The beef sector has undergone a series of changes as a result of successive food scares and agricultural policy reforms. The purpose of the paper is to analyse technical efficiency and profitability in Spanish livestock enterprises during the 1990s, focusing on the possible impact of the BSE crisis and the 1992 CAP reform on each of these variables. The main findings reveal the existence of technical inefficiency during the sample period. Some factors have a positive impact, others a negative impact, on efficiency. As far as the effects of CAP reform and the BSE crisis are concerned, the results show the ineffectiveness of agricultural policy regulation to promote efficiency in the sector and the improvement in the efficiency as a consequence of the BSE crisis. The profitability analysis reveals the importance of direct subsidies, however. In their absence, a large percentage of holdings is unable to remunerate either own or rented factors. Analysis shows, therefore, that there are two counteracting effects from subsidies. On the one hand, they form a major part of the resources of livestock farmers, allowing them to meet input costs and preventing land abandonment. On the other hand, they have a significant negative impact on the level of technical efficiency estimated.

Which of a region's characteristics most strongly influence its degree of resilience? This study constructs a composite resilience index for the Spanish regions and uses Multiple Factor Analysis to compare it with the Martin resilience index (Martin, 2012). The results of a Principal Components Analysis to measure the relative contributions of potential regional resilience drivers indicate that, during recovery periods, it is market‐ service focused regional economies that show stronger resilience, while, in crisis periods, it is regions with a more highly‐educated workforce.

This article aims to evaluate the sports performance of teams that have participated in the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League (UCL) during the last 10 seasons (2004-2005 to 2013-2014). Technical efficiency is estimated using well-known data envelopment analysis (DEA) approaches and a bootstrapped DEA model. To solve the problem of measuring sporting results as output in knockout competitions, we propose the use of the coefficients applied by the UEFA from UCL revenue distribution. The results obtained show first that there is a high level of inefficiency in UCL over the period studied: Only 10% of the teams seem to be efficient. Also, the teams have many problems in maintaining their efficiency during the seasons. Second, the champion is always efficient. Third, we identify two sources of inefficiency: waste of sports resources and the selection of sporting tactics. Finally, from a methodological perspective, the output measure proposed seems to be suitable to represent reliably the sports results achieved by clubs in this qualifying competition type. Furthermore, our results are robust when applying alternative estimation methods. Regarding the results, some management implications are discussed and suggestions are made to boost the efficiency in inefficient clubs.

Sectoral gender segregation in labor markets is a fact. This paper examines the female distribution of employment by sectors in the EU 28, thereby contributing to the literature on the effects of the recession and subsequent austerity measures on female employment. An input-output model and structural decomposition analysis are used to assess the contribution of factors such as technological change, productivity change and final demand change. The latter had a positive impact over the period of analysis by creating new job opportunities for women, especially in the public service sectors, whereas productivity growth had a negative impact, particularly in the private service sectors. These changes have resulted in a reduction in the level of gender sectoral segregation; change in household expenditure again is the main driver of this reduction. Changing trends in labor requirements and gross capital formation have the opposite effect; thus, these trends increase the level of sectoral segregation.