Publications

This article assesses how effective Spain’s furlough schemes were from the start of the COVID-19 crisis in allowing the workers affected to return to work. On average between 2020 and 2021, the absolute probability of workers resuming their activity was high, although the shorter the furlough scheme, the higher the probability: almost 65% for workers who were furloughed for just one quarter, compared with slightly more than 26% for those who were furloughed for three quarters. When compared with workers of identical characteristics who were not furloughed but lost their jobs and became economically inactive or unemployed, the gap is positive, but it also narrows over time. In consequence, the results show that the furlough schemes – especially the shorter ones – were highly effective in the period analysed. However, the longer the furlough schemes lasted, the less effective they tended to be, especially for certain groups, such as younger workers, those with temporary contracts and workers in certain service activities.

In the current global setting of rising food prices and growing food insecurity, this article analyses how food crises affect forced international migration. According to the results obtained from a structural gravity model, food crises lead to a significant increase in the number of forced international migrants, although the intensity of the effect depends on the severity of the crisis. Thus, mild crises trigger a higher increase in the number of international migrants, but this effect eases as they become more severe. Further, when faced by more severe crises, international migrants are more likely to head for developing countries. This is because food crises prompt migrants to use more of their resources to cover their basic food needs, limiting their ability to migrate, especially to destinations that entail higher costs such as developed countries.

The tax incentive enjoyed by workplace pension schemes could encourage participants to increase their total savings or, alternatively, crowd out savings that would have materialised in other financial vehicles in the absence of this incentive. This article uses data from the Spanish Survey of Household Finances to estimate the additional savings generated by this type of scheme. To this end, the financial position of workplace pension scheme participants is compared to that of a group of workers of similar ages, with similar educational attainment levels and occupations, but who do not participate in such schemes. Once the comparable group is constructed, it can be seen that, on average, each euro saved in workplace pension schemes increases private savings by around 66 cents. This is the ratio of the difference in average net wealth between participants and their comparable group (€13,600) to the average amount accumulated in pension schemes (€20,600). Once adjusted for the fact that contributions are tax-exempt, the additional savings generated amount to around 31 cents for every euro contributed, calculated as the ratio of the €6,500 difference in tax-relief-adjusted wealth between the two groups to the average amount accumulated in workplace pension schemes.

The article presents an overview of digital platform work in Spain and analyses the challenge of quantifying this work in view of the lack of reliable and comprehensive data available. Digital platforms are technological infrastructures that act as intermediaries, facilitating interaction between two or more persons, for the provision of services through IT applications in exchange for payment. Although it is estimated that platform work accounts for less than 5% of the global workforce, this share is expected to increase.
In 2018, according to the COLLEEM survey, platform work was the main job of 2.6% of the Spanish population over 16. Including occasional platform work, the figure rose to 18.5%, the highest percentage among the 16 European countries included in the survey. Nevertheless, in practice it is difficult to obtain precise figures, since to date official statistics are not designed to include the gig economy.
The article compares the demographic characteristics of platform workers in Spain, according to the COLLEEM survey, and those of self-employed workers and employees according to two Spanish surveys of individuals and households, namely the 2018 Labour Force Survey (Encuesta de Población Activa) and the 2017 Survey of Household Finances (Encuesta Financiera de las Familias). The comparison shows that digital platform workers make up a specific group that is not directly comparable with either employees or the self-employed.
To conclude, a number of ways to obtain a better measure of digital platform work are considered. One option would be to include direct questions on these work arrangements in employment survey questionnaires. Another would be to develop integrated datasets, combining the information from administrative records, which include digital platform activities, with surveys of the workers included in those records. In any event, in order for these administrative records and surveys to reflect platform work accurately, labour legislation needs to clearly define the relationship between those providing the services and the platforms.