The aim of this workshop is to analyze the extent to which decentralization affects the accountability of political institutions, levels of corruption, and economic outcomes like innovation, economic growth, and the reduction of poverty. Several related questions may also be discussed during the workshop, such as the effectiveness of lobbies in a decentralized environment, the ability of a decentralized system to react to macroeconomic shocks, the determinants of decentralization, and so on.

The Barcelona Institute of Economics (IEB) will host its first workshop on Urban Economics on the 12th and 13th July 2010. The aim of the workshop is to bring together original research in the areas of urban and regional economics. Both theoretical and empirical papers are welcome. The accepted papers will be presented in parallel sessions that will be complemented with three 3 plenary sessions.

Educational attainment and competences’ acquisition are the most relevant output in the educational production
function. The study of these outputs has spread in recent years, especially since the existence of data from
international assessments, such as The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) or The Trends in
International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Different studies have shown the relevance of family and school
variables on students’ educational attainment and competences’ acquisition. Moreover, these data have allowed to
consider several types of analyses of the indicated output, such as the organization of the educational system,
differences between native and immigrant students, the factors that contribute to a successful performance (or a very
low one), differences between and within schools in students’ results, similarities and disparities between countries, the
relationship between efficiency and equity in education, peer-effects, etc.

March 12, 2012

September 13-14, 2018