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The concentration of nitrogen in plants is usually determined through chemical analysis, although there are alternatives such as the measurement of chlorophyll as an indirect estimate of the nitrogen content. Currently, the reflectance, transmittance and fluorescence methods in specific regions of the spectrum are used to diagnose the nutritional status of plants in nitrogen. The objective has been to evaluate the use of sensors based on the principles of fluorescence and transmittance in the same test plots. The tests were carried out at the Valdegón Farm, at the Agro-food Technological Research and Development Center of the Government of La Rioja, at Agoncillo (La Rioja), Spain, in the years 2012, 2013 and 2014. Periodic sampling of nitrogen in soil, plant biomass and sheet measurements with Multiplex® were carried out. For the NBI index of the Multiplex high correlations have been found with the nitrogen content of the plant, which has served, depending on the phenological state of the crop, to adjust some functions that relate the measurements made with the biomass of the crop in the case of the NBI index. In the critical curves obtained for the sensors, it is observed that from a biomass of approximately 1 Mg/ha (50% of covered ground) the measurement stabilizes and it is from this moment when deficit treatments start to be distinguished from the non-deficit ones. Therefore, these models could be used to determine a nitrogen-based nutritional deficit and be able to correct it by fertilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concentration of nitrogen in plants is usually determined through chemical analysis, although there are alternatives such as the measurement of chlorophyll as an indirect estimate of the nitrogen content. Currently, the reflectance, transmittance and fluorescence methods in specific regions of the spectrum are used to diagnose the nutritional status of plants in nitrogen. The objective has been to evaluate the use of sensors based on the principles of fluorescence and transmittance in the same test plots. The tests were carried out at the Valdegón Farm, at the Agro-food Technological Research and Development Center of the Government of La Rioja, at Agoncillo (La Rioja), Spain, in the years 2012, 2013 and 2014. Periodic sampling of nitrogen in soil, plant biomass and sheet measurements with Multiplex® were carried out. For the NBI index of the Multiplex high correlations have been found with the nitrogen content of the plant, which has served, depending on the phenological state of the crop, to adjust some functions that relate the measurements made with the biomass of the crop in the case of the NBI index. In the critical curves obtained for the sensors, it is observed that from a biomass of approximately 1 Mg/ha (50% of covered ground) the measurement stabilizes and it is from this moment when deficit treatments start to be distinguished from the non-deficit ones. Therefore, these models could be used to determine a nitrogen-based nutritional deficit and be able to correct it by fertilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Segura River Basin is located in the South-east of Spain and is affected by a situation of structural deficit, due to a very low rainfall (the lowest on the continent). Given the climate change scenarios, this deficit could worsen over the coming years. This situation of scarcity has required the combination of resources from various sources, which can be classified as natural and non-conventional. This action constitutes an attempt to satisfactorily meet demands, mainly the most important due to their volume, such as irrigation and supply. The main objective of this study is the detailed analysis of the deficit based on the information collected in hydrological planning, identifying those areas where it is concentrated, which largely coincide with the irrigation areas of the Tajo-Segura Transfer. As a secondary objective, alternatives are proposed that allow the mobilization of new resources that are able to increase the current supply, specifically, those from desalination. For this, the execution of new infrastructure projects will be necessary, which is already contemplated in the current planning, but which may add new conditions, essentially economic, motivated by the extra costs on the already high price of desalinated water and which would question the economic viability of the dependent agri-food sector of this essential input. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What are the effects of fiscal imbalances, and austerity, on regional-level spending? To answer this question, we examine an original dataset of yearly spending decisions of regional governments in Italy and Spain between 2003 and 2015. We find that the rise in regional deficits has an important negative effect on regional governments' spending. The strength of this effect is, however, mitigated by the presence of a left-wing party in regional office. In addition, we uncover an important variation in the extent of cutbacks across policy sectors: regional governments tend to protect the health sector and focus their retrenchment efforts on social assistance and running of public institutions. Partisanship matters here too, as left-wing parties tend to protect healthcare more than their right-wing rivals. These findings bear relevance for understanding the role of partisanship and policy sector in the process of public retrenchment in multi-level states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Contaduría y Administración is the property of Facultad de Contaduria y Administracion-Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The consolidation perimeter of the public sector is the most important line between the micro and macro systems of government accounting. This paper focuses on the public sector boundary and assesses the potential impact on key reported figures - such as the 'Maastricht' deficit and debt ratios - that would result from moving public corporations inside the perimeter of the consolidated general government sector, public corporations that currently lie outside the general government sector. After examining 90 Spanish local governments with populations of over 50,000 during the 2010-2012 period, our results show that including public corporations within the general government sector perimeter leads to substantial differences in deficit and debt ratios, and that these differences significantly increase the number of municipalities in violation of fiscal limits imposed by the government. We also find that municipalities' pre- and post-consolidation debt ratios are significantly different depending on the ruling party's political ideology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Was unsustainable fiscal policy one of the reasons for the recent crisis in Spain? This is tested by examining how the government's primary surplus is reacting to the debt-GDP ratio. Using different models for the explanatory variables and the consideration of the correct detrending method led to the result that Spanish fiscal policy reacted to higher debt by increased surpluses, and thus was sustainable. To deal with structural breaks in the models, firstly, a dummy for the recent financial crisis was added. Secondly, a Kalman (J Basic Eng 82(1):35-45, ) filter model allowing for time-varying coefficients was estimated to cope with remaining breaks. The reaction of Spanish fiscal policy on debt was found to be decreasing over time. However, it was still significantly positive, showing sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the present global crisis, the impositions of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), mainly with respect to the control of the budget deficit and the need for new structural reforms in the public pension system and the labor market, are a species of “economic suicide” for the peripheral countries of the European Union (EU), among which is Spain. These policies will condemn Spain to a long period of recession and high unemployment, which leads us to affirm that, if these policies not changed, Spain will experience its own “Lost Decade”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Economic History Research / Investigaciones de Historia Económica is the property of Asociacion Espanola de Historia Economica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this article, a data set corresponding to Spanish municipalities is used to test asymmetries in the effects of increases and decreases in grants on total spending, with political and financial factors included as possible explanations of them. Estimation results strongly support the hypothesis of asymmetry. Recipients compensate part of the loss in grants by increasing other revenues. This fiscal replacement form of asymmetry is explained by two factors: incumbent's ideology and financial capacity of getting into debt. The relationship between deficits and ideology is studied. While increases in deficits because of reductions in grants are statistically significant only in the case of leftist incumbents, there are other causal mechanisms relating ideology and propensity toward deficits. These differences play in opposite directions, and the net result is that the relationship between ideology and deficit size is not statistically significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]