This paper presents an evaluation of the economic cost of precipitation shortage in the production of lamb in Extremadura. Given that the production strategy is based on maintaining a productivity target by supplementing natural pastures in contexts of water scarcity, the approach will be based on the analysis of the cost structure of the sector. A monetized cash flow model will be presented, which allows us to evaluate economic impacts through a financial perspective. The study focuses on a set of 1583 farms associated into the cooperative EA Group. These members have a total of 804,000 animals, which represents more than 40% of total sheep in Extremadura. Results shows a relation between precipitation minimums and feed quantity maximums of the series analyzed. Mayor direct impact is represented by an increase in feed supplementation needs, with an economic estimation of 54 million euros over two years for the whole sector. At the farm level, there is an average reduction of profits of 50% in the case of owned land, and bankruptcy in the case of renting land. In the context of data-driven policy making, this estimate provides a tool for European Policy funding negotiation a in sector which is considered as highly strategic because of its positive impacts on the environment, the generation of employment and maintenance of rural populations in marginal areas and for the production of high-quality food with a minimal use of natural resources.

In this paper, we analyze the effects of the energy transition process on economic growth in Spain and Portugal, countries that, adhering to European Union (EU) directives, opted to promote clean energies from the very start. On the one hand, we look at the energy transition laws introduced by the EU and other countries. On the other, we conduct a causal analysis of energy consumption and economic growth to confirm whether the change of energy model has generated positive effects on economic growth. The procedure was as follows. First, we conducted an aggregate causality analysis exploring the relationship between growth and energy consumption. As the results were not significant, we repeated the analysis with different disaggregations of renewable energy sources. With respect to solar thermal energy and economic growth, the main conclusion is that the data appear to show a one-way causal relationship for Portugal and EU-26 (European Union without Portugal and Spain) and a two-way relationship for Spain.

Resumen: Muchos estudios económicos y sociales han invisibilizado las tareas domésticas y de cuidados desarrolladas históricamente por las mujeres. Con su incorporación creciente al mercado de trabajo, los hombres no han asumido en proporción el trabajo reproductivo. A la llegada del covid-19 dio comienzo una crisis sanitaria, económica y social y el funcionamiento de todos los hogares se modificó. Este trabajo persigue comparar los usos del tiempo segregados por géneros de parejas heterosexuales con hijos de una región española antes y durante el confinamiento. También pretende conocer si el reparto de tareas se hizo de forma proporcional a la reducción de carga laboral. Aunque los hombres redujeron su jornada en mayor medida, disminuyeron su carga de casi todas las tareas, excepto la de ir a hacer la compra al supermercado, la única que permitía salir al espacio público durante el confinamiento.

After the consolidation of continuous assessment as a characteristic element of the current university system, the main objective of this article is to analyze the influence of this assessment model on the academic performance of students. In order to meet this objective, a sample of 776 students from seven different subjects related to Economic and Business Sciences from five different study centers belonging to two Spanish universities was used. The main result obtained is that students who have followed the subject through continuous assessment obtain better performance in the subject. Moreover, this superior performance is present among both female and male students. The analysis has suggested the influence of the particular characteristics of the subject, and that the activities corresponding to the continuous evaluation should be adapted. Likewise, it has been verified that the type of assessment selected depends on the student's number of enrollment, but not on the academic year. Thus, by providing empirical evidence, this work contributes to forming a more solid state of the art on the importance of academic assessment.