Stock In Spain Research Articles

Characterization of housing stock for energy retrofitting purposes in Spain

Energy saving in existing buildings is of vital importance. In this work, the characterization of housing stock in Spain for energy retrofitting purposes has been performed. The regulations in force when the existing stock was constructed (1980–2007) were considered to model the envelope and thermal systems of single-family and block housing. Building energy consumption and CO2 emissions were estimated for each type of dwelling and location, ranging from 44.2 to 130.6 kWh/(m2·year) (13.6–32 kg CO2/(m2·year)) for multi-family homes, and 85.5 to 213.5 kWh/(m2·year) (17.1–45.2 kg CO2/(m2·year)) for single-family homes. A global picture of the energy performance and emissions for 13 different climate zones was obtained with a total of 504 simulations. Retrofitting of the envelope allowed the reduction of consumption and emissions from 37.7% to 58%, depending on the climate zone. Energy consumption per square meter in block housing was lower than in single-family housing; nevertheless, single-family houses responded more effectively to energy improvement actions. Finally, non-renewable primary energy savings seem a better indicator of the improvement by retrofitting than the energy label. The building models designed in this work may serve as a reference for subsequent research concerning energy retrofitting and energy savings of housing stock.

Impact of M&A Announcements on Listed Firms in the Iberian Markets

Abstract Mergers and/or acquisitions (M&A) are important business operations for firms that wish to diversify, become stronger and more competitive. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of M&A announcements on the abnormal stock returns of firms listed on the Portugal and Spain stock exchanges. The empirical work analyzed 29 trades in the PSI-20 and 25 trades in the IBEX-35, since the year 2000, using the event study methodology. Most of the research investigates corporate combinations that take place in international markets and among large firms. Therefore, a first contribution of this paper is to study the phenomenon in smaller markets and firms. The results suggest that the two markets react differently to announcements of M&A. Overall, the findings seem to show that in the Portuguese market the joint firms present average gains and that in the Spanish market the joint firms present average losses, bidders have sharper reactions and targets have higher losses. The study also indicates that the abnormal returns of the Portuguese firms (especially the bidders) and the Spanish bidding firms tended to stabilize around a week after the announcement date. This conclusion is another useful contribution of the paper for academics and decision makers of corporate restructuring.

An envelope airtightness predictive model for residential buildings in Spain

The need for airtightness control is a reality given its impact on buildings' energy use and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). For the past few years, this fact has resulted in energy performance regulations establishment that involves airtightness requirements in many countries in Europe and North America. In this sense, efforts should not only be focused on new buildings, but also existing ones. Considering that around 90% of the built stock in the EU is expected to still be standing in 2050 and that almost 75% of the buildings are energy inefficient, attention must be paid to retrofitting actions.Airtightness predictive models have become useful in the decision-making process and to estimate input values in energy performance simulation tools. So far, several predictive models have been developed in different countries. However, specific construction systems and practices lead to a lack of consensus regarding the impact of different factors on airtightness performance. Therefore, the applicability of existing models is limited to their specific contexts.This paper presents a predictive model for envelope airtightness, which was developed from a database that contains a fully characterised representative sample of the residential building stock in Spain. A General Linear Model (GLM) was considered to assess significant variables related to the age of the building, typology, building state, construction system, and dimensions. As a result, a predictive model is presented and validated. Overall, even if some limitations were identified, the relevance of the model proposed is warranted from the statistical point of view. The airtightness predictive model presented offers a procedure for airtightness estimation of residential buildings in Spain.

Building Renovation Passports in Spain: Integrating exiting instruments for building conservation, renovation and heritage protection

This article discusses how the existing regulatory, informative, and financial instruments for the renovation of existing building stock in Spain could be combined to produce a national ‘Building Renovation Passport’, that is expected to be introduced by the European Commission in 2023. This work also argues in favour of integrating the existing tools for the conservation of heritage buildings in the Passport, and surveys current mechanisms used as ‘interfaces’ between heritage conservation and broader, building stock conservation-related instruments that are already in use and could be helpful in the aforementioned integration. The latter would allow all stakeholders to identify those improvement opportunities that are compatible with heritage protection and plan for the staged conservation, restoration, and adaptation of any heritage building, reducing transaction costs and enhancing conservation by reducing the use of existing exemption clauses from compliance with technical regulations. The division of competences between government levels, a risk of excessive technical complexity, and the need to take the urban scale into consideration will emerge as the main challenges for an initiative that could be adapted to the legal framework of other Member States.

Facing a global crisis - how sustainable business models helped firms overcome COVID

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyse how implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies following United Nations’ Global Compact (UNGC) guidelines can contribute to firm’s performance during a global crisis, such as the case of COVID-19. Based on the triple bottom line theoretical framework, this work explores the relation between the creation of value and sustainable business models with long-term strategies and strong policy commitments, and their performance in the stock market years later during a crisis. By doing so, new insights on strategic management to create value and consolidate sustainable business models are provided. Design/methodology/approach The present study analyses firms within the context of the European Union, considering the involvement of the region in achieving sustainable development. In particular, the long-term impact in the usage of the UNGC management model and the firm's sustainability performance based on the results during COVID-19 crisis. To achieve this goal, energy firms operating in Spain and subscribing to UNGC were evaluated, specifically those publicly listed in the IBEX35, benchmark index of Spain's Stock Market Interconnection System. In addition, firms were also considered regarding the strong impact within their industries not only nationally but also worldwide. Findings Findings show long-term CSR strategies and a strong commitment to sustainable development contribute to firm’s overcoming periods of economic crisis. In addition, considering the environmental impact of the firms’ actions, transition to sustainable business and widening portfolio in the case of energy firms proved to have a positive impact in overcoming a hard context such as COVID-19. The virtuous cycle can be created by honouring the social contract, yet the tools and management models shall be further tailored to ensure an effective win-win situation. Originality/value This study evaluates a company's strategic involvement in sustainability, considering the UNGC 10 principles and SDG and the effects of these strategies in the long-term. Specifically, the role of UNGC management model is evaluated in designing effective policies that can help firms better overcome a context of crisis such as COVID-19. Consequently, researchers studying business strategy can incorporate the findings in strategic planning. Practitioners can learn the implications of CSR strategic planning in the long-term. Moreover, work illustrates corporate results in sustainability matters after the first decade of the UNGC management model and the impact of a crisis context.

SutteARIMA: Short-term forecasting method, a case: Covid-19 and stock market in Spain

This study aimed to predict the short-term of confirmed cases of covid-19 and IBEX in Spain by using SutteARIMA method. Confirmed data of Covid-19 in Spanish was obtained from Worldometer and Spain Stock Market data (IBEX 35) was data obtained from Yahoo Finance. Data started from 12 February 2020–09 April 2020 (the date on Covid-19 was detected in Spain). The data from 12 February 2020–02 April 2020 using to fitting with data from 03 April 2020 – 09 April 2020. Based on the fitting data, we can conducted short-term forecast for 3 future period (10 April 2020 – 12 April 2020 for Covid-19 and 14 April 2020 – 16 April 2020 for IBEX). In this study, the SutteARIMA method will be used. For the evaluation of the forecasting methods, we applied forecasting accuracy measures, mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). Based on the results of ARIMA and SutteARIMA forecasting methods, it can be concluded that the SutteARIMA method is more suitable than ARIMA to calculate the daily forecasts of confirmed cases of Covid-19 and IBEX in Spain. The MAPE value of 0.036 (smaller than 0.03 compared to MAPE value of ARIMA) for confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Spain and was in the amount of 0.026 for IBEX stock. At the end of the analysis, this study used the SutteARIMA method, this study calculated daily forecasts of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Spain from 10 April 2020 until 12 April 2020 i.e. 158925; 164390; and 169969 and Spain Stock Market from 14 April 2020 until 16 April 2020 i.e. 7000.61; 6930.61; and 6860.62.

El sector inmobiliario en España. Análisis evolutivo, problemas actuales y dificultades para su desarrollo

En este artículo, primero analizamos el stock de viviendas en España (nuevas y de segunda mano). Resumimos la evolución del modelo político de la vivienda en España, destacando las diferencias en sus etapas principales e indagando sobre las causas que han contribuido al excedente de vivienda actual. A continuación, analizamos los diferentes aspectos que explican por qué el mercado de la vivienda parece letárgico y probablemente problemático (evolución de la población y número de hogares, percepción sobre la compra de propiedades residenciales, etc.). Profundizamos en el análisis de la información sobre la evolución histórica del parque de viviendas y los cambios en los patrones de uso de la vivienda a través de los datos proporcionados por el Ministerio de Fomento y el Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). La compleja realidad actual del mercado de la vivienda en España no es una casualidad, sino más bien el resultado de un largo período (más de medio siglo) de políticas que apoyan el aumento de la construcción de viviendas. La población menguante y cada vez más envejecida de España pondrá en peligro la creación neta de hogares y la demanda de vivienda. Dada la situación global del mercado de la vivienda en España, creemos que estamos asistiendo al final de un ciclo prolongado de construcción de viviendas favorecido por políticas de vivienda particulares.

Occurrence and Diversity of Black-Foot Disease Fungi in Symptomless Grapevine Nursery Stock in Spain.

In this study, 3,426 grafted grapevines ready to be planted from 15 grapevine nursery fields in Northern Spain were inspected from 2016 to 2018 for black-foot causing pathogens. In all, 1,427 isolates of black-foot pathogens were collected from the asymptomatic inner tissues of surface sterilized secondary roots and characterized based on morphological features and DNA sequence data of the nuclear ribosomal DNA-internal transcribed spacer region, histone H3, translation elongation factor 1-alpha and β-tubulin genes. Eleven species belonging to the genera Dactylonectria, Ilyonectria, Neonectria, and Thelonectria were identified, including Dactylonectria alcacerensis, D. macrodidyma, D. novozelandica, D. pauciseptata, D. torresensis, Ilyonectria liriodendri, I. pseudodestructans, I. robusta, Neonectria quercicola, Neonectria sp. 1, and Thelonectria olida. In addition, two species are newly described, namely D. riojana and I. vivaria. Twenty-four isolates representing 13 black-foot species were inoculated onto grapevine seedlings cultivar 'Tempranillo'. The pathogenicity tests detected diversity in virulence among fungal species and between isolates within each species. The most virulent species was D. novozelandica isolate BV-0760, followed by D. alcacerensis isolate BV-1240 and I. vivaria sp. nov. isolate BV-2305. This study improves our knowledge on the etiology and virulence of black-foot disease pathogens, and opens up new perspectives in the study of the endophytic phase of these pathogens in grapevines.

Energy Benchmarking of Existing Office Stock in Spain: Trends and Drivers

Buildings play a central role in the clean energy transition, which is why it is vital to understand how energy is consumed in this sector. Energy performance certificate databases are considered a key source of information on the characteristics of built building stock. Despite a growing portfolio of studies based on information from such databases, little is known about energy consumption in offices. This paper explores the modelled energy performance of existing offices in Spain, using data from 13,701 energy performance certificates collected by the Catalan Institute of Energy (ICAEN) in 2013–2018. Offices were found to consume between 202.66 and 212.10 kWhp/m2·year and were mostly ranked in classes C and D (~64%). Offices with E, F or G labels represent ~28% of the sample while A and B energy ratings are very scarce (~8%). Key drivers of energy consumption variation were found to be the office type, construction period, climate zone, renewable energy use, energy certification procedure and motivation for obtaining an energy performance certificate. Ownership was not found to affect average calculated energy consumption. The results will help policy makers to plan future energy conservation strategies.

Optimizing the evaluation of thermal transmittance with the thermometric method using multilayer perceptrons

The characterization of building thermal behaviour is crucial to achieve the low-carbon objectives of the European Union by 2050. In this way, the knowledge of the thermal transmittance is being developed as a significant factor of the thermophysical properties of the envelope. In the existing building, the theoretical calculation has several limitations with non-destructive techniques typical of the deterioration of the elements. Many experimental methods obtain therefore more representative results. The experimental method developed in ISO 9869–1 is the most standardized, although it presents limitations in the heat flux measurement. However, the thermometric method obtains the thermal transmittance with the surface temperature. This research is focused on the evaluation of the thermal transmittance based on ISO 9869–1 (average method and average method with correction for storage effects), but using variables measured with the thermometric method. For this purpose, multilayer perceptrons were used as post-processing techniques. The models were trained by using a dataset of 22,820 simulated tests of representative walls of the building stock in Spain. The determination coefficient was greater than 98% in both analysis approaches. Individual models were also generated for each building period because they significantly influenced the input variables. The results showed that thermal transmittance values can be obtained without measuring the heat flux, and the error associated with the use of tabulated values for the total internal heat transfer can be removed. This research would guarantee a high assessment tax of buildings establishing adequate energy conservation measures to improve their energy performance.

Health and related economic effects of residential energy retrofitting in Spain

More than 50% of the existing housing stock in Spain is over 50 years old and was built according to the construction standards of its time, and nowadays shows poor energy performance compared to the current standards, meaning higher energy consumption due to the lack of energy retrofitting interventions (no insulation materials, low window performance, high infiltration and thermal bridges). The link between homes and health has been well established by the scientific community and research results illustrate how the condition of existing buildings is one of the most decisive influences on population's health. However, the role of energy retrofitting in improving health of occupants has still to be thoroughly and comprehensively documented. Normally, benefits of energy retrofitting are calculated only in terms of energy savings and associated economic savings. Long pay-back periods and high investment make energy retrofitting not attractive enough to many homeowners. Highlighting the health benefits may help to improve the rate at which the housing stock undergoes energy retrofitting. The aim of this research is to estimate the effect that energy efficiency improvements made to vulnerable housing has on the health of the occupants and to assess the potential economic savings for the Spanish healthcare system.

Influence of ICHTC correlations on the thermal characterization of façades using the quantitative internal infrared thermography method

The thermal characterization of façades of the existing building stock is essential to establish optimal energy conservation measures. There are different methods to characterize thermal properties of façades. The quantitative internal infrared thermography method is among those most developed. Given the existing differences in the scientific literature among the proposals of the method, this study analysed the influence of the internal convective heat transfer coefficient (ICHTC). In total, 25 correlations of temperature differences (temperature of the wall and internal air temperature) were analysed, as well as 20 correlations of dimensionless numbers. To do this, an experimental campaign was performed in 3 façades belonging to the most representative building periods of the building stock in Spain. First, a cluster analysis was carried out to determine similarities among the equations analysed, using the Ward method as an agglomerative hierarchical method and the Euclidean distance as an association measurement. In total, 12 and 8 groups were obtained for correlations of temperature difference and of dimensionless numbers, respectively. Afterwards, results associated with each approach were obtained. These results showed that a better adjustment was obtained for correlations of dimensionless numbers by using the approach of convection and radiation, with an average value of representative results higher than 80%.

Relevance of corporate boards in driving performance in the period that covers financial crisis

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the relevance of boards in driving firm level performance. For this purpose, it considers firms listed on Ireland and Spain stock exchanges for the period 2005 to 2014, over a period that includes the global financial crisis.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses panel data regression analysis to analyse the effects of board characteristics on performance and also uses alternate model specifications to test the significance of robustness of relationships.FindingsThe impact of board size on performance is negative and significant for Irish and Spanish firms for the study period. In general, the board independence has a positive effect on the performance of Spanish firms for the complete study period and suggests consistency with the resource dependency theory.Research limitations/implicationsThe analysis suggests that in general, the non-executive and the board size do not affect the corporate performance of Irish and Spanish firms during the financial crisis. The fixed effects model suggests positive effects of gender diversity on performance for Spanish firms, while the random effects indicates negative relationship between gender diversity and performance for Irish companies.Practical implicationsThe evidence on the Spanish firms suggests that female representation on the boards may be critical during the financial crisisSocial implicationsThe quota legislation on female board representation in Spain is yielding superior results over the soft law approach by Irish firms during the times of financial crisis period.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature on the corporate governance practices and performance of two countries that were strongly affected by the crisis in the European Union. As governments increasingly contemplate board gender diversity policies, this study offers useful empirical insights on Spanish and Irish firms.

Methodology for the Study of the Envelope Airtightness of Residential Buildings in Spain: A Case Study

Air leakage and its impact on the energy performance of dwellings has been broadly studied in countries with cold climates in Europe, US, and Canada. However, there is a lack of knowledge in this field in Mediterranean countries. Current Spanish building regulations establish ventilation rates based on ideal airtight envelopes, causing problems of over-ventilation and substantial energy losses. The aim of this paper is to develop a methodology that allows the characterization of the envelope of the housing stock in Spain in order to adjust ventilation rates taking into consideration air leakage. A methodology that is easily applicable to other countries that consider studying the airtightness of the envelope and its energetic behaviour improvement is proposed. A statistical sampling method has been established to determine the dwellings to be tested, considering relevant variables concerning airtightness: climate zone, year of construction, and typology. The air leakage rate is determined using a standardized building pressurization technique according to European Standard EN 13829. A representative case study has been presented as an example of the implementation of the designed methodology and results are compared to preliminary values obtained from the database.

Efficient Market Hypothesis And Stock Market Anomalies: Empirical Evidence In Four European Countries

The stock market efficiency is the idea that equity prices of listed companies reveal all the data regarding the company value (Fama, 1965). In this way, there isn’t possible to make additional returns. However, evidence against the Efficient Market Hypothesis is growing. Researchers studied Calendar Anomalies (CAs) that characterised financial markets. These CAs contradict the efficient hypothesis. This research studies some of the most important market anomalies in France, Germany, Italy and Spain stock exchange indexes in the first decade of new millennium (2001-2010). In this study, to verify the distribution of the returns and their auto correlation, we use statistical methods: the GARCH model and the OLS regression. The analysis doesn’t show strong proof of comprehensive Calendar Anomalies. Some of these effects are country-specific. Furthermore, these country-anomalies are instable in the first decade of new millennium, and this result demonstrates some doubt on the significance of CAs.

An analysis of determinants of going concern audit opinion: Evidence from Spain stock exchange

Purpose: The main objective of this article is to go in-depth into the relationship between going concern audit opinion and certain characteristics of the company and auditor, including financial decline. Design/methodology/approach: A Logit analysis was carried out in order to enable us to discover the probability of receiving a going concern audit opinion. Findings: Characteristics of the company and characteristics of the auditor are discussed, and the analysis indicates that it is not financial decline, but rather registering losses and being audited by a small-scale auditor, that increase the likelihood of a company receiving a going concern audit opinion. Practical implications: The results obtained are interesting for the profession and users because they provide evidence of the reasons that converge in the cases where a going concern audit opinion is included in the auditing reports of companies characterised by being immersed in a financial crisis. Originality/value: This article considers the circumstances of both the company and the auditing process, which influence the fact that the auditing report includes a going concern audit opinion. In addition, the article includes the financial decline, and let us to analyze if the decline of the company’s financial position between t-1 and t causes the auditor to include a going concern audit opinion.

Would RC wide-beam buildings in Spain have survived Lorca earthquake (11-05-2011)?

Lorca earthquake (11-05-2011) is most destructive event recorded in Spain, causing nine fatalities and other severe consequences. Its important intensity was rather unexpected, and serious concern arose regarding risk of building stock in Spain. This paper analyzes performance, under Lorca earthquake, of RC buildings with one-way slabs with wide beams. This construction type is chosen for its high vulnerability and for being vastly widespread in Spain. This study is conducted on 3 and 6-story prototype representative buildings. These buildings are designed for three major seismic zones in Spain: low seismicity, moderate seismicity (as Lorca) and medium seismicity (as Granada). Seismic performance under Lorca earthquake is numerically investigated through nonlinear time-history analyses. Results show that buildings designed without any seismic provision (i.e. those in low seismicity zones) do not survive Lorca record, even with cooperation of masonry infill walls. Buildings with seismic design (i.e. those in Lorca and Granada zones) can survive Lorca earthquake only with collaboration of infill walls. To raise reliability of these conclusions, a sensitivity analysis to most influencing parameters is conducted.

Assessment of the soil organic carbon stock in Spain

Soil organic carbon stock (SOCS) assessments at a national level are essential in the climate change mitigation role. Our study provides the first assessment of the SOC stored in entire Spanish surface soils obtained from one sampling protocol within a regular sampling framework in a short edaphic time. In this study, we analysed topsoil samples (0–30cm) from 4401 locations. SOC, soil bulk density and stoniness were measured to estimate SOCS. The results showed that half the Spanish areas obtained a SOC value below 1%. There is inherently wide spatial variability in SOC contents in Spain with low SOC concentration levels located in southern areas. The lowest SOC levels were associated with agricultural soils. However, no statistically significant differences were found between forestlands and grasslands. The mean SOCS in the Spanish topsoil layer was 56.57MgCha−1 and the total stored in topsoil was 2.8 Pg C. We were surprised to find that our estimates were 40% lower than those known to date for Spain. The results herein highlight the potential land use change for SOC sequestration in Spanish soils. Certain changes in agricultural practises (conservation tillage) or converting some unproductive croplands into grasslands or forestlands can increase carbon sequestration in soils.

Energy mapping of existing building stock in Spain

Energy performance certificate databases are a key tool for mapping national building stock and thus fostering greater overall energy efficiency. This paper presents an insight into the energy performance of residential and tertiary sector buildings in Spain, through an analysis of the first 129,635 energy performance certificates issued for existing buildings, collected by the Catalan Institute of Energy. Most of the residential buildings or building units that were studied were “E” class (53.6%). Single-family houses were found to use more energy on average (248.0 kWhp/m2) than individual dwellings (183.2 kWhp/m2). Tertiary sector buildings were found to have slightly better energy performance (26.4% of buildings were rated “D class”), with an average energy consumption of 317.8 kWhp/m2. Modern buildings consume less energy, as they must meet the higher energy performance requirements stated in thermal building regulations. Residential buildings or building units located in hotter climate zones consume slightly less energy than those located in colder zones, mainly because heating accounts for a high percentage of overall energy expenditure (70–75% in residential buildings). A significant proportion of the energy consumed in tertiary sector buildings is for lighting (37.2%). This research defines the current energy consumption baseline of existing buildings in Spain. The results can help to prioritize energy conservation efforts according to building type, construction period, climate zone and specific end-uses. They may also help public authorities to plan future energy policies, and construction practitioners to identify market segments and business strategies.

Capital stock in Spain and its distribution by territories (1964-2012)

Since 1995 the BBVA Foundation and the Ivie have been conducting an extensive research program on Spanish economic growth. The regularly-updated database "Capital stock in Spain and its distribution by territories" are the basis of this program, providing information on the accumulation of capital in Spain over the last four decades.