Traditionally, water policy in Spain, and particularly as regards irrigation, has paid little attention to the analysis of efficiency in management aspects. This reality is in juxtaposition with the growing difficulties observed in satisfying water demand and with social demands in terms of the efficient use of public money. In this paper a methodology is proposed, which could be particularly useful for the economic-financial evaluation of public irrigation works. Both public and private cash flows generated by investments are considered and updated using the net current value criterion (NCV). After formulation of the methodological proposal, a practical application of it is made using the irrigatable areas of Viar, Cac�n and Vegas Bajas, located in the river Guadalquivir basin. The method could be highly useful to aid decision-making in public and private investments in terms of water resource management, and to estimate productivity and elasticity in the demand for water in farming. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment.

Productivity in Europe remains stagnant over a long period of time for several reasons: structural barriers hampering proper development and the diffusion of innovations; and also due to high structural unemployment. This puts a significant brake on growth and competitiveness. A high-potential alternative for improving productivity lies in increasing labour participation and the attraction/retention of talent as a result of European integration. Therefore, this study examines how economic growth is affected by labour productivity and the local and foreign workers' employment rates, as well as their level of achievement. Using the Durbin Spatial Model (DSM), we analyse OECD data from 13 European countries covering the period 2000-2017. Our results confirm, first of all, that there has been a positive convergence among European countries and that it is of considerable benefit for the growth of countries with different levels of development. In terms of labour productivity, it positively influences economic growth, especially for highly skilled local workers. Moreover, it is confirmed that increased participation has a statistically significant impact on each country's growth rate in the studied sample. In terms of educational levels, an increase in the number of workers with a high and medium level of education entails a growth that is also transferred to neighbouring countries. Also, these types of strategies serve to create conditions that allow for attracting and retaining talent in the long term, which also generates positive effects on growth itself, but also for neighbouring countries in the same area of integration.

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This paper presents the main features, characteristics and benefits of an economic and financial information management system that has been introduced in several departments at the University of Granada (Spain). The system is web-based and intended to optimise efficiency in the management of public resources, according to e-government approach and principles. It is based on a combination of expressive, yet intuitive, query language, and faceted search, and has meant an important advance by comparing its performance with that achieved by other approaches. To assess the usefulness and functionality of this web-based system, in-depth interviews were conducted of different types of users. The methodological approach followed to address the analysis of this type of qualitative information is Constant Comparative Analysis from which it is derived a casual network whose main outcome is the improvement of economic and financial efficiency in the department. To encourage widespread use of the system, the application is open source software.