This paper analyses the effectiveness of the financial control system implemented by the Spanish professional football League in 2015 as a tool to improve the governance of clubs in the first and second divisions as well as its probable impact on competition. Classic financial ratios are used to analyse the financial situation of the clubs both before and after the implementation of the Regulation, as well as during the first season affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Next, the Herfindahl index is calculated to measure the concentration in the distribution of the main funding sources and is incorporated as a dependent variable in a regression model. Although a cause–effect relationship is not certain, the results suggest that the economic control measures imposed by LFP have contributed to improving the financial situation of Spanish football in the short term, but may promote imbalances between clubs that undermine the sustainability of the current management model and, therefore, of the competition system. Unlike in other sectors, the football business requires more competition to maximise profits. In this context, it would be advisable to reach agreements between clubs to weaken the bargaining position of footballers. The paper shows the effect of the intervention of a regulatory body, in this case, LFP, in the functioning of a competitive market.

This paper examines the role played by pro-market policies, institutions, natural resources, and infrastructure on the total factor productivity (TFP) of twenty Latin American and Caribbean countries over the period 2000–2018. In estimating the TFP, we use the Färe-Primont index based on DEA. We have verified cointegration and estimated the long-run parameters by the grouped-mean FMOLS estimator. For measuring the impact of institutions, natural resources, and infrastructure, we have used the Productive Capacity Indexes of UNCTAD. We found a positive effect of all these variables on the TFP. Natural resources and energy play the most important role. Followed by information and communication technology and institutions quality. Transport infrastructure has played a minor role. The pro-market policies have been measured by the Fraser Institute indexes. We verified the positive impact of pro-market policies in the area of international trade and financial openness through six different variables. Finally, we considered three areas to measure the impact of domestic regulations and policies; credit, labor and business. We could verify a positive impact of credit and business pro-market policies, but we did not get statistically significant results from the labor regulations index.

This study examines the role of non-renewable natural resources in the accumulation of human capital in a sample of eighteen Latin American and Caribbean countries from 1995 to 2018. We assess the influence of non-renewable resources through six distinct variables and employ panel data co-integration techniques (PMG-ARDL). Our findings reveal a positive long-run effect, whether measured by abundance or dependence indicators. Even in cases where negative short-run effects are observed, the positive impact is consistent in the long term. Furthermore, physical capital stock, institution quality, and a more open economy are the most important drivers of human capital accumulation in the region. Although the long-run effect of non-renewable natural resources on human capital was positive, the estimated elasticities account for a relatively low effect. Consequently, even in the absence of the ‘curse’ effect, we do not deem it appropriate to consider these results as a blessing.