Economy and Divorces: Their Impact Over Time on the Self-Employment Rates in Spain

The paper used time-series data and examined the effect of economic and social variables on the male and female self-employment rates in Spain. We also employed cointegration analysis (with and without) structural breaks. We thus find strong evidence that long run relationships exist among the variables. More precisely, we find that the unemployment rates and the ratio of self-employment to employees’ earnings have a positive effect on self-employment, whereas, economic development and divorce rates have a negative effect. Importantly, we find that the economic variables have equal or stronger long run impact on females than males, with both groups reacting to changes in family circumstances. Finally, we show that the short run family circumstances are better predictors of self-employment choices rather than economic factors, with self-employment being a means of adjustment to new personal circumstances and economic needs.     

Back to the South: Social and Political Aspects of Latin American Migration to Southern Europe

When migration from the Latin American and Caribbean countries to Europe is studied, a preferential stream can be noted towards southern Europe. There would also appear to have been a remarkable growth in the volume of flows in this direction in recent years. The flows themselves vary: in the case of Spain, nationals from Ecuador, Colombia, Peru and Argentina predominate; Portugal is the recipient of Brazilians; and Italy mainly plays host to nationals from Peru and Ecuador. These flows reveal the importance of various factors: economic push and pull mechanisms; the former presence in the region of Spain and Portugal as erstwhile colonial powers; the earlier waves of emigrants in that direction from Spain, Portugal and Italy; a relatively more favourable social reception; and political initiatives that favour the new sending countries. In other words, economic gaps, former historical links, cultural and linguistic affinities, family ties and diplomatic channels suggest that a special route exists for migrants from Latin America. The topics that will be expanded upon in this paper include the factors explaining recent immigration to southern Europe; the economic incorporation of immigrants; the social framework of flows, including reactions from local populations; and the tentative and multiple policy responses to immigration. Conclusions indicate that the potential for movements from Latin America, resulting from both previous and current links, has proved to be a favourable response to the need for immigrant workers in the case of southern European societies. Despite the familiar path (albeit in the reverse direction), the economic incorporation of immigrants has mainly occurred in the low‐ranking jobs, as was the case with other inflows. This stemmed from market needs, state failures and the importance of the family. However, given the numerous links between Latin America and southern Europe, the social and policy responses adopted towards these immigrants seem to have been more beneficial than towards other groups.     

Migration at a Time of Global Economic Crisis: The Situation in Spain

In this paper, we offer an initial assessment of the impact of the economic crisis on Spain's migration flows. After a period of intensive economic growth and the ensuing immigratory appeal (1995–2007), Spain has been hit hard by the recession. This has modified the trends that had so far characterized foreign immigration in Spain. The impact of the economic recession has been particularly severe in the case of immigrant workers and, consequently, from an institutional point of view, the Spanish government has adopted various measures to restrict the arrival of new immigrants: it has reduced work permit quotas and it has modified the Foreign Residents Law, toughening residence permit requirements. It has also tried to encourage voluntary returns with a programme devised to provide assistance to immigrants originating from countries with which Spain has social security agreements. The response to this programme has, however, been very limited. Immigration flows have continued and rates of return have stayed low, although new trends are also detectable, such as a decrease in the number of irregular arrivals and a rise in informal employment, as well as differences in the impact of unemployment according to nationality and gender. This reveals the complexity of migration processes beyond the supply and demand of labour and the political will to regulate human mobility. Consequently, immigration patterns in Spain reveal the degree of complexity reached by human mobility, which has increased beyond the logic of the labour market and the government's attempts at regulating migration flows by means of institutional measures. The immigrants' hope of raising their standard of living and the socio‐economic differences between source and receiving countries, even at a time of severe economic crisis, do still serve as explanations for current migration networks, one of the key points in the current debate on international migration.     

The impact of the crisis on homelessness in Spain: social intervention in a context of greater need and fewer resources

The purpose of this article is to deepen the understanding of the impact of the social and economic crisis on homeless people in Spain. To this end we present the results of research carried out prior to the crisis and later updated in the midst of the economic recession, underscoring the main results obtained in both periods and tracing their evolution. The number of homeless people in Spain has risen as a result of the crisis. Moreover, while some characteristics of this group remain the same, others have changed. Hence, difficulties in access to the labour market and cuts in certain economic benefits are resulting in an increase in the duration of social inclusion processes. This results in a worsening of the personal situation of the homeless, especially in relation to mental illness and substance abuse. The immigrant population is the group most affected by these impacts. The situation clearly demonstrates the need to reflect on how to deal with the problem of homelessness in Spain, and to rethink the way professionals intervene, especially during periods of economic recession.     

Contributions to the History of Public Relations in the Midst of a Dictatorship: First Steps in the Professionalization of Public Relations in Spain (1960–1975)

ABSTRACT

The practice of public relations in Spain began during the Franco dictatorship, which was established in 1939, following a 3-year civil war. The first consultancy was opened in Barcelona in 1960, at the beginning of a period of economic growth due to a change of direction in the regime. After the end of the autarchy and international ostracism, Spain began an unprecedented economic and social transformation. Public relations thus helped businesses to make contact with an ever-better-informed media and public opinion and, in this way, contributed to economic development while simultaneously promoting associationism and improvement in the teaching of the subject.     

The new hosts: the case of Spain

The author examines recent changes in the characteristics of immigration in Spain. Aspects considered include migrant origin, social and demographic characteristics, economic activity, unemployment, age structure, and educational level. The extent of illegal immigration is also discussed.     

Work,family and the care of children: issues of equality and responsibility

SUMMARY. The current growth in women's employment, particularly among women with young children, gives new prominence to an issue of major political, economic and social importance, involving men as well as women and children: the relationship between paid work and family responsibilities and how to reconcile these demands without creating inequalities or stress for children or parents, especially mothers. The paper considers the Government's response to this development, arguing that it should be taking a strategic or leadership role, working in active partnership with employers, trades unions, local authorities, voluntary organisations and parents. Examples from Sweden, Spain and New Zealand are given to illustrate this alternative approach     

The Corporate University and social work academic roles

Abstract

Universities have undergone significant changes in the last decade. Universities have become ‘corporate’, integrating the values, assumptions and ethics of corporate economic capitalism. Within universities, social work practice expertise is negated as a criterion of valued ‘technological role expertise’ of social work academics. The paper describes and analyses the compounding impact of changes in the role of universities upon the historically problematic relationship between social work practice and social work education, The paper suggests a means to integrate both roles in the roles of practitioner-academic and academic-practitioner A typology is developed which identifies the knowledge and skill basis of social work practitioners and academics. The typology enables an identification of the cross fertilisation of each role on the practice expertise of the other. Through such a typology an alternative valued criterion of ‘technological role expertise’ can be established by the profession itself for utilisation in both academic and practice appointments and promotion assessment.     

Social work in Spain: a new social and economic reality to develop in practical academic training

This work focuses on understanding how the current Spanish economic crisis is generating changes in the social and economic reality in which social work degree students are developing their practical training and on knowing if this new reality has an impact on their training and on the vision, they can create of the profession. Using a mixed qualitative methodological approach, we aim to visualize and analyze the opinions and insights that both social work professionals and students provide. Online and face-to-face interviews were conducted with social workers working as practice tutors. Likewise, two focus groups were set up and social work degree students at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Spain) were also interviewed. The main results show that the new scenario creates a debate not only among professionals, but also among the students themselves. They value this stage as an opportunity to rethink their future professional practice. This article may be applicable to the European context, given that the economic crisis is affecting, to a greater or lesser extent, on the different welfare states in Europe.     

The development of social pedagogy in Spain: The tension between social needs,political response and academic interests

The Spanish Civil War (1936—1939) interrupted the evolution and development of social pedagogy, which in Spain had reached similar levels as in other European countries. This was followed by a period when Spain was isolated from developments in social welfare and the changes that go along with the economic and social transformations of cities and give rise to community action, self-help and popular education programmes. The reinstatement of democracy and of new City Councils that are genuinely devoted to solve the problems of the population are the starting point for new social services, that is for social work and social pedagogy. Initially it was practical work that gave an answer to emerging demand, followed by theoretical analysis and efforts of conceptualisation. The professionals and later the universities lead the debate on methodology. The interest and involvement of the universities increased as the Diploma in Social Education was introduced as a new university degree.     

Rural change and the elderly in rural places: Commentaries from New Zealand

Rural New Zealand has been transformed in the last decade. Policies progressively introduced by the state since 1984 have led to significant changes in the economic and social fabric of rural places. While macro-economic changes have attracted comment, the local impacts on some groups have not been widely documented and are not well understood. This paper seeks to reveal some of the effects of ‘restructuring’ on the rural elderly by reporting comments on individual life experiences. Two intentions underlie this endeavour; to make evident and valorise the lived experience of a group often overlooked in rural places and to comment on the reflection of this lived experience in contemporary approaches to rural studies.     

MODELING GROWTH (AND LIBERALIZATION) USING SMOOTH TRANSITIONS ANALYSIS

Economic liberalization has been a pervasive phenomenon over the last twenty years. Programs have been initiated on the assumption that liberalization promotes economic growth, but the empirical evidence for this is limited. This paper takes a novel approach to modeling growth and structural change as smooth transitions. This allows us to model deterministic change without imposing discrete changes. We use smooth transition analysis to reappraise the time-series properties of long-run growth rates in a number of developing countries which have undertaken liberalization. Our results challenge conventional wisdom on both methodological and empirical grounds.     

Economic Outcomes among Latino Migrants to Spain and the United States: Differences by Source Region and Legal Status

Using representative national surveys, this paper compares economic outcomes among Latin American migrants to Spain and the United States in the first cross-national comparison using quantitative data. Considering the geographic location and social proximity of each country with respect to Latin America, we detect a critical selection effect whereby the majority of Latin American migrants to Spain originate in South America from middle class backgrounds, whereas most migrants to the United States are Central Americans of lower class origins. This selection effect accounts for cross-national differences in the probability of employment, occupational attainment, and wages earned. Despite differences in the origins and characteristics of Latino immigrants to each country, demographic and human and social capital factors appear to operate similarly in both places; and when models are estimated separately by legal status, we find that effects are more accentuated for undocumented compared with documented migrants, especially in the United States.     

Social work education in Spain: evaluation and challenges for a new generation of social workers

ABSTRACT

The European social integration model was built on two main pillars: employment and access to the welfare state. European social work education was mainly oriented to training professionals in order to promote this inclusion through case management and the provision of benefits. This influence was very intense in the curricular content of Spanish social work programs. The new social risks and the European convergence in higher education have promoted curricular changes, but is it enough?. This paper aims to identify the content and limits of current social work education in Spain. To this end, a comparative analysis of social work education in public universities of Spain was performed. This information has been contrasted with professionals, teachers and social work students. The results evidence the gap of these contents with the real professional needs. This paper proposes several alternatives and approaches in new intergenerational methodologies and technological tools to train a new generation of social workers     

On the socio-economics of voluntary organisations

This article discusses two aspects of the interconnected social and economic features of voluntary associations. First, it characterises the transformation processes of voluntary associations which make them more similar to bureaucratic busitness organisations. The article's second. endeavour is to discuss how changes in the economic features of an association have an impact on its social elements. The key argument is that changes in economic features of a voluntary association have important negative effects on its social basis. The analysis focuses on how changes in the mode of financing of an association affect the solidarity of its members. This paper draws heavily on an earlier German article (Horch, 1992). I would like to thank the editor of the book where this article was published, Annette Zimmer, for her permission to publish a revised English version.     

Economic internationalization: the new migration in Japan and the United States

"The general proposition argued in this paper is that international migrations are embedded in larger social, economic and political processes.... The first section of the paper addresses the impact of economic internationalization on the formation of new immigration flows into the U.S. during the last 25 years. The second section examines both the magnitude and forms of Japan's recent economic presence in South and Southeast Asia. The third and fourth sections briefly review questions of policy in the U.S. and Japan during the last few years.... The fifth section conveys evidence of illegal immigration to Japan. The sixth section discusses conditions in receiving countries that make possible the adaptation of immigrants with a view to understanding how illegal immigrants in Japan could become part of the Japanese economy involving Japanese employers deeply steeped in an anti-immigration culture." (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA)     

The Sociology of the Family in Spain:

This paper analyses research undertaken in Spain on the sociology of the family. A set of intellectual and cultural condi- tions at the end of the 19th century suggested that there would be a rapid growth of this area of specialisation. Nevertheless, the disci- pline did not become institutionalised despite the efforts of Adolfo Posada, who had taken the initiative to formalise its status. Other factors which should have encouraged developments in this field such as the debate on the role of women in society, the survey of the Ateneo de Madrid of 1901 or the profound legal changes introduced by the Second Republic in fact made little impact. Although the emergence of empirical sociology at the end of the 1960s is related to the study of the Spanish family, it is in other fields of sociology where advances were more marked. With the death of Franco in 1975 and the legislative and social changes which followed, the sociology of the family acquired greater vigour, although many gaps remain to be covered by research.     

An Economic Analysis of the Gap Between Desired and Actual Fertility: The Case of Spain

Family size is the outcome of sequential decisions influenced both by preferences and by ongoing changes in the environment where a family lives. During the last two decades, the gap between the number of children women prefer and their actual fertility has widened in Spain. The paper uses the 1985 and 1999 Spanish Fertility Surveys to study whether the tightening of the labor market and worsening of economic conditions in Spain during the last 20 years are important determinants of this change. I find that women facing high unemployment rates in their mid-twenties tend to restrict their fertility below their ideal level. Among women in the labor force, the stability of a public sector job lessens the difficulties of balancing employment and family and of achieving preferred fertility. Temporary contracts work in the opposite direction. Findings are robust to the inclusion of controls for within-couple discrepancies in either preferences or religious affiliation.

Analyzing order: social structure and value in the economic sphere

The purpose of this article is to analyze social order in the economic sphere. This is done by introducing social configurations as a theoretical notion. Configurations combine social structure of interfacing roles with values. The type of configurations studied here are markets, the most central mechanisms in the economic sphere. It is claimed that any market analysis must account for social structure as well as values. The main argument of this article is that the same type of social structure can demonstrate different underlying values and logics in the economic sphere. This is shown in four empirical examples of markets.     

Social capital and the reproduction of economic inequality in polarized societies

This paper explores the idea that the distribution of wealth across social groups fundamentally affects the evolution of economic inequality. By providing microfoundations suitable for this exploration, this paper hopes to enhance our understanding of when social forces contribute to the reproduction of economic inequality. In tackling this issue, this paper offers contributions in two domains. First, it models social capital as a real capital asset with direct use and collateral values. Second, it extends the concepts of identity, alienation and polarization originally advanced by Esteban and Ray (Esteban, J.M. and Ray, D.: On the measurement of polarization, Econometrica 62(4) (1994), 819–851). This generalization permits us to consider the multiple characteristics that shape social identity, inclusion and exclusion. It also underwrites a higher-order measure of socio-economic polarization that permits us to explore the hypothesis that economic inequality is most pernicious and persistent when it is socially embedded. Holding constant the initial levels of economic polarization and wealth inequality, we show that higher socio-economic polarization increases subsequent income and wealth inequality. Far from being a distributionally neutral panacea for missing markets, social capital in this model may itself generate exclusion and deepen existing economic cleavages.