System. • P. gr. sylvestris remained in Serra da Estrela until ˜6650 years ago. • First evidence of Pinus pinaster has been found in Gata ˜6200 years ago. • Betula , Quercus , Alnus and Ericaceae Holocene macroremains were found in Gata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research into migration and social networks has suggested that migrants are relationally more vulnerable than non-migrants, especially those in endogamous couples. However, non-probability samples and lack of data about partners' networks have often impeded rigorous testing. This paper analyses the influence of migration and mixedness (unions between two persons from different geographical origins) on some compositional and structural measures of the core discussion networks of the adult population in Spain, paying special attention to the partner's role. Data from the 2013 Spanish General Social Survey (SGSS) were used. A graph census shows the predominance of complete graphs both for endogamous and exogamous couples, but more clearly in the case of natives. Multivariate models prove that, in general, Spaniards in mixed unions seem less partner-dependent, whereas endogamous immigrants seem the most affected by the effects of the geographical mobility on relational vulnerability. • Core networks tend to be complete graphs, especially for native population. • Endogamous immigrants have greater partner's exclusive multiplexity than natives. • Core discussion networks of the endogamous native couples are denser. • The partner in the endogamous natives' core networks has the highest centrality. • Spaniards in mixed couples have the largest proportion of independent confidants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper investigates the incentives and inhibiting factors of eco-innovation capacities in the firm. Firms materialize the objectives of eco-innovation from a reactive attitude to external pressures, to a more proactive attitude that implies the voluntary incorporation of eco-innovation activities. This variability in the behaviour of companies with respect to the level of eco-innovation development has been a motivator for the research. However, despite the importance of this research question, this has been approached in a dispersed way from multiple approaches. From a dynamic capabilities perspective, we assume that the innovation capacity of the firm encourages eco-innovations. Our paper is focused on the process of eco-innovation, identifying the elements that facilitate or hinder the eco-innovation in the firm. We study the Spanish case, using a panel from the Spanish Innovation Survey, with a sample of 5461 Spanish firms. The results highlight that the complexity of the eco-innovation process negatively affects the decision to develop eco-innovations. However, our results suggest that institutions and organizations of the Spanish environment are making efforts to compensate these obstacles and provide incentives to develop eco-innovations. Highlights • We model investigates the incentives and inhibiting factors of eco-innovation. • Our focus is on the process of eco-innovation from dynamic capabilities perspective. • The complexity of the eco-innovation process negatively affects to develop eco-innovations. • Results show that the experience facilitates the development of future eco-innovations. • The institutions provide incentives to develop eco-innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mismatches between forecasted and actual costs and traffic figures are common in transport investments, especially in large scale ones, and so are delusions of the future demand. High-speed rail projects are often among the worst practices for cost overruns and demand overestimation, even where traffic figures may tell a history of apparent success. In the paper, we analyse two significant cases of delusions of success , namely the Italian and Spanish HSR programmes. The Italian one shows excellent demand performances, but is among the continent's worst cases for construction costs. The Spanish one, recognised worldwide as one of the most successful outcomes of HS policy, is the one where potential demand estimations were systematically neglected, and the planned network appears largely out-of-scale compared to actual traffic. In both cases, the forecasts were not simply biased, as well-known literature on megaproject failures has clearly shown: Italian lines were deliberately designed to increase the cost, and the Spanish network was deliberately planned out-of-scale. By means of the two cases, the paper will show that the core of the problem does not lie in the wrong estimations, but in deliberate choices of overinvestment, overdesign and overquality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (known as the Istanbul Convention) imposes on States Parties the need to address holistically all forms of violence against women, including honour-based violence not only by prosecuting such conduct, but also by preventing it and, above all, protecting its victims. While some northern European countries have addressed it, this form of violence against women has not yet received the attention it deserves in some Mediterranean European countries. This paper uses Spain as a case study to expose its deficient institutional and regulatory approach and lack of visibility of this form of violence against women. It analyses this reality phenomenologically, examines the legal and institutional response to it from a victim-centred perspective, and proposes ways to overcome this situation. • Honour-based violence is a form of gender violence requiring a cultural approach. • It should be holistically addressed according to the Council of Europe • Southern European countries have not yet paid attention to this form of violence. • Spain is an example of deficient institutional and regulatory attention to it. • Measures to be taken to address this lack of visibility are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transportation sector is characterized by a high consumption of fossil fuels and a strong environmental impact. Promoting electric vehicles is an alternative to reduce and limit them move towards the sustainability of the automobile sector. In a short period of time, world car manufacturers have built, marketed and sold a million electric vehicles, and a million drivers got used to these new low carbon advanced technologies. Comparatively, this figure represents approximately the average annual sales of conventional vehicles in Spain. The main problem is the battery autonomy, since its maximum range does not exceed 250 km, a restriction that limits the trip. Spain belongs to the group of countries which have longest trip average around 80 km. Then the problem is how to understand electric mobility, for that the types and modes of charging, the types of electric vehicles, and the available charging systems all interact with one another in the charging systems for electric vehicles, which will be specifically analysed. Alternative charging methods are also presented, and the agents involved in the charging process in accordance with applicable regulations are identified. The objective of this article is to analyse the charging of electric vehicles in Spain and to assess the current situation to be able to propose potential improvements or implementation strategies. This paper determines that it is necessary to develop public policies for a structured implementation of charging stations in public places and in common-use areas within large shared spaces, such as parking areas and residential areas in order to improve electric mobility in Spain. This paper also illustrates the need to legislate standards for charging electric vehicles to maximize their implementation in Spain, with the goal of implementing electric vehicles on a larger scale and ultimately allowing society to benefit from the advantages of this technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the first paper on the subject was published in 2002, the tourism-led growth hypothesis (TLGH) has constituted one of the most predominant topics in tourism literature. Spain is a leading country in the tourism industry and one where this hypothesis has been tested with several studies confirming the relationship between Spain's tourism development and its economic growth. However, the existing studies for Spain do not take into account recent turbulences such as the Global Financial and Economic Crisis and the Arab Spring uprisings that have shocked tourism markets. This paper re-examines the TLGH for the Spanish case in the light of these events in order to investigate the robustness of the relationship between tourism and economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immigrants in rural areas and immigrant employment in the agricultural sector have been studied from a variety of perspectives. However, we currently lack a bird's-eye view of these two phenomena covering all EU member states through time. This paper tackles that gap, first by describing the main features of immigrant settlement and economic integration in rural areas in the EU. Second, it offers an EU-wide overview of immigrants' integration in the agricultural sector. Then, it investigates empirically the degree to which the different characteristics of agricultural production in two member states – Italy and Spain – are associated with a migrant presence in the area. The study finds that, in the context of a shrinking agricultural labour force, the share of migrant workers in that sector in several regions is increasing over time. Migrants living in rural areas are more likely to be unemployed and face economic hardship than locals. Migrants employed in agriculture are, also, more likely to work in elementary occupations and temporary jobs. Finally, the case studies on Italy and Spain demonstrate that the relative size of the migrant population is related to the typology of agricultural land use and to the labour intensity and seasonality of cultivation. • Immigrants in rural areas tend to fare worse compared to the local population and to migrants living in cities and towns. • In the agricultural sector, migrant workers have steadily increased their share of total employment over time. • Migrants are more likely to work in elementary occupations, to be employees, and to have temporary forms of recruitment than locals. • In Italy and Spain migrants in rural areas tend settle where intensive agricultural production, a high degree of temporary employment prevails. • Quantitative analyses based on official stastistics face challenges in terms of under-representing the real number of migrants in agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we estimate the impact of higher early preschool access on offending behavior later in time, exploiting a nationwide public preschool expansion that took place in Spain over the 1990s. This is the first study providing evidence on the relationship between preschool and crime using a large-scale, universal-access program rather than targeted initiatives reserved for disadvantaged children. Our identification strategy relies on the staggered implementation of the Spanish preschool expansion across regions and birth cohorts. We link the education data to a unique administrative crime dataset recording the offenses committed in the region of Catalonia over the period 2009–2014. On average, a 1 percentage point increase in preschool access among the age 0–3 population yields 1.6% fewer crime actions during youth and young adulthood. Larger effects on impulsive-crime categories provide suggestive evidence for non-cognitive-skills improvements being important drivers of our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As socio-ecological systems, coastal wetlands constitute great economic, cultural, recreational and environmental value. However, due to rapid urbanisation and intensification of agricultural activities, these hybrid systems are continuously degraded, generating several ecological and social problems. This paper aims to deepen how agriculture-nature interactions and actor behaviour affect coastal wetlands' management while conditioning decision-making processes. El Hondo Natural Park (Alicante, Spain) is the selected case study in which 15 key stakeholders from the public administration, the rural community, and the civil society are selected. Data were collected between April and June 2018 through semi-structured interviews and analysed following the Grounded Theory principles and by computer-assisted qualitative and mixed methods data software, MAXQDA®. Results revealed how the rural community and civil society members agree on El Hondo Natural Park's cultural function, conceived as a mechanism to preserve local identity, protecting traditional agricultural practices and rural heritage. However, El Hondo Natural Park's origin and management generated discussion, including topics such as the natural park' declaration, public investment, and participation in decision-making processes (especially due to the lack of transparency and information). Furthermore, main challenges have been identified: farmers' survival, water scarcity and water quality standards, and social recognition and promotion of the natural park. Researchers and relevant authorities can use obtained results to customize their interventions based on previous and well-structured knowledge of how socio-ecological systems are perceived and which past or new conflicts generate frustration among confronted stakeholders' demands. • Coastal wetlands are continuously degraded, generating several ecological and social problems. • El Hondo Natural Park preserve local identity, agriculture and rural heritage. • Agriculture and environment coexistence in socio-ecological systems can be achieved. • Public investment without ensuring end-users participation could generate conflicts. • Comprehension and collaboration overcome frustration and promote trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a constructive critique of Corrine Cash's paper “Good governance and strong political will: Are they enough for transformation?”, published in volume 58 of Land Use Policy in 2016. By focusing on how intra-sector dynamics influence land use policies in conflicts revolving around urban sprawl, this paper aims to complement and, to some extent, widen the analytic lens deployed by Cash. The examination of the Spanish wine sector and its lack of zoning policies confirms Cash's argument about the need to go beyond discourses of ‘good governance’ and ‘strong political will’ to understand the dynamics underpinning real spatial processes. However, this exploration underscores the need to add layers of complexity to land use analyses, showing the relevance of intra-sector conflict and logics. In complicating any simplistic reduction of urban sprawl conflicts to rural–urban oppositions, the paper ultimately calls for a more dynamic and multiscalar planning theory to address complex governance issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the passing of Royal Decree-Law 16/2012, Spain's national health system switched from a model defined by universal and free health care principles, to a private insurance system that excluded large population groups. Based on a qualitative research design, this paper examines the media treatment of undocumented immigrants' prerogatives to public health care in Spain (2012–2018). The analysis of 234 articles, drawn from three major Spanish newspapers, reveals three frames that underscore the media's "rhetorics of inclusion," which argue for the extension of free medical services to irregular immigrantsa topic traditionally underestimated by the literature. The moralist frame, supported by social justice arguments, is found in tandem with the cost-benefit frame that advocates for immigrants' health care access as a means for containing medical expenses. The overall predominance of the legalist frame largely relies on arguments that reflect a Spanish political culture rooted in the universality of health rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Impact of WHSs on Spanish tourism examined using panel data. • WHSs proven to be a determinant of tourism demand. • Impact of Cultural WHSs on tourism greater in inland than coastal provinces. • "First generation effect" found, with greater impact of WHSs declared during the 1980s. • No global tourism policies should be applied to entire Spanish territory, due to significant differences between provinces. No consensus has been reached on the effectiveness of World Heritage Sites (WHSs) in attracting tourism. This paper analyzes the impact of WHSs on tourist demand in Spain at a disaggregated level for all Spanish provinces (NUTS-3 regions), based on original panel data for 50 Spanish provinces for the 2000–2019 period. The results show a positive impact of WHSs on domestic and foreign tourism demand when considering all the provinces together and that the first WHSs (designated in the 1980s) have a greater tourism-enhancing effect ("first generation effect"). However, there are differences between Spanish inland and coastal provinces: only cultural WHSs have an impact on tourism in inland provinces, whereas, in coastal provinces, only natural WHSs have the power of tourism attraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The depopulation of rural areas in Spain, a phenomenon that has given rise to what is currently known as 'empty Spain', has become a serious social problem. The mass exodus of the young to the country's cities poses the main threat to rural sustainability. In this paper, at attempt is made to determine the factors that prompt the young to leave the Celtiberian Highlands, one of the most sparsely populated areas in Southern Europe, and the socio-educational measures that could be taken to avoid this exodus. To this end, a mixed-method approach with a sequential design was employed, in which members of the region's Rural Development Groups were administered a questionnaire and interviewed, whose findings were supplemented by in-situ observations. The young people living in the Celtiberian Highlands are currently facing a series of professional, social and personal challenges that encourage them to emigrate. A worrying feeling of rootlessness and inferiority with respect to urbanites was detected among them. In light of this, it is essential to adopt socio-educational measures that contribute to strengthen their ties to the rural community and to raise their awareness about the serious problems to which depopulation gives rise and the role that they could play to prevent it. • There are few studies of the exodus of rural youth focusing on the most underpopulated area in Southern Europe. • The results suggest that fostering a feeling of belonging among the young to the community go to preventing their exodus. • A feeling of inferiority among rural youth with respect to urbanites has an influence on them when deciding to emigrate. • Rural youth should be made aware of the job and entrepreneurial opportunities open to them in their villages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficiency is a fundamental element of the transition towards a sustainable use of natural resources among which water has a prominent role. Spain is among the European countries facing considerable water shortage problems, particularly within its southern regions. The current paper introduces an efficiency evaluation model based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The model incorporates a subset of outputs as undesirable inputs to account for the circularity of the production process by means of treated and reused water. The main differences existing between the circular approach proposed, a standard two-stage DEA model and a dynamic Slacks-Based Measure process will be carefully illustrated. In particular, the drawbacks faced by these latter techniques to consistently incorporate circularity into their optimization structures will be demonstrated both formally and numerically. The malleability of the current approach and its capacity to generate consistent identifiable categories among the regions evaluated within a circular production setting will be studied in detail. The analysis performed demonstrates significant structural differences in production capacity and efficiency across regions, with the inefficient ones displaying a considerable subpar use of resources through their production processes. The prevalence of inefficiency in several northern regions is partially compensated through their treatment and reutilization of water. However, this is not the case for the southern ones, which face stricter constraints and more inefficient production processes. The subsequent implications for efficiency are examined and policies aimed at enhancing the structural quality of the corresponding production systems suggested. [Display omitted] • We define a circular Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) efficiency evaluation model. • Undesirable inputs implement the production circularity generated by treated water. • Two-stage and dynamic Slacks-Based Measure DEA are inapplicable to our setting. • Significant differences in production efficiency are found across Spanish regions. • Southern regions remain inefficient even with water treatment and reutilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies reveal physical, economical, and socio-technical barriers when measuring performance of sustainable urban ration projects with existing assessment tools. This reality, enlarged in the Spanish context, has revealed the need of a friendly-user and holistic tool that can assist the agents involved in the decision-making process of urban regeneration projects. This paper presents the Guide of strategies for urban regeneration; a design-support tool developed by demand of the Government of the Valencian Community (Spain). Along this paper we describe how the Guide has been designed by integrating: in first place measures of exiting urban assessment tools, secondly lesson learned coming from the application of urban assessment tools to selected and rewarded urban best practices at European level, and thirdly the opinion of regional decision-makers and urban experts. As a result, this Guide offers strategies and recommendations on a self-questioning format that makes easy its implementation by any urban planner regardless of its expertise on the topic. It is based on an open-source philosophy with a nonprofit orientation, using transparent and easy-to-understand technical criteria. It can be applied to any kind of urban fabric and proposes equal representation of the thematic categories needed to be considered during an urban regeneration project design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spain must reduce its energy consumption by 23% and achieve 100% renewable energy in electricity generation by 2030. This paper presents the current energy scenario en Spain, and the outlooks for different renewable options, with special focus on photovoltaic (PV) solar energy. In 2012, Spain was the number two European country in terms of installed rewnewable energy power. Solar PV technology has the potential to meet Spain's future energy demand and its associated environmental challenges. This paper gives a review of solar energy economy at global scale for both PV and thermal power technologies. The Spanish energy scenario shows actual trends and progress made by solar power. Economic concepts of levelised cost of electricity and grid parity are presented. The financial analysis shows that PV electricity achieves grid parity at a plant profitability rate up to 7.26%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic crises pose challenges for the provision of public services but may also open up opportunities for social learning about how to achieve a sustainable society. The main research question addressed in this paper is: can economic crises catalyse social learning for a sustainable society? The hypothesis of the paper is that social learning emerges in association with the reduction of consumption levels that follows degrowth or with the reconfiguration of infrastructure management practices and sustainable innovation that could lead to a transition to sustainability. Following this, we empirically examine whether the crisis has led to social learning about the sustainable provision of public services in two similar municipalities in the north of Spain after the economic crisis of 2008. We develop an interpretative analysis of individual experiences of learning from the crisis using a set of qualitative interviews with individuals who were involved in key decisions about public service delivery during or immediately after the crisis. The analysis suggests that there has been a broader cultural change, which is challenging institutional models of regional development, that there has been a drive towards greater resource efficiency and that some opportunities have opened for entrepreneurs to develop sustainable innovations. The findings support the view that the crisis may have fostered learning responses that could lead to either degrowth or a sustainable transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An extended version of the IPAT model and the ‘Kaya identity’ is used to assess the contribution of drivers of CO 2 emissions for the 1995–2009 period. The paper carries out a multisector analysis based on the Log-Mean Divisia Index Method (LMDI I). The decomposition factors used are the Carbon Intensity factor (CI), the Energy Intensity factor (EI), the structural composition of Spain׳s economy (Economy Structure, ES), the Economic Activity factor (EA) and Population (P), respectively. Data came from the World Input–Output Database (WIOD) and determined the period under consideration. The paper focuses on the 35 productive sectors included in the WIOD. Major findings show that RES acted in detriment to the drivers of CO 2 emissions. This may be stated for the last few years under consideration. The positive trend for the share of RES in Spain׳s energy matrix, together with the negative tendency in the use of fossil fuels, leads us to be optimistic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent writing in geography has focused on the ways in which we can think and act responsibly in relation to place as well as ‘distant others’. Others have argued for a more ambiguous stance towards responsibility. In most of this literature, however, responsibility is seen as flowing from the centre to the periphery. In this paper I argue that we should also be paying attention to the spaces where responsibility flows in the opposite direction. Using the example of Bolivian elderly care workers in Spain, this paper shows that many elderly care workers are practising a transnational ethic of care that goes beyond the remit of their marketised responsibilities. Many elderly care workers place their ‘grannies’ into the realm of familial social relations and express feelings of responsibility towards them. This allows them to accept or at least bear their demanding and often demeaning work. However, this same process contributes to them staying in often exploitative working conditions while denying responsibilities of care to their own families and to themselves. The paper argues that shifting our attention to how responsibilities and care are practised in transnational social fields, allows for the recognition of the many benefits that richer countries continue to draw from the migration of people from the Global South and contributes to the construction of less Eurocentric perspectives on care and responsibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many situations, the overuse of natural resources is aggravated by illegal use. More insights on the drivers and significance of this phenomenon are needed in order to formulate policies that can effectively ease human pressure on the environment. This paper makes use of the water footprint (WF), as a physical indicator of freshwater use, and introduces both economic (water productivity) and social (labour intensity) indicators to understand illegal groundwater use from a multiple perspective. Using data from the year 2000 and from 2007 to 2009, we analyse in detail the case of the Western Mancha Aquifer, in central Spain, where legal and illegal groundwater use take place simultaneously. Results show that nearly 52% of the agricultural blue WF is linked to illegal groundwater use, mostly for vine and vegetable irrigation. Besides this, the illegal share accounts for around 56% and 57% respectively of the gross income and employment generated by irrigation in the area. Therefore, although action to halt illegal withdrawals is a recurrent call to ease pressure on natural resources and ecosystems, these figures reflect the economic and social drivers, which might explain why such action is difficult to implement. In addition, the data presented in this paper provides new insights into some aspects of a public plan recently implemented to regularize illegal use by purchasing and reallocating groundwater rights on the basis of social and environmental grounds, which might be relevant for future public policy measures in situations presenting both over-allocation of water rights and illegal water use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies dealing with obesity have confronted it either from the fiscal policy or from economic cost perspective. There is the need to target fiscal policy goals at the economic cost that obesity imposes on society instead of simulating arbitrary taxes schemes. This paper analyzes the effectiveness of imposing a revenue-neutral fat tax in Spain addressed to internalize the public health expenditure associated to obesity. Results suggest that this tax policy led to an improvement in the diet quality, and decreased the consumption of saturated fatty acid, sodium, and cholesterol. From the welfare perspective, the tax is regressive across all household segments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classifying fossil teeth of Erinaceinae (spiny hedgehogs) is a challenging task, because of their scanty record and systematic treatment that heavily relies on skull characteristics. In this paper we describe the complete set of isolated dental elements of Erinaceinae from the upper Miocene sediments of the Teruel Basin (eastern Central Spain). Four different species were recognized: Postpalerinaceus cf. vireti , Atelerix aff. depereti , Atelerix steensmai nov. sp., and a form classified as Erinaceinae genus and species indet. All four are relatively derived in showing multi-purpose dentitions, not showing only adaptations to insectivory, but also to carnivory, herbivory and possibly durophagy/malacophagy. The temporal occurrence of spiny hedgehogs during the middle to late Miocene in the Teruel Basin and neighboring Calatayud-Montalbán Basin peaks within periods of relative aridity, a correlation consistent with modern geographic distribution. Messinian cooling is the best candidate for explaining a remarkable demise of Erinaceinae at 7 Ma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depopulation is a major challenge for many rural inland areas, as is the case in a considerable number of rural municipalities in Galicia (north-western Spain). The pandemic had a considerable impact on internal migration in 2020, but it was far from being anywhere near high enough to reverse the ongoing trend of population decline, highlighting the need for further action. Thus, this paper has a twofold objective: firstly, to propose an index of rural sustainable development for the rural Galician municipalities, and secondly, to identify the factors related to it. In so doing, a composite index stemming from the Benefit of the Doubt methodology has been proposed in the first stage, an index built from four-dimension factors– economic, demographic, social, and environmental. The empirical evidence of this index has been compared with three additional ones (namely, common weights, super-efficiency, and geometric mean and logistic normalization models). In the second stage, the relationship between the composite index and a set of exogenous variables that affect rural development has been analyzed, the data confirming that the rates of female immigration and occupancy in the hospitality sector favors sustainable development, whereas the distance from the provincial capital hinders it. This paper paves the way for an assessment of the potentialities of each territory, and the evidence found allows actions to be supported that generate sustainable progress in rural Galician municipalities and that are useful for tackling this complex problem. • A new rural sustainable development index based on four dimensions is proposed. • Strengths and weaknesses for each Galician rural municipality are identified. • Environmental factors constitute a driver of rural development in Galicia. • Social aspects (i.e., health, education, services) stand out as main weaknesses. • Policies to boost social care and attract childbearing-age inhabitants are paramount. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 60 semi-structured interviews are practised in 5 biosphere reserves in Spain. • Tourism attains a prominent role in justifying the studied biosphere reserves. • The studied biosphere reserves are not considered protected natural areas. • The local population tends to reject the studied biosphere reserves. • In Spain, the biosphere reserves have been the object of a geopolitical clash. Spain is the country with the most biosphere reserves (BRs) in the world. The aim of this paper is to investigate why BRs have come to proliferate to such a degree in Spain and why there is a gap between UNESCO's framework and the practicalities observed in Spain. After outlining how a BR is conceived according to UNESCO and reviewing the large volume of research published to date in this respect, Spain's BRs are characterised. The study here is based on an empirical research undertaken in five BRs located in north-western Spain by making use of 60 semi-structured interviews. The results are the outcome of the coding, categorization and interpretation of these conversations with the interviewees, obtaining three large semiotic clusters: the perceptions held of the BR tool; the development or application of the BR concept; and the reasons for their designation. Two specific underlying motives are detected for the prodigious momentum acquired by Spain's BRs: one is geopolitical, in the context of the constant conflicts between the Spanish Government and the devolved autonomous communities; the other is the prominent role conceded to tourism in justifying the BRs. Hence, the paper reveals how BRs are political and economic products that have little in common with the theoretical environmental and sustainable development dimensions described in the UNESCO framework on BRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines the latest developments in sustainability reporting in Spain, one of the leading countries worldwide in this field, and makes special emphasis on the recent governmental initiative entitled “Spanish strategy on companies’ corporate social responsibility practices 2014–2020” aimed at extending CSR practices not only to listed companies and state-owned enterprises but also to the rest of companies (including SMEs) and the Public Administrations. It is based on six principles, four strategic objectives, ten action lines and sixty proposed measures with the ultimate goal of supporting the development of responsible practices in the public and private sectors in order that they become a significant driver of the country's competitiveness and its transformation to a more productive, sustainable and inclusive economy. The most relevant initiatives set out in each of the main CSR pillars are highlighted and compared with similar actions adopted in other European countries. The paper concludes with a reflection on the main challenges ahead that need to be overcome through the joint efforts of all the actors involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As more and more daily activities take place online, data on internet behaviour is becoming a key information source. In this sense, several papers have explored the usefulness of internet search data in order to improve the nowcasting and forecasting of economic indicators. Special attention has been paid to predicting unemployment. Nonetheless, most of the empirical evidence on this field has focused in countries with low/moderate rates of unemployment. This paper follows this line of research and explores the use of Google Trends data in order to improve the forecasting of the figures of unemployment in Spain. This country reveals as a very interesting case due to the sharp increases in unemployment caused by the economic crisis. With the aim of providing an extensive approach on the Spanish unemployment, we use ARIMA models, also introducing as explanatory variables the Google searches for “job offers” and a business confidence indicator referred to employment perspectives. In this way we combine the time series perspective with qualitative indicators from the supply and the demand sides, leading to a more comprehensive description and also improving forecasting performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper is to estimate the impact that the expansion of the HSR network has had on air transport in Spain by estimating the substitution effect between the two types of transportation. This paper considers the way that the HSR network has grown and how this growth could have affected air transport dynamically. The findings show that a dynamic vision of this substitution rate should be adopted, as opposed to assuming that the rate is constant, as has been the case in previous references. Although the rate varies significantly over the study period, only 13.9% of HSR passenger demand was found to have come from air travel during the 1999–2012 period, meaning that HSR and airlines would seem to offer more independent services than at first it might appear. This confirms the hypothesis as to the HSR’s great ability to generate its own demand. The substitution rate between the two transport modes seems to be closely linked to the way that any new stations are incorporated into the HSR network. Convergence between the seasonality of HSR and air transport has also been examined. The results show that it is difficult to talk of a real HSR transport network in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is twofold: to investigate the applicability of a building-stock modelling methodology to assess the potential of Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) and their associated effects on carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions for a building stock in a South European climate, with Spain being used as an example; and to analyse the technical potentials and costs of the ECMs when applied both individually and as packages of multiple ECMs for the entire Spanish building stock, including residential and non-residential buildings. The modelling methodology, which has been designed to be applicable to any European country, is fully dynamic and based on an aggregated description of the building stock. This paper updates and validates the methodology to account for the climate and technical characteristics of the region under study. Applying all ECMs as a package gives a potential technical reduction in final energy demand of 55% and a 65% reduction in CO 2 emissions, while the corresponding techno-economical potentials are 33% and 37%. Nevertheless, the market potentials estimated are substantially lower (5–10%), which indicate that policy shifts are needed if the techno-economic potentials identified in this work are to be realized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critically analyzes the Spanish privatization model of urban water management implemented over the last three decades. The high concentration of private participation in the industry, the absence of competition, and regulatory deficiencies appear to have put the interests of water customers at risk. Improvement of governance is not guaranteed simply by changing water-system management from public to private. In Spain, an array of institutional reforms are needed to rationalize a change in management structure for this service, reorganize technical operations, improve the administrative framework, increase transparency, and promote citizen participation. This paper moves beyond the simple public–private controversy and contributes to the literature by using fieldwork conducted by the authors to assess private participation in the management of urban water services in Spain; by identifying gaps in the privatization processes as well as failures in the industry; and, above all, by proposing reforms to Spain's institutional and regulatory frameworks for the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The most widespread support system for renewable-energy-sourced electricity (RES-E) is the feed-in tariff (FIT). FITs can be divided into fixed-FIT and premium systems. The latter type may also include a cap and floor option, turning it into a variable premium system. The cap value (upper limit) aims to avoid windfall profits for the RES-E investor if the electricity price rises quickly, while the floor value (lower limit) ensures minimum revenue, reducing the risk caused by low electricity prices. This paper examines the performance of the variable premium system as established in Spain (hourly-based) and investigates the possibility of alternative novel designs. For this purpose, an analysis was undertaken of the cap & floor system established in Spain based on real market data over a three year period and its performance compared to the fixed premium system (no cap & floor limitations) and two novel cap & floor designs (monthly- and yearly-based). Two other novel alternatives were also considered: daily- and weekly-based. It is shown that the hourly-based cap & floor system did not result in a reduction of the overall RES-E revenue compared to the fixed premium system over the three year period, though revenue was more evenly distributed from year-to-year. The paper concludes that variable premium systems should be based on monthly or yearly cap & floor mechanism as opposed to an hourly one. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Based on new documentation carried out on some of the most important Levantine sites, it is possible to reinterpret some Levantine scenes and their social contexts. Using new perspectives, it is possible to point out a real social instability that is represented not only in war or fight scenes but also in some other veiled forced activities (i.e., massive movement of human groups, captures, etc.). In these scenes conflict is not just represented by the use of arms (bows, arrows, or boomerangs), but by some other kind of social violence scenes that make us to reconsider the social relationships among creators of Levantine rock art from its earliest phases. These scenes allow complex thematic levels that can be considered. Why did those people depict such veiled violence? Was violence normally depicted by Levantine groups? Or do depictions belong to some specific Levantine groups or stylistic phases? Were depictions an answer to a survival necessity? And, in that case, what was its motivation? A new interpretation about those robust or Centelles horizon social scenes is presented in this paper, focusing on anthropological, ecological and socio-economic approaches rather than religious or ritual ones. Such interpretation makes us to considerer the validity of our current ways of interpreting prehistoric rock art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gully width (W) is usually characterized by having a power relation with discharge. However, calculating runoff discharge in ungauged basins, where these gullies typically form, is inherently difficult and associated with large uncertainties. This paper examines a simplified approach to relating gully width directly to the runoff contributing area (A) in a cultivated area in SW Spain. The effect of rainfall and land use on this W-A relation was also analysed. Gully width was measured in 46 sections through the analysis of 10 historical orthophotos between 1956 and 2013, in a 21 km2 catchment in S Spain. These were validated by field measurements in 2013. Widening rates varied strongly over time, at between ~0 and 2,19 m year−1. No significant differences in the gully widening rates were found between the two land uses present in the study zone (olive groves and herbaceous crops). The data obtained show a significant power relation of the form W = αA β for all time periods analysed, except for 1980, when many gullies were filled in artificially due to a change in land use in the study area. The power relation coefficient (β) varied at between 0.2 and 0.3. A good correlation was obtained between the number of days with daily rainfall of above 13 mm and the increase in the α coefficient over time. The results of this study on gully width dynamics provide new insights into improving the estimation of gully volume, for example in combination with gully headcut retreat models, and including the effects of different climate scenarios. • Gully width dynamics were reconstructed from aerial orthophotos in Mediterranean crops. • We found a significant correlation between gully width and runoff contribution area. • Gully widening rates were successfully correlated with a rainfall index based on daily rainfall thresholds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a two-regime threshold vector autoregressive model, this study investigates the nonlinear price transmission among tuna, salmon and hake during a food safety incident. The tuna fraud in Spain caused a histamine outbreak in 2017, which made 105 people fall ill. To evaluate the degree to which the food safety incident affected price transmission and reflected consumer awareness of the tuna fraud scandal, we have developed a communication index based on the number of Twitter posts and use its first difference to identify the increasing and decreasing regime of the development of the incident. There exists a greater reaction among prices in the increasing regime when communication strengthens on Twitter. Although the impacts of communication are not statistically significant, we find evidence that, in an increasing regime, a change in the communication index Granger causes the price of tuna and hake. The paper concludes with policy implications. • We studied the nonlinear price transmission during the tuna fraud in Spain. • We identified two regimes based a communication index derived from Twitter posts. • There exist more reactions among fish prices in the increasing regime. • A change in the communication index Granger causes the price of tuna and hake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low energy efficiency of the European building stock is both a social and environmental issue. However, plans and studies on energy retrofitting interventions do not usually evaluate the impact of these measures on households' energy affordability. This paper analyses and compares the effect of alternative retrofitting strategies on thermal energy services' affordability in Spanish vulnerable households. This analysis was carried out by applying the Required Thermal Energy Expenditure model proposed in previous studies to several 2030 residential building stock scenarios, setting 2020 as a baseline. Therefore, this work proposes a methodological approach to assess the impact of the considered energy efficiency interventions on energy poverty in winter (WEP) and summer (SEP) and carries out both a 'social cost' and a cost-benefit analysis. The dwelling's thermal-enclosure retrofitting stands out as a very WEP-reduction and social-cost effective measure. Instead, replacing old thermal systems with more efficient ones would have a higher impact on SEP. Combining both kinds of retrofitting measures could reduce heating and cooling required expenditures by, respectively, 49% and 59%, and decrease the WEP and SEP share, correspondingly, by 35% and 63%. These results might inform policymakers to enhance the targeting and design of energy efficiency programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to link the literatures on economic complexity, income equality and environmental quality within the context of the Environmental Kuznets Trilemma. Within this framework, it is possible to measure the presence of an impossible trinity of irreconcilable objectives: economic growth, equal distribution of income and environmental sustainability. Our paper revisits this trilemma by focusing on economic complexity (EC) indexes instead of direct measures of economic growth, and applies this analysis to the sub-national level. We link these three cutting-edge topics by means of novel datasets computed for the Spanish economy at the province level (NUTS-3) for a long period (2002–16). Our paper also sheds new light on the spatial patterns of the trilemma's three dimensions and their implications for the future of Spain's more peripheral regions. ⁃ This paper links the literatures on economic complexity, income equality and environmental quality within the context of the Environmental Kuznets Trilemma. ⁃ Our paper focuses on economic complexity indexes instead of direct measures of economic growth, and applies this analysis to the sub-national level, using novel datasets for the Spanish provinces (NUTS-3) for a long period (2002–16). ⁃ Our paper shows a clear tension between economic growth and complexity versus income equality and environmental quality. The econometric analysis verifies the classic trilemma (equality-sustainability-growth), but also of our new version: equality-sustainability-complexity. ⁃ The paper also tests the presence of a quadrilemma, discussing the role to which a province's level of complexity tends to play in the tensions between growth, inequality, and sustainability. The results open new avenues for the smart specialization of regions within countries, something specially relevant in the COVID-19 crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-health related policies may have consequences for health that are more important than the outcomes they were originally designed to produce. In this paper we evaluate the effects of welfare-to-work programs (WTW) on physical and mental health status and a variety of health behaviors. The paper is based on data from the minimum income program of Madrid's Government (IMI). We match the program's administrative records (39,200 households) – covering the whole history of the program from the second half of 1990 to 2001 – with a specific survey of former recipients who took part in different work-related activities conducted in 2001 (2300 households). We perform propensity score matching to find that both health status – including physical and mental health problems – and behaviors outcomes were modestly better for those individuals who had taken part in work-related activities. These results offer support for the contention that welfare-to-work policies may have positive unintended health effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, an emerging literature on Agricultural Parks (APs) has described and theorized their variations in the different countries where they have been debated and/or implemented. This paper aims to conceptualize an AP in the Spanish context by analyzing case-studies. The review of the existing international literature on APs is followed by a set of analytical criteria to select pertinent case-studies and construct three analytical clusters consisting of several variables. The results of the comparative assessment of 19 selected case-studies are then presented. The analytical results obtained are compared against the available literature, highlighting several contentious findings which are contrary to the researchers' expectations, including the quasi absent physical planning dimension of APs. The paper concludes that, counter to previous aprioristic and deductive AP literature, APs are not consistent across jurisdictions despite making use of the same name. By contrast, they merely share some soft features that are made explicit here, leading towards a final proposed conceptualization of APs. • The APs analyzed in Spain are not all consistent simply because they use the same name. • The APs analyzed in Spain encompass a vision for preserving farmlands and farming activities. • AP in Spain basically implies a brand or marketing label. • Physical land-use planning is a quasi-absent dimension in the APs analyzed in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we refer to the Open Web to the set of services offered freely to Internet users, representing a pillar of modern societies. Despite its importance for society, it is unknown how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the Open Web. In this paper, we address this issue, focusing our analysis on Spain, one of the countries which have been most impacted by the pandemic. On the one hand, we study the impact of the pandemic in the financial backbone of the Open Web, the online advertising business. To this end, we leverage concepts from Supply–Demand economic theory to perform a careful analysis of the elasticity in the supply of ad-spaces to the financial shortage of the online advertising business and its subsequent reduction in ad spaces' price. On the other hand, we analyze the distribution of the Open Web composition across business categories and its evolution during the COVID-19 pandemic. These analyses are conducted between Jan 1st and Dec 31st, 2020, using a reference dataset comprising information from more than 18 billion ad spaces. Our results indicate that the Open Web has experienced a moderate shift in its composition across business categories. However, this change is not produced by the financial shortage of the online advertising business, because as our analysis shows, the Open Web's supply of ad spaces is inelastic (i.e., insensitive) to the sustained low-price of ad spaces during the pandemic. Instead, existing evidence suggests that the reported shift in the Open Web composition is likely due to the change in the users' online behavior (e.g., browsing and mobile apps utilization patterns). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present context of COVID19 pandemics has highlighted the vulnerability of tourism. Sustainable tourism needs to be thoroughly implemented to confront this and other crises; and sustainable tourism pedagogies must accompany the process, especially in terms of students' professional skills essential for overcoming crisis situations. This paper seeks to evaluate the Degrees of Tourism in Spain from the perspective of both students and teachers in order to show to what extent they consider students to be sufficiently qualified so as to address the challenges required in the tourism sector to deal with this and other crises. To answer this question, we have turned to Sustainable Tourism Pedagogy (STP), a framework for the critical analysis of tourism studies based on six areas of literacy that this article will use for empirical analysis. The STP core literacies have been evaluated in a statistically validated questionnaire addressed to 393 respondents and data analysis has been performed with analytical descriptive techniques. The results show: i) that Tourism Degrees do not meet the needs of today's students, especially because of a major lack of sustainability issues, ii) significant gaps between the perception of teachers and students, iii) that there are calls for a more sustainable tourism pedagogy in Higher Education. This paper concludes by highlighting the urgent need to revise official national programmes. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper investigates hydro-pumped storage appraisal and commissioning in Italy and Spain. It argues that analyses to evaluate what is the most cost-efficient flexibility solution, including the possibility of improving existing facilities and regulatory frameworks, should be implemented on a case-by-case basis, as electricity storage is only one out of many possible sources of flexibility. Where pumped hydro is identified as the best solution to provide the ancillary services needed, a market''s ability to deliver it should then be tested, by addressing the major concerns for ex-ante appraisal the paper identifies. Only where a market ‘fails’ to deliver such capacity, a case for commissioning hydro-pumped storage may be justified. The key areas are then: (i) the criteria to define capacity adequacy and (ii) the procedures to select who should build and who should run such facilities. The risks and challenges identified suggest that this solution should be considered with caution. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]