Actualment estan sorgint noves modalitats de turisme vinculades amb noves demandes y exigències de la població, sorgint amb forma l’Ecoturisme, que inclou un conjunt d’activitats que tenen com a motivació principal la contemplació, gaudi i/o coneixement del medi natural. Mitjançant aquesta investigació es pretén analitzar les variables i els inputs que es consideren en els instruments utilitzats pel seguiment y l’avaluació de l’ús públic dels Espais Naturals Protegits, que serveixen per identificar i valorar la satisfacció i les expectatives dels visitants o usuaris, analitzant també aspectes relacionats amb la qualitat i l’activitat ecoturística. S’han identificat les variables que han resultat significatives a nivell quantitatiu i qualitatiu de les enquestes realitzades en el Parc Nacional d’Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici amb l’objectiu de relacionar la satisfacció de l’usuari amb la qualitat i s’han comparat qualitativament els paràmetres i la idoneïtat de la informació requerida en diferents models d’enquestes de satisfacció utilitzats els darrers anys en diferents Espais Naturals acreditats amb la Q de qualitat turística. / Actualmente están apareciendo nuevas modalidades de turismo vinculadas con las nuevas demandas y exigencias de la población, surgiendo con fuerza el Ecoturismo, que incluye un conjunto de actividades que tienen como motivación principal la contemplación, disfrute y/o conocimiento del medio natural. Mediante esta investigación se pretende analizar las variables y los inputs que se consideran en los instrumentos utilizados para el seguimiento y la evaluación del uso público de los Espacios Naturales Protegidos, que sirven para identificar y valorar la satisfacción y las expectativas de los visitantes o usuarios, analizando también aspectos relacionados con la calidad y la actividad ecoturística. Se han identificado las variables que han resultado significativas a nivel cuantitativo y cualitativo de las encuestas realizadas en el Parc Nacional d’Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici con el objetivo de relacionar la satisfacción del usuario con la calidad y se han comparado cualitativamente los parámetros y la idoneidad de la información requerida en distintos modelos de encuestas de satisfacción utilizados los últimos años en distintos Espacios Naturales acreditados con la Q de calidad turística. / New forms of tourism related to the new demands and requirements of the population are appearing currently, such as ecotourism. Ecotourism includes a set of activities whose primary motivation contemplation, enjoyment and/or knowledge of the natural environment. Through this research it is to analyze variables and inputs considered in the instruments used for monitoring and evaluation of public use of Protected Areas It serve to identify and assess the satisfaction and expectations of visitors or users, also analyzing issues related to the quality and ecotourism. We have identified the variables that have been significant in quantitative and qualitative surveys of the Aigüestortes Sant Maurici National Park, in order to relate the user satisfaction with the warm. Also they compared the qualitatively parameters and the adequacy of the information required in various models of satisfaction surveys used the years in various natural areas accredited with the Q for quality.

The objective of the present investigation is to analyze two important issues that contribute in great measure to the economic growing of the country, as is the growing and permanence of the SMEs, framed in the access to credit. These issues are the disponibility that have some peruvian financial institutions and their propensity to get it. The academic literature revision shows that in some occasions the enterprises prefer to stay operating with own resources, or look for a foreign debt source, leaving to the end the new capital income, because this can contribute to the loss of enterprise control, as well as his permanence as such. The literature is limited from the point of view of the financial institutions because the most of this studies are make since the point of view of the SMEs, so in this investigation we will center in the empiric evidence obtained from the peruvian market, principally gotten from these financial institutions that are supervised by the regulator entity of the government Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y Administradoras de Fondo de Pensiones (SBS) to give an approximation of the strategies that this financial institutions apply at the moment to give credit to the SMEs. Moreover, since the point of view of the SMEs has been analyzed, using empiric evidence, the factors that contributes to this kind of businesses to obtain credit from the financial institutions. From an important way focused in the fact of the SMEs permanency and subsistence and how this factor is important to the development of the country. For this aspect we search literature that allows us to know about different theories that refer to the credits awarded to the SMEs such as the Theory of the capital structure, the Theory of the hierarchical selection, the Theory of static equilibrium and the Theory of the asymmetry of the information. These theories let us to structure a theoretical model, the same that has been contrasted with the hypothesis in order to obtain our conclusions that are show in this investigation. Finally, uniting both aspects indicated previously we could find conclusions about the strategies that the financial institutions apply to the availability of SMEs credits and, moreover, those factors that make possible that these enterprises can obtain credit for their development and their permanence in the peruvian market. / El objetivo del presente trabajo de investigación es analizar dos aspectos importantes que constituyen en gran medida al crecimiento económico del país, como lo es el crecimiento y permanencia de la PYME, enmarcado en el acceso al crédito. Estos aspectos son la disponibilidad que tienen por parte de las instituciones financieras peruanas y la propensión que tienen de obtenerlo. La revisión de la literatura académica muestra que en ocasiones las empresas prefieren mantenerse operando con recursos propios, o buscan una fuente externa vía endeudamiento, dejando al final el ingreso de nuevo capital, pues este puede contribuir a la pérdida de control de la empresa, así como a su permanencia como tal. la literatura es limitada desde el punto de vista de las instituciones financieras puesto que la mayoría de estudios se realiza desde el punto de vista de las PYME, por lo que en esta investigación nos centramos en la evidencia empírica obtenida del mercado peruano, principalmente de aquellas instituciones financieras que son supervisadas por el ente regulador del gobierno como es la Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y Administradoras de Fondo de Pensiones (SBS) para dar una aproximación a las estrategias que estas instituciones financieras aplican al momento de otorgar crédito a las PYME. Por otro lado, desde el punto de vista de las PYME se ha analizado, mediante evidencia empírica, los factores que propician que este tipo de empresas obtengan crédito de las instituciones financieras. De una forma importante centrados en el hecho de la permanencia y subsistencia de las PYME y como factor predominante en el crecimiento del país. Para este aspecto se ha ubicado literatura que nos ha dado a conocer diferentes teorías referidas al crédito hacia las PYME como la Teoría de la estructura del capital, Teoría de la selección jerárquica, Teoría de equilibrio estático y la Teoría de la información asimétrica. Estas teorías nos han permitido determinar un modelo teórico el mismo que ha sido contrastado con las hipótesis para obtener las conclusiones que se presentan en esta investigación. Por último, al unir ambos aspectos indicados anteriormente hemos podido encontrar conclusiones sobre las estrategias que las instituciones financieras aplican para la disponibilidad del crédito a las PYME y por otro lado aquellos factores que hacen posible que estas empresas obtengan crédito para su crecimiento, permanencia en el mercado peruano.

This thesis is concerned with the relationship between disability and working conditions. In the first two chapters we investigate how past and current working conditions, in conjunction with other socio-demographic variables, contribute to disability. We focus on differences by migrant status (first chapter) and by period or cohort (second chapter) specifically, by comparing successive cohorts of young people aged 25 to 34. In the third chapter we take up the opposite perspective and we analyse the effect of permanent disability on the working life of the individual. The main result of the first chapter is that migrant status – with differences among regions of origin – significantly affects both disability and the probability of being employed in a high-risk occupation. In spite of immigrants’ working conditions being objectively worse, they exhibit lower probability of becoming disabled than natives because the impact of such conditions on disability is much smaller in their case. Our results also suggest that not only the risks of illness and injury, widely recognized, involve higher rates of disability. Unskilled labour and employment instability are also associated with increased risks of disability and its impact is greatest among later-born cohorts, as the second chapter reveals. Attending to differences by cohort, job insecurity has a significant and huge impact on disability for all birth cohorts. By contrast, the effect of temporary employment “per se” is controversial without considering other factors, like the changes in Employment Protection Legislation motivated by the labour market reforms of the last two decades. Finally, the results of the third chapter show that only 10% of disabled people remain in the labour market after the occurrence of the disability. The potential disincentives to employment are controversial. While it is true that higher disability pensions are associated with lower probabilities of employment, it is also observed that, in general, wages and income decreases as a result of a disability, being the decision of remaining out of the labour market not entirely attributable to the worker and his pension level. Conversely, it is plausible that the alleged disincentives to employment come too, and largely, from the labour market. The wage gap between workers with and without IP are high and significant, and only in part can be explained by differences in productivity, so that the unexplained difference could be attributed to discrimination in the labour market against people with disability. The data sets employed in the three chapters have been elaborated from the Continuous Sample of Working Lives, known as the MCVL in Spanish (from "Muestra Continua de Vidas Laborales"), a Spanish administrative data set containing work histories of workers and pensioners available since 2004. / Esta tesis se ocupa de la relación entre incapacidad permanente y condiciones de trabajo. En los dos primeros capítulos se investiga cómo las condiciones de trabajo, junto con otras variables sociodemográficas, contribuyen a la discapacidad. Nos centramos en diferencias asociadas a la condición de inmigrante (primer capítulo) y por periodo o cohorte (segundo capítulo), mediante la comparación de sucesivas cohortes de jóvenes entre 25 y 34 años de edad. En el tercer capítulo tomamos la perspectiva opuesta y analizamos el efecto de la incapacidad permanente en la vida laboral del individuo. Los resultados del primer capítulo indican que la condición de migrante - con diferencias por región de origen - tiene efectos significativos en la discapacidad y la probabilidad de estar empleado en una ocupación de alto riesgo. A pesar de que las condiciones de trabajo de los inmigrantes son objetivamente peores, presentan menor probabilidad de quedar discapacitados que los nativos. Nuestros resultados también sugieren que no sólo los riesgos de accidente y enfermedad profesional, ampliamente reconocidos, se asocian con probabilidades elevadas de discapacidad. Los trabajos poco cualificados y la inestabilidad en el empleo también se asocian con un mayor riesgo de discapacidad. En el segundo capítulo se muestra que el impacto de la inestabilidad laboral es mayor entre las cohortes de jóvenes actuales, si se comparan con los jóvenes en los años 80. Por último, los resultados del tercer capítulo muestran que sólo cerca del 10 % de las personas con discapacidad siguen trabajando después de la aparición de ésta. La brecha salarial entre trabajadores con y sin discapacidad es importante y significativa, y cerca del 30% de esta diferencia se atribuiría a discriminación de las personas con discapacidad. Nuestros resultados apuntan a que los efectos de esta discriminación en el empleo de las personas con discapacidad serían importantes, en particular para los hombres. Los conjuntos de datos utilizados en los tres capítulos se han elaborado a partir de la Muestra Continua de Vidas Laborales (MCVL), un conjunto de datos administrativos que contiene las historias laborales de los trabajadores y pensionistas desde 2004 .

The current economic crisis has increased severe poverty as well as severe deprivation levels in our society, putting under stress the existing social protection system. In the Spanish system of social protection, the very last resource consists of the regional minimum insertion schemes (MIS). The thesis examines two key elements of the MIS, focusing on the Catalan programme: a) the extent to which they can fight against deprivation and b) the role played by activation measures. The thesis concludes that greater generosity in the funding of the current Catalan Minimum Insertion Income scheme (RMI) would reduce in the levels of deprivation in households characterized by severe poverty. The thesis also concludes that the insertion pathways of the RMI should be adapted to three beneficiary profiles: chronic, social and unemployed / La crisi econòmica actual ha fet créixer els nivells de pobresa i privació severa en la nostra societat, posant a prova el vigent sistema de protecció social. En el sistema espanyol de protecció social, l’últim esglaó el conforma el conjunt de rendes mínimes d’inserció de les comunitats autònomes. La tesi analitza dos elements d’aquest sistema de rendes mínimes, centrant l’atenció en el cas català: a) fins a quin punt aquest permet lluitar contra la privació i b) el seu component d’activació. La tesi conclou que una major generositat en la dotació econòmica de la vigent Renda Mínima d’Inserció (RMI) catalana permetria reduir els nivells de privació en les llars que registren una pobresa severa. La tesi conclou també que els itineraris d’inserció laboral de la RMI haurien d’adaptar-se a tres perfils de beneficiari: cronicificat, social i laboral

El turismo es una de los sectores que ha mostrado un destacado crecimiento a nivel mundial actualmente. En relación con el estudio de los impactos negativos, la investigación sobre externalidades ha sido objeto de gran interés, sin embargo la relación entre la actividad turística y de los residuos sólidos municipales (RSM) no ha atendida profundamente. La tesis realiza importantes contribuciones en el análisis de tres aspectos de la relación entre turismo y la gestión de RSM. En primer lugar, el análisis cuantitativo del turismo como factor determinante en la generación de RSM. En segundo lugar, los retos del turismo en la gestión de RSM en destinos turísticos, con énfasis en Mallorca. En tercer lugar, el análisis teórico de incentivos a las empresas turísticas para mejorar la gestión de residuos. Finalmente, la tesis abre camino para identificar una serie de cuestiones que deben ser exploradas en futuras investigaciones.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar a dinâmica econômica proporcionada pelo setor de serviços no estado da Bahia com base na hierarquia dos municípios em termos das variáveis relacionadas a estas atividades e da concentração de população urbana. De maneira secundária, buscou identificar padrões espaciais no âmbito dos municípios e correlação entre as atividades de serviços e industriais, identificando, também, as atividades de serviços induzidas e indutoras do desenvolvimento, bem como a sua dinâmica em termos do crescimento e especialização nos municípios. Utilizou-se como bases teóricas principais a teoria dos lugares centrais, a teoria dos polos de crescimento e a teoria da base de exportação, além das teorias da dinâmica econômica urbana e as características peculiares dos setores de serviços para mostrar a conformação hierárquica e espacial dos municípios baianos quanto às variáveis em análise. Foram utilizados métodos de análise regional a fim de observar a especialização (e consequente perfil de exportação) e a polarização exercida pelos principais municípios do estado, especificamente o Quociente Locacional (QL) e Índice de Terciarização Ajustado (IT Ajust). Alternativamente, mas ao mesmo tempo em complemento e reforço aos resultados da utilização dos métodos anteriores, o trabalho usou a análise fatorial (AF), identificando correlações entre as varáveis que permitiram agrupa-las segundo a sua similaridade, quando se constatou complementaridade entre as atividades industriais e de serviços. Em consequência do uso deste método, foi construído um ranking dos municípios do estado em termos do seu potencial de desenvolvimento urbano/serviços que ratificou os resultados principais advindos no uso do QL e do IT Ajust, quais sejam, a estreita relação entre a dinâmica das atividades de serviços, a sua concentração (especialização), sua capacidade polarizadora e o uso de variáveis em conjunto que possibilitaram a criação do ranking mencionado, destacadamente aquelas relacionadas à dinâmica urbana e populacional. Ao ranquear os principais municípios, este trabalho também os utilizou como referência a fim de verificar o perfil dos subsetores de serviços quanto à sua dinâmica (ou tendência a esta) e estagnação (ou tendência a esta) bem como a configuração econômica e espacial dos municípios que apresentaram dinâmica nos subsetores induzidos e indutores do desenvolvimento, concluindo que os primeiros estão localizados, principalmente, nos municípios de maior potencial de desenvolvimento urbano/serviços. Para alcançar estes objetivos, foi utilizado o método diferencial-estrutural (shift-share). Assim, verificou-se que os municípios que apresentaram melhor posição no ranking concentram a maior parte dos serviços indutores do desenvolvimento, dotados de maior intensidade no uso de capital e tecnologias. / The objective of this study was to estimate the economic dynamics provided by the services sector in the state of Bahia. The study is based on the ranking of municipalities in terms of relating variables to these activities and the concentration of urban population. Secondarily, the spatial patterns within the municipalities and correlation between the industrial and service activities were identify. The activities of induced and inducing development services as well as its dynamics in terms of growth and specialization in cities also were identified. The main theoretical bases used was the central place theory, the theory of growth poles and export base theory. Furthermore, the theories of urban economic dynamics and the unique characteristics of services sectors were used to show the hierarchical and spatial conformation of the municipalities in the State of Bahia, regarding the variables under consideration. Regional analysis methods were used to observe the specialization (and consequent export profile) and polarization exerted by the major cities of the state. The Locational Quotient (QL) and Tertiarization Adjusted Index were calculated (IT Adj). Alternatively and at the same time to support and strength the results from the above methods, the work used the factor analysis (FA) to identify correlations between variables that allowed grouping them according to their similarity, because of the complementarities among industrial and service activities sectors. As a result of using this method, we built a ranking of municipalities in the state of Bahia in terms of its potential for urban development/services that have ratified key results arising in the use of QL and IT Adj. Namely, the ranking reflects the close relationship between the dynamics of service activities, its concentration (specialization), their polarizing capacity and use of variables together that enabled the creation of the rank mentioned, notably those related to urban and population dynamics. To rank the major cities, this study also used them as a reference to check the profile of the service subsectors for their dynamic (or trend) and stagnation (or trend) as well as the economic and spatial configuration of the municipalities showed that the induced dynamic subsectors and are inducers to development. The conclusion was that the former are mainly located in the municipalities of greater potential for urban/services development. To achieve these goals, the shift-share method was used. Thus, it was found that municipalities that showed higher ranking concentrate most of inducing development services, with more intensity in the use of capital and technology.

Economic approaches through ecosystem services (ES) valuation are increasingly recommended by conservation organisations to face main market externalities affecting biodiversity in general and coral reef ecosystems. In this dissertation, we will analyse the experience of two economic valuations of coral reef ecosystems in the Pacific focusing on two aspects. The first is to evaluate if current methods of Coral Reef Ecosystem Services Valuation (CRESV) permits to transmit a correct signal about ES and the second is to assess the impacts of results on policy-making and market externalities. The first study is the economic valuation of the coral reef ecosystems of New Caledonia. Financed by French Ministries of Environment and Oversea Territories, the main objective was to make visible the value of this ecosystem in the economy of the territory. The second one is a cost-benefit analysis of Marine Protected Areas in Vanuatu. Required by the French Development Bank, the aim was to realize an ex-post valuation of the impacts of marine biodiversity conservation on the economic development of the implicated villages and other stakeholders. More precisely, MPA impacts on the ES were quantified, total costs linked to each MPA were calculated and the C-B (Cost-Benefit) ratio and RoI (Return-on-Investment) were computed. More than 10 ecosystem services have been analysed with methods mainly based on financial values through producer surplus and avoided damage costs. Applied methods are classic ones with some improvements and originality such as the use of protein content equivalent for subsistence fishery, the larval stomach content to quantify links between reef ecosystem and pelagic fisheries, the application of the Advertising Image Analysis to tune the role of CR in the tourism motivation, the setup of experimental fishery to determine precise improvements in fishery productivity and the adaptation of a bio-physical model for coastal protection ES. Results in New Caledonia have permitted to make visible a contribution comprised between 195 and 330 M!.y-1 highlighting the importance of the coastal protection, the noncommercial fishery and the underwater tourism. In Vanuatu, for donors and local policymakers, we demonstrated that, after at least 6 years of MPA implementation, all RoI except one were above 0, implying that financial benefits exceed costs. Based on a 25-year project life, the average expected C-B ratios was 4.1. We estimate the mean aggregate economic value of MPA impacts to be approximately US$ 44,000 per year per km2. Tourism ES were the largest estimated effect for all MPAs, despite stark differences in tourism development across sites. Impacts on tourism were followed by impacts on fish productivity. CRESV in the South Pacific context are complex exercises, which face a series of specific challenges to transmit a "right" signal about their importance. Some solutions have been proposed and discussed. The results of the 2 reports have mostly been used for "informative" purposes by public organisations and support in an ex-ante decision has been scarce. Different reasons are advanced to explain this lower than expected impact such as the lack of precise definition of the decision making question and the absence of a clear strategy of communication to different audiences. The next step to improve the application of information produced by CRESVs is to directly inform public decisions, play a role in designing instruments such as PES, and be utilised in local development planning. In parallel, the financial approach of ESV can bring concrete information about potential returns for private sources of financing for conservation. Funds such as impact investment may be attracted by the MPA¿s financial ratios as the business case for Vanuatu was convincingly made.

Llegida a la Universitat Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas / The following doctoral thesis, through qualitative research, develops a case study conducted among students and graduates from the Business Administration and Finance major at UPC (Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas). Since both groups are consumers of the school teaching services, the study determines the key factors related to service quality and compares the results between them in order to analyze its similarities and differences. The purpose of the current study is to improve available models of service quality analysis in higher education. After an exhaustive review in the state of the art literature, a case study has been selected to conduct a comprehensive qualitative analysis in order to identify the key factors in college teaching service quality. The research has been extended to include the group of graduates, which has not been address in other work, providing a source to measure not only the quality of the process but also the result of the provided service. / La presente tesis doctoral, a través de un estudio cualitativo de caso realizado a estudiantes y graduados de la carrera de Administración y Finanzas de la UPC (Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas), consumidores del servicio de la enseñanza universitaria, identifica, en opiniones de ambos, cuáles son los factores que determinan la calidad del servicio de la misma, haciendo además un estudio comparativo entre los dos, para analizar las semejanzas y diferencias entre ellos. El objetivo de la tesis es mejorar los modelos de análisis de la calidad del servicio de la enseñanza universitaria, después de un detallado estudio del estado de la cuestión. Siguiendo la metodología del caso se realiza un análisis cualitativo exhaustivo y profundo para poder identificar, de la manera más ajustada posible, los determinantes de la calidad del servicio de la enseñanza universitaria, y amplía además el estudio al grupo de los graduados, grupo que no había sido antes incluido en dicha identificación, de manera que los resultados garantizan la posibilidad de poder medir no solo la calidad del proceso, sino también la calidad del resultado del servicio mencionado

La indústria química és un dels sectors productius on major i més àmpliament s'apliquen recursos d'I + D de totes les economies avançades. A més, la indústria química europea abasteix virtualment a tots els sectors de l'economia i representa un 17,8% de les vendes totals de productes químics en el món. Aquesta tesi doctoral ofereix una visió general del panorama industrial químic europeu així com de l'escenari canviant de la indústria química a nivell mundial. La investigació es centra en l'anàlisi de les dinou empreses químiques europees principals per oferir una idea sobre els problemes actuals als què s'enfronta el sector a Europa, especialment després de tenir lloc la crisi econòmica i mostrant com Europa i les pròpies empreses de referència estan invertint en I + D com a forma de superar els reptes actuals. La investigació mostra que la despesa en I + D al sector químic ha estat igual en els últims anys i és encara el major inversor de totes les activitats d'I + D. En termes d'inversió en I + D, BASF és l'empresa que ha realitzat més inversió, seguida de Bayer i Syngenta; encara que si s'analitza la intensitat de la inversió ha estat més gran en Syngenta i Bayer. BASF i Bayer són les empreses líders en l'aplicació de patents així com en el nombre de patents concedides. La qualitat de la recerca en el cas de les empreses químiques és molt alta. La majoria de les grans empreses europees realitzen la seva primera aplicació de patents a Europa, comparades amb la d’altres localitzacions geogràfiques. Totes les empreses químiques més importants estan utilitzant Merger & Acquisition (M & A) per accedir a la innovació. La col·laboració empresa-universitat és també una forma de generar innovació en la indústria química a Europa. La investigació també mostra que la regulació REACH està tenint un efecte negatiu en l'àrea d'innovació en la indústria química europea. Els clústers químics i la distribució geogràfica de les empreses químiques juguen igualment un paper significatiu en la generació de la innovació. / La industria química es uno de los sectores productivos donde mayor y más ampliamente se aplican recursos de I+D en todas las economías avanzadas. Además, la industria química europea abastece virtualmente a todos los sectores de la economía y representa un 17,8% de las ventas totales de productos químicos en el mundo. Esta tesis doctoral ofrece una visión general del panorama industrial químico europeo así como del escenario cambiante de la industria química a nivel mundial. La investigación se centra en el análisis de las diecinueve empresas químicas principales europeas para ofrecer una idea sobre los problemas actuales a los que se enfrenta el sector en Europa, especialmente después de tener lugar la crisis económica y mostrando cómo Europa y las propias empresas de referencia están invirtiendo en I+D como forma de superar los retos actuales. La investigación muestra que el gasto en I+D en el sector químico ha permanecido igual en los últimos años y es aún el mayor inversor de todas las actividades de I+D. En términos de inversión en I+D, BASF es la empresa que ha realizado mayor inversión, seguida de Bayer y Syngenta; aunque si se analiza la intensidad de la inversión ha sido mayor en Syngenta y Bayer. BASF y Bayer son las empresas líderes en la aplicación de patentes así como en el número de patentes concedidas. La calidad de la investigación en el caso de las empresas químicas es muy alta. La mayoría de las grandes empresas europeas realizan su primera aplicación de patentes en Europa, comparadas con otras localizaciones geográficas. Todas las empresas químicas más importantes están utilizando Merger & Acquisition (M&A) para tener acceso a la innovación. La colaboración empresa-universidad es también una forma de generar innovación en la industria química en Europa. La investigación también muestra que la regulación REACH está teniendo un efecto negativo en el área de innovación en la industria química europea. Los clústeres químicos y la distribución geográfica de las empresas químicas juegan igualmente un rol significativo en la generación de la innovación. / The chemical industry is one of the largest and most R&D- intensive manufacturing sectors in all advanced economies and European chemical industry supplies virtually all sectors of the economy and accounts for 17.8 % of the total chemical sales in the world. This thesis gives an overview of the European chemical industry and the changing scenario of the world chemical industry. The study focusses on the top nineteen chemical companies of this region. It gives an idea about the current problems this industry is facing in Europe especially after the economic crisis and shows how the region and the top companies are investing in R&D to bring innovation to overcome the current challenges. It shows that the R&D spending in this industry in absolute term has remained similar over the years and it is still globally the largest investor for the R&D activities. In terms of R&D Investment, BASF has been making the largest investment followed by Bayer and Syngenta while the R&D intensity is highest for Syngenta and Bayer. BASF and Bayer are the leader in patent application and number of granted patent. The quality of research in case of most chemical companies is very high. Most of the large European company makes their first patent application in Europe compared to other Geographical location. All the large chemical companies are using Merger & Acquisition (M&A) to gain access to innovation. Industry-academia collaboration is a way to generate innovation in chemical industry in Europe. The study also shows that REACH regulation is having a negative impact on innovation in European chemical industry. Chemical clusters and geographical distribution of the chemical companies play a significant role in generating innovation.

This thesis analyses the pricing policies used by operators when they establish broadband tariffs. The studies draw on datasets that combine broadband plans’ characteristics and tariffs with other sources of data at country level to reflect the market structure and regulation activity. The pricing models in this dissertation share the common thread of using three groups of variables to explain the level of broadband prices: 1- the characteristics of the broadband service, 2- the operators’ commercial strategies, and 3- the market structure and regulatory policies implemented. The pricing models are estimated using the following econometric techniques: pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) with country and time fixed effects, and two stage least squares (2SLS, instrumental variable techniques). The level of broadband prices concerns both national governments and international organisations, and this dissertation contributes to provide some guidance to regulators and competition authorities, helping them in the implementation of policies so as to foster competition in the market and ultimately stimulate the diffusion of broadband services. The first thesis chapter analyses the determinants of broadband Internet access prices in a group of 15 EU countries between 2008 and 2011. Using a rich panel data set of broadband plans, it is shown how downstream speed (Mbps) increases prices, and that the price per Mbps of cable modem and fibre technologies is lower than that of xDSL. Operators’ marketing strategies are also analysed as it is shown how much prices rise when the broadband service is offered in a bundle with voice telephony and/or television, and how much they fall when download volume caps are included. The most insightful results of this study are provided by a group of metrics that represent the situation of competition and entry patterns in the broadband market. It is found that consumer segmentation positively affects prices. Moreover, broadband prices are higher in countries where entrants make greater use of bitstream access and lower in countries where there is an intensive use of direct access (local loop unbundling). However, there is not a significant impact of inter-platform competition on prices. The second chapter analyses the strategies adopted by mobile operators when they set the prices of broadband plans. It is explained that operators design multi-tier price schemes in order to segment consumers according to their preferences. Operators usually offer only a few unlimited usage contracts and three-part tariffs for data limited plans. In the later case, the tariff includes an access fee, a usage allowance (the number of GB that consumers can use for free), and a penalty system for the case in which consumers exceed the contracted allowance. The empirical model shows that the prices of usage based contracts are lower than those of unlimited contracts, and that the monthly price depends on the type of penalty included in the plan. The prices also depend on other characteristics of the service such as the provided technology, the download speed and the telephone call allowances. It is also explained that most plans bundle mobile broadband plans with smartphones. This type of plans last longer and might be more expensive than the plans that only include the SIM card. Specifically, it is shown that the monthly price of the broadband service is more expensive when the plan includes an iPhone or a Samsung. Moreover, it is found that the monthly prices are higher when the plan includes a discount for the acquisition of the smarthphone. Finally, this chapter also studies the effects of market structure and entry regulation on prices and shows that mobile virtual operators have helped to reduce prices. The third chapter studies the mobile broadband market in Spain. The mobile broadband service has experienced a strong expansion in Spain, reaching a penetration of over 70% of the population at the beginning of 2014. This growth can be explained by the benefits that offer the third and the fourth generation of mobile technology, and by the continuous price reductions. In spite of this, prices in Spain are still higher than the European average. This chapter explains the process of technological innovation that has allowed the emergence of mobile broadband, and its launch in Spain. New commercial strategies used by mobile operators, such as bundling and plans that include fixed and mobile services are examined. The analysis shows that the presence of mobile virtual network operators and bundling have been effective in fostering competition and reducing prices. It is also discussed how technological convergence between fixed and mobile services has promoted restructuring and market concentration.